title: Is the Rails update_attributes method the best choice for doing an update of a model in the database?
body: <pre><code>def update
    @album = Album.find(params[:id])
    if @album.update_attributes(params[:album])
      redirect_to(:action=&gt;'list')
    else
      render(:action=&gt;'edit')
    end    
  end
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>A Rails 1.1.6 tutorial that I'm covering recommends using the <code>update_attributes</code> method for updating a model, as in the example code from my controller listed above. Looking at the Rails documentation I'm wondering why the <code>update</code> method would not have been preferred, especially since it is named so logically.</p>