Ajax upload POST data not inserting into database in Rails 3

I'm having a heck of a time grabbing a param from my POST array and inserting it into a MySQL database. The file is submitted to a RAILS 3 controller that should 开发者_如何学Cpull the filename and use it as a value in an SQL statement. This is my controller:

def upload
    @item= Item.new(params[:qqfile])
    Rails.logger.info("PARAMS: #{params.inspect}")
    # if params array contains :qqfile
    unless params[:qqfile].empty?
      # model should:
      # copy file to uploads directory
      render_success
      if @item.save

      else
        render :text => 'database did not save'
      end
      # redirect to render success action
    else
      render :text => '{success:false}'
    end
  end

The log shows that the query is running but with a NULL value:

Started POST "/item/upload?qqfile=1eCH6.jpg" for 127.0.0.1 at Fri Jan 07 09:16:0
9 -0700 2011
  Processing by ItemController#upload as HTML
  Parameters: {"qqfile"=>"1eCH6.jpg"}
PARAMS: {"qqfile"=>"1eCH6.jpg", "controller"=>"item", "action"=>"upload"}
Rendered text template (0.0ms)
  SQL (0.0ms)  INSERT INTO `items` (`name`, `qqfile`, `created_at`, `updated_at`
) VALUES (NULL, NULL, '2011-01-07 16:16:10', '2011-01-07 16:16:10')
Completed 200 OK in 359ms (Views: 16.0ms | ActiveRecord: 0.0ms)

The key is there in the array. I'm confused why the controller isn't using its value for the value in the SQL query.

I highly recommend using paperclip for file uploads. Handling uploads can be a pain, and paperclip makes it much easier.