Custom marshaler doesn't trigger for load unless record is reloaded

[jezhou]

I have a column encrypted by attr_encrypted, let's call this column data. I also have a custom Marshaler that loads/dumps data in the column.

attr_encrypted :data, marshal: true, marshaler: CustomMarshal

A problem arises if I try to immediately decrypt a column that I have set using attr_encrypted. It returns the value I've set, but this value hasn't gone through the CustomMarshal when I expect that it would.

# abc is the record

new_value = [{hello: 'how are you doing'}]

# CustomMarshal.dump is called; this works like I expect it to.
abc.data = new_value 

# Fails: abc.data has gone through the marshaler – new_value hasn't
expect(abc.data).to_not eq(new_value)

# Fails: forcing new_value through the marshaler should make it equal abc.data
marshalled_value = CustomMarshal.dump(new_value)
expect(abc.data).to eq(CustomMarshal.load(marshalled_value))

# Passes: the above tests will pass if I reload the record
abc.reload
expect(abc.data).to_not eq(new_value)
expect(abc.data).to eq(CustomMarshal.load(marshalled_value))

The culprit could be this line, but it looks like this behavior is intentional. Are my expectations here wrong? I feel like if I set a custom marshaler in the options, it should always use the marshaler to load and dump the values. Otherwise, after I set the attribute on the record, I have to explicitly reload it for the marshaller to actually work.

[jezhou]

I want to add that using ActiveRecord's #serialize does what I expect it to – I don't have to reload the record for it to go through the custom marshaler.