FromParam
=========
This plugin is an addition to  ActiveRecord::Base that establishes a better 
convention for finding records based on parameters. It adds a "from_param" class
method to ActiveRecord::Base as a convention for fetching a model from a URL
parameter. By default it will find a record based on the to_i of the passed in
parameter, but storing a parameter in a column is where it becomes especially useful.
If you create a 'param' column in your table (or any other column using set_param_column),
the to_param of your record will automatically be saved to that column whenever
you save the record, and you will be able to retrieve it using just a simple
Model.from_param call with the generated to_param. It is probably wise to add an index
to the param column if you use one.
It's time to move away from generated-key-dependence, and this plugin is an attempt
to make that easy, painless, and work easily within the existing systems.
Example
=======
  # default behavior
  class User < ActiveRecord::Base
    def to_param
      "#{id}-#{first_name.downcase}-#{last_name.downcase}"
    end
  end
  
  class UsersController < ApplicationController
    # GET /users/1-bobby-mcfarin
    def show
      @user = User.from_param(params[:id]) # => <User id=1 first_name="Bobby" last_name="McFarin">
    end
  end
  
  # using a 'param' column, in this case 'slug'
  
  class Post < ActiveRecord::Base
    set_param_column "slug" # defaults to "param"
    def to_param
      "#{created_at.strftime("%Y-%m-%d")}-#{title.gsub(" ","-").downcase.gsub(/[^a-z0-9-]/,"")}"
    end
  end
  class PostsController < ApplicationController
    # GET /posts/2008-04-26-from-param-plugin-released
    @post = Post.from_param(params[:id]) # => <Post title="From Param: Plugin Released" created_at="2008-04-26">
  end
  
Resources
=========
GitHub: https://github.com/mbleigh/from_param
Lighthouse: https://mbleigh.lighthouseapp.com/projects/10478-from-param
Copyright (c) 2007 Michael Bleigh (https://mbleigh.com/) and Intridea Inc. (https://intridea.com/), released under the MIT 
license