destroy

Destroys the records supplied and removes them from the collection. This method will always remove record from the database ignoring the :dependent option. Returns an array with the removed records.

class Person < ActiveRecord::Base
  has_many :pets
end

person.pets.size # => 3
person.pets
# => [
#       #<Pet id: 1, name: "Fancy-Fancy", person_id: 1>,
#       #<Pet id: 2, name: "Spook", person_id: 1>,
#       #<Pet id: 3, name: "Choo-Choo", person_id: 1>
#    ]

person.pets.destroy(Pet.find(1))
# => [#<Pet id: 1, name: "Fancy-Fancy", person_id: 1>]

person.pets.size # => 2
person.pets
# => [
#       #<Pet id: 2, name: "Spook", person_id: 1>,
#       #<Pet id: 3, name: "Choo-Choo", person_id: 1>
#    ]

person.pets.destroy(Pet.find(2), Pet.find(3))
# => [
#       #<Pet id: 2, name: "Spook", person_id: 1>,
#       #<Pet id: 3, name: "Choo-Choo", person_id: 1>
#    ]

person.pets.size  # => 0
person.pets       # => []

Pet.find(1, 2, 3) # => ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound: Couldn't find all Pets with 'id': (1, 2, 3)

You can pass Integer or String values, it finds the records responding to the id and then deletes them from the database.

person.pets.size # => 3
person.pets
# => [
#       #<Pet id: 4, name: "Benny", person_id: 1>,
#       #<Pet id: 5, name: "Brain", person_id: 1>,
#       #<Pet id: 6, name: "Boss",  person_id: 1>
#    ]

person.pets.destroy("4")
# => #<Pet id: 4, name: "Benny", person_id: 1>

person.pets.size # => 2
person.pets
# => [
#       #<Pet id: 5, name: "Brain", person_id: 1>,
#       #<Pet id: 6, name: "Boss",  person_id: 1>
#    ]

person.pets.destroy(5, 6)
# => [
#       #<Pet id: 5, name: "Brain", person_id: 1>,
#       #<Pet id: 6, name: "Boss",  person_id: 1>
#    ]

person.pets.size  # => 0
person.pets       # => []

Pet.find(4, 5, 6) # => ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound: Couldn't find all Pets with 'id': (4, 5, 6)