If Parent has_many :children , should Child :belongs_to :parent ?
Parent has_many :children
Child :belongs_to :parent
No, the belongs_to property is optional. This will mean that you will not be able to request a connection from both directions, but if this is not a requirement for your application, then this is not necessary.
According to Cody, not necessarily - but it will be a 90% case.
See the Rails API Doc for ActiveRecord Associations . When you specify either has_many or belongs_to , many (helper) methods are added to the Rails Model class. The page above shows specific methods that are automatically added in tabular format. Therefore, if you simply indicate one end of the association, for example. Child, you can only use these methods from the Child model.
has_many
belongs_to