A small but interesting note:
The order of validation statements in the model determines the order the associated error messages will appear on a form’s web page.
IMHO, errors should appear in the same order as the fields on the form being validated. So, if you have a form that looks like:
Then the validation statements should be in a corresponding order in the model:
validates :name, :presence => true validates :distance, :numericality => true
If both fields fail validation the resulting list of errors will appear in the same order as the fields are placed on the form:
