Rails: class' object_id changes after I make a request

Question

I really can't explain this behavior, notice how after I make a request the class' object id has changed, and therefore my is_a? evaluation returns false.

any ideas? I'm not even sure how to debug this. Also, this isn't related to making a request from the command line. The same behavior is exhibited on the web server as well, it's just easier to explain from the command line.

staging$ RAILS_ENV=staging script/console
Loading staging environment (Rails 2.3.2)
>> c = CartItem.new
=> #<CartItem id: nil, order_id: nil, order_source: nil, date: nil, user_id: nil, created_at: nil, updated_at: nil, paid: nil, payment_id: nil, values: nil, cart_description: nil, type: nil, price: nil, email: nil, error: nil>
>> c.class.object_id
=> 70151495336400
>> CartItem.object_id
=> 70151495336400
>> c.is_a? CartItem
=> true
>> app = ActionController::Integration::Session.new
=> #<ActionController::Integration::Session:0x7f9ad5c55db0 .... >
>> app.get("site/favorite")
=> 200
>> c.class.object_id
=> 70151495336400
>> CartItem.object_id
=> 70151496019760
>> c.is_a? CartItem
=> false
>> c.class
=> CartItem(id: integer, order_id: string, order_source: string, date: date, user_id: integer, created_at: datetime, updated_at: datetime, paid: boolean, payment_id: integer, values: text, cart_description: string, type: string, price: integer, email: string, error: string)

Answer 1

Every new context (request/response cycle) will regenerate the object IDs. You may want to use responds_to?, instead of is_a?.

Answer 2

Since the ActionController::Integration module is used for integration testing, getting a url reloads your classes, therefore redefining the CartItem identifier. You now basically have two CartItem classes, one hanging around on your stack without an identifier pointing to it anymore (the "old one") and one referenced by the CartItem identifier.