Active Record provides a dedicated ids method specifically for extracting primary key IDs from collections. Using
pluck(:id) is less semantic and doesn’t clearly express the intent to retrieve primary key values.
The ids method is more expressive and immediately communicates that you’re working with primary keys. It follows Rails conventions and
makes the code more readable for other developers who are familiar with Rails patterns.
While both methods produce the same result, using the purpose-built ids method aligns with Rails best practices and improves code
clarity.
What is the potential impact?
Using pluck(:id) instead of ids doesn’t cause functional issues, but it makes the code less expressive and harder to
understand. Following Rails conventions improves code maintainability and helps other developers quickly understand the intent.
