read_attribute_before_type_cast

Returns the value of the attribute identified by attr_name before typecasting and deserialization.

class Task < ActiveRecord::Base
end

task = Task.new(id: '1', completed_on: '2012-10-21')
task.read_attribute('id')                            # => 1
task.read_attribute_before_type_cast('id')           # => '1'
task.read_attribute('completed_on')                  # => Sun, 21 Oct 2012
task.read_attribute_before_type_cast('completed_on') # => "2012-10-21"
task.read_attribute_before_type_cast(:completed_on)  # => "2012-10-21"