# Rails undefined local variable or method
**URL:** https://forum.kirupa.com/t/rails-undefined-local-variable-or-method/634251
**Category:** programming
**Created:** [February 16, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/rails-undefined-local-variable-or-method/634251 "2016-02-16T02:06:56Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@travis](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/travis)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/rails-undefined-local-variable-or-method/634251/1 "2016-02-16T02:06:56Z")
I have a question very similar to[this one](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13549967/nomethoderror-undefined-method-foobar-path-when-using-form-for) but that’s a really old post on Stack Overflow so I’m coming here to see if anyone can explain this to me.
My four\_for does not work when I have this
`
```
<%= form_for (@professor) do |f| %>
<%= f.label :fname %>
<%= f.text_field :fname %>
```
`
But it works fine when I have:
```
<%= form_for (:professor) do |f| %>
<%= f.label :fname %>
<%= f.text_field :fname %>`
```
By the way this is my professor controller:
```
class ProfessorController < ApplicationController
def show
@professor = Professor.find(params[:id])
end
def new
@professor = Professor.new
end
```
The answer given on Stack Overflow says that it’s because there is no route/action for the professorController, which is understandable, however before I started working on this project I read Michael Hartel’s Ruby on Rails Tutorial and he created a users model without adding a route action other than resources :user (which I have as resources :professor).
Anyone on Kirupa a Rails developer who could lend a hand?
---
### Author:  [@krilnon](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/krilnon)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2016, 4:39am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/rails-undefined-local-variable-or-method/634251/2 "2016-02-16T04:39:14Z")
Did you paste the same thing twice or is there some subtle difference between your first and second code blocks?
In the SO post there’s a difference between using a symbol and using an instance property… not sure if that’s what you meant to illustrate in your code too.
---
### Author:  [@travis](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/travis)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2016, 1:25pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/rails-undefined-local-variable-or-method/634251/3 "2016-02-16T13:25:59Z")
Hey sorry about that, yeah I fixed it now. It is a very subtle difference, the first is a variable I have changed the second to a method call.