ActiveRecord: size vs count

As the other answers state:

  • count will perform an SQL COUNT query
  • length will calculate the length of the resulting array
  • size will try to pick the most appropriate of the two to avoid excessive queries

But there is one more thing. We noticed a case where size acts differently to count/lengthaltogether, and I thought I'd share it since it is rare enough to be overlooked.

  • If you use a :counter_cache on a has_many association, size will use the cached count directly, and not make an extra query at all.

    class Image < ActiveRecord::Base
      belongs_to :product, counter_cache: true
    end
    
    class Product < ActiveRecord::Base
      has_many :images
    end
    
    > product = Product.first  # query, load product into memory
    > product.images.size      # no query, reads the :images_count column
    > product.images.count     # query, SQL COUNT
    > product.images.length    # query, loads images into memory
    

This behaviour is documented in the Rails Guides, but I either missed it the first time or forgot about it.


You should read that, it's still valid.

You'll adapt the function you use depending on your needs.

Basically:

  • if you already load all entries, say User.all, then you should use length to avoid another db query

  • if you haven't anything loaded, use count to make a count query on your db

  • if you don't want to bother with these considerations, use size which will adapt