Rails - How to set global instance variables in initializers?

Question

I was using the predictor gem. I initialized the recommender in `initializers/predictor.rb`: ``` require 'course_recommender' recommender = CourseRecommender.new # Add records to the recommender. recommender.add_to_matrix!(:topics, "topic-1", "course-1") recommender.add_to_matrix!(:topics, "topic-2", "course-1") recommender.add_to_matrix!(:topics, "topic-1", "course-2") ``` And then I wanted to use the recommender in the CourseController like this: ``` class CourseController < ApplicationController def show # I would like to access the recommender here. similiar_courses = recommender.similarities_for("course-1") end end ``` How could I set `recommender` as an application controller variable so I could access it in the controllers?

Accepted Answer

In your `initilizers/predictor.rb` you shall define your recommender not as:

```
recommender = CourseRecommender.new
```

but as:

```
Recommender = CourseRecommender.new
```

this way you define a constant throughout the scope of your application, instead of defining a local variable. In your initializer and controller you access it as `Recommender`.

Rails - How to set global instance variables in initializers?

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