First name and last name have no value, possibly due to strong parameters

Unfortunately it is still not working the error that is being outputted is: undefined method +' for nil:NilClass app/models/user.rb:13:infull_name'

Is there anything else that could be causing this error? maybe a migration file etc. Or do I have to just scrap this tutorial since it is using a older version?

I know that in another tutorial, all of the strong parameters information was placed in the user controller and not the model. Maybe you can use some info from that controller. Here it is:

class UsersController < ApplicationController
  def show 
    @user = User.find(params[:id])
  end

  def new
    @user = User.new
  end

  def create 
    @user = User.new(user_params)

    if @user.save
      sign_in @user 
      flash[:success] = "Welcome to the Sample App!"
        redirect_to @user
    else
        render 'new'
    end
  end

  def edit
    @user = User.find(params[:id])
  end

  def update
    @user = User.find(params[:id])
    if @user.update_attributes(user_params)
      flash[:success] = "Profile updated"
      redirect_to @user
    else
      render "edit"
    end
  end

  private

    def user_params
        params.require(:user).permit(:name, :email, :password, :password_confirmation)
    end
end

Notice how all the creation happens in the controller instead of the model. The model is not supposed to create instances of itself. It is a means for the controller to talk to the database. I would suggest moving your create/strong parameters into the user controller. You may wish to clone your project in case you need to go back.

Michael Hartl's Rails Tutorial might be worth checking out as it builds a similar app to this one but everything is from scratch and uses Rails 4 and strong parameters. I did most of that and came back to this tutorial and just used Rails 3.2 since then it is more simple to learn the basics.

In my project there is no user controller present, there is just the application controller and the status controller. Would that be the source of the problem? if so how would you generate one while still supporting devise? Thanks though for all your help so far! I really appreciate it

rails generate controller users new create show will create a users controller with the actions: new, create, and show. I do not have a ton of experience yet when it comes to this kind of change. There is a lot more that is required for actually implementing the controller correctly after it's created. If you are absolutely new to Rails I would recommend doing this tutorial in Rails 3.2. It will save you a lot of headaches later. Plus, if you end up working on a project later on, you will be able to handle both older attribute protection methods as well as new ones. Also there is a build a to-do list app which uses Rails 4. I wish I could be of more help.

If you are on the Rails track the team has just added an update for the track. This means that they are probably planning on retiring that content from the site soon. You can choose to upgrade. I'm debating whether I want to myself because I'm on the second course for treebook, though I prefer Rspec to shoulda for testing. Also, the levels just feel too much like dictating exercises as opposed to actually learning-another reason an update is much needed.

Yes I feel the same way about some of it's tutorials too.