Class Table

Represents a single database table.

Exposes methods for retrieving data out of it, and manages the associations this table has to other tables. Multiple instances of this class can be created for the same database table with different aliases, this allows you to address your database structure in a richer and more expressive way.

Retrieving data

The primary way to retrieve data is using Table::find(). See that method for more information.

Dynamic finders

In addition to the standard find($type) finder methods, CakePHP provides dynamic finder methods. These methods allow you to easily set basic conditions up. For example to filter users by username you would call

$query = $users->findByUsername('mark');

You can also combine conditions on multiple fields using either Or or And:

$query = $users->findByUsernameOrEmail('mark', '[email protected]');

Bulk updates/deletes

You can use Table::updateAll() and Table::deleteAll() to do bulk updates/deletes. You should be aware that events will not be fired for bulk updates/deletes.

Callbacks/events

Table objects provide a few callbacks/events you can hook into to augment/replace find operations. Each event uses the standard event subsystem in CakePHP

  • beforeFind(Event $event, Query $query, ArrayObject $options, boolean $primary) Fired before each find operation. By stopping the event and supplying a return value you can bypass the find operation entirely. Any changes done to the $query instance will be retained for the rest of the find. The $primary parameter indicates whether or not this is the root query, or an associated query.

  • buildValidator(Event $event, Validator $validator, string $name) Allows listeners to modify validation rules for the provided named validator.

  • buildRules(Event $event, RulesChecker $rules) Allows listeners to modify the rules checker by adding more rules.

  • beforeRules(Event $event, EntityInterface $entity, ArrayObject $options, string $operation) Fired before an entity is validated using the rules checker. By stopping this event, you can return the final value of the rules checking operation.

  • afterRules(Event $event, EntityInterface $entity, ArrayObject $options, bool $result, string $operation) Fired after the rules have been checked on the entity. By stopping this event, you can return the final value of the rules checking operation.

  • beforeSave(Event $event, EntityInterface $entity, ArrayObject $options) Fired before each entity is saved. Stopping this event will abort the save operation. When the event is stopped the result of the event will be returned.

  • afterSave(Event $event, EntityInterface $entity, ArrayObject $options) Fired after an entity is saved.

  • afterSaveCommit(Event $event, EntityInterface $entity, ArrayObject $options) Fired after the transaction in which the save operation is wrapped has been committed. It’s also triggered for non atomic saves where database operations are implicitly committed. The event is triggered only for the primary table on which save() is directly called. The event is not triggered if a transaction is started before calling save.

  • beforeDelete(Event $event, EntityInterface $entity, ArrayObject $options) Fired before an entity is deleted. By stopping this event you will abort the delete operation.

  • afterDelete(Event $event, EntityInterface $entity, ArrayObject $options) Fired after an entity has been deleted.

Cake\ORM\Table implements Cake\Datasource\RepositoryInterface, Cake\Event\EventListenerInterface, Cake\Event\EventDispatcherInterface uses Cake\Event\EventDispatcherTrait , Cake\Datasource\RulesAwareTrait , Cake\Validation\ValidatorAwareTrait
Namespace: Cake\ORM
See: \Cake\Event\EventManager for reference on the events system.
Location: ORM/Table.php

Constants summary

Properties summary

Inherited Properties

Method Summary

  • __call() public
    Handles behavior delegation + dynamic finders.
  • __construct() public
    Initializes a new instance
  • __debugInfo() public

    Returns an array that can be used to describe the internal state of this object.

  • __get() public

    Returns the association named after the passed value if exists, otherwise throws an exception.

  • __isset() public

    Returns whether an association named after the passed value exists for this table.

  • _dynamicFinder() protected
    Provides the dynamic findBy and findByAll methods.
  • Override this function in order to alter the schema used by this table. This function is only called after fetching the schema out of the database. If you wish to provide your own schema to this table without touching the database, you can override schema() or inject the definitions though that method.

  • _insert() protected
    Auxiliary function to handle the insert of an entity's data in the table
  • _newId() protected
    Generate a primary key value for a new record.
  • _onSaveSuccess() protected

    Handles the saving of children associations and executing the afterSave logic once the entity for this table has been saved successfully.

  • _processDelete() protected
    Perform the delete operation.
  • Performs the actual find and/or create of an entity based on the passed options.
  • _processSave() protected
    Performs the actual saving of an entity based on the passed options.
  • Out of an options array, check if the keys described in $keys are arrays and change the values for closures that will concatenate the each of the properties in the value array when passed a row.

  • _update() protected
    Auxiliary function to handle the update of an entity's data in the table
  • Setup multiple associations.
  • addBehavior() public
    Add a behavior.
  • alias() public
    Returns the table alias or sets a new one
  • aliasField() public
    Alias a field with the table's current alias.
  • association() public
    Returns an association object configured for the specified alias if any
  • Get the associations collection for this table.
  • behaviors() public
    Returns the behavior registry for this table.
  • belongsTo() public

    Creates a new BelongsTo association between this table and a target table. A "belongs to" association is a N-1 relationship where this table is the N side, and where there is a single associated record in the target table for each one in this table.

  • Creates a new BelongsToMany association between this table and a target table. A "belongs to many" association is a M-N relationship.

  • buildRules() public
  • callFinder() public

    Calls a finder method directly and applies it to the passed query, if no query is passed a new one will be created and returned

  • connection() public
    Returns the connection instance or sets a new one
  • defaultConnectionName() public static
    Get the default connection name.
  • delete() public
    Delete a single entity.
  • deleteAll() public
    Delete all matching records.
  • Returns the display field or sets a new one
  • entityClass() public

    Returns the class used to hydrate rows for this table or sets a new one

  • exists() public

    Returns true if there is any record in this repository matching the specified conditions.

  • find() public

    Creates a new Query for this repository and applies some defaults based on the type of search that was selected.

  • findAll() public
    Returns the query as passed.
  • findList() public

    Sets up a query object so results appear as an indexed array, useful for any place where you would want a list such as for populating input select boxes.

  • Finds an existing record or creates a new one.
  • Results for this finder will be a nested array, and is appropriate if you want to use the parent_id field of your model data to build nested results.

  • get() public

    Returns a single record after finding it by its primary key, if no record is found this method throws an exception.

  • hasBehavior() public
    Check if a behavior with the given alias has been loaded.
  • hasField() public
    Test to see if a Table has a specific field/column.
  • hasFinder() public
    Returns true if the finder exists for the table
  • hasMany() public

    Creates a new HasMany association between this table and a target table. A "has many" association is a 1-N relationship.

  • hasOne() public

    Creates a new HasOne association between this table and a target table. A "has one" association is a 1-1 relationship.

  • Get the Model callbacks this table is interested in.
  • initialize() public
    Initialize a table instance. Called after the constructor.
  • loadInto() public

    Loads the specified associations in the passed entity or list of entities by executing extra queries in the database and merging the results in the appropriate properties.

  • marshaller() public
    Get the object used to marshal/convert array data into objects.
  • newEntities() public
    Create a list of entities + associated entities from an array.
  • newEntity() public
    Create a new entity + associated entities from an array.
  • Merges each of the elements passed in $data into the entities found in $entities respecting the accessible fields configured on the entities. Merging is done by matching the primary key in each of the elements in $data and $entities.

  • patchEntity() public

    Merges the passed $data into $entity respecting the accessible fields configured on the entity. Returns the same entity after being altered.

  • primaryKey() public
    Returns the primary key field name or sets a new one
  • query() public
    Creates a new Query instance for this repository
  • Returns the table registry key used to create this table instance
  • Removes a behavior from this table's behavior registry.
  • save() public

    Persists an entity based on the fields that are marked as dirty and returns the same entity after a successful save or false in case of any error.

  • saveMany() public
    Persists multiple entities of a table.
  • schema() public
    Returns the schema table object describing this table's properties.
  • table() public
    Returns the database table name or sets a new one
  • updateAll() public
    Update all matching records.
  • Validator method used to check the uniqueness of a value for a column. This is meant to be used with the validation API and not to be called directly.

Method Detail

__call()source public

__call( string $method , array $args )

Handles behavior delegation + dynamic finders.

If your Table uses any behaviors you can call them as if they were on the table object.

Parameters

string $method
name of the method to be invoked
array $args
List of arguments passed to the function

Returns

mixed

Throws

BadMethodCallException

__construct()source public

__construct( array $config [] )

Initializes a new instance

The $config array understands the following keys:

  • table: Name of the database table to represent
  • alias: Alias to be assigned to this table (default to table name)
  • connection: The connection instance to use
  • entityClass: The fully namespaced class name of the entity class that will represent rows in this table.
  • schema: A \Cake\Database\Schema\Table object or an array that can be passed to it.
  • eventManager: An instance of an event manager to use for internal events
  • behaviors: A BehaviorRegistry. Generally not used outside of tests.
  • associations: An AssociationCollection instance.
  • validator: A Validator instance which is assigned as the "default" validation set, or an associative array, where key is the name of the validation set and value the Validator instance.

Parameters

array $config optional []
List of options for this table

__debugInfo()source public

__debugInfo( )

Returns an array that can be used to describe the internal state of this object.

Returns

array

__get()source public

__get( string $property )

Returns the association named after the passed value if exists, otherwise throws an exception.

Parameters

string $property
the association name

Returns

Cake\ORM\Association

Throws

RuntimeException
if no association with such name exists

__isset()source public

__isset( string $property )

Returns whether an association named after the passed value exists for this table.

Parameters

string $property
the association name

Returns

boolean

_dynamicFinder()source protected

_dynamicFinder( string $method , array $args )

Provides the dynamic findBy and findByAll methods.

Parameters

string $method
The method name that was fired.
array $args
List of arguments passed to the function.

Returns

mixed

Throws

BadMethodCallException

when there are missing arguments, or when and & or are combined.


_initializeSchema()source protected

_initializeSchema( Cake\Database\Schema\Table $table )

Override this function in order to alter the schema used by this table. This function is only called after fetching the schema out of the database. If you wish to provide your own schema to this table without touching the database, you can override schema() or inject the definitions though that method.

Example:

protected function _initializeSchema(\Cake\Database\Schema\Table $table) {
 $table->columnType('preferences', 'json');
 return $table;
}

Parameters

Cake\Database\Schema\Table $table
The table definition fetched from database.

Returns

Cake\Database\Schema\Table
the altered schema

Api

_insert()source protected

_insert( Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity , array $data )

Auxiliary function to handle the insert of an entity's data in the table

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity
the subject entity from were $data was extracted
array $data
The actual data that needs to be saved

Returns

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface|boolean

Throws

RuntimeException

if not all the primary keys where supplied or could be generated when the table has composite primary keys. Or when the table has no primary key.


_newId()source protected

_newId( array $primary )

Generate a primary key value for a new record.

By default, this uses the type system to generate a new primary key value if possible. You can override this method if you have specific requirements for id generation.

Parameters

array $primary
The primary key columns to get a new ID for.

Returns

mixed
Either null or the new primary key value.

_onSaveSuccess()source protected

_onSaveSuccess( Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity , ArrayObject $options )

Handles the saving of children associations and executing the afterSave logic once the entity for this table has been saved successfully.

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity
the entity to be saved
ArrayObject $options
the options to use for the save operation

Returns

boolean
True on success

Throws

Cake\ORM\Exception\RolledbackTransactionException

If the transaction is aborted in the afterSave event.


_processDelete()source protected

_processDelete( Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity , ArrayObject $options )

Perform the delete operation.

Will delete the entity provided. Will remove rows from any dependent associations, and clear out join tables for BelongsToMany associations.

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity
The entity to delete.
ArrayObject $options
The options for the delete.

Returns

boolean
success

Throws

InvalidArgumentException

if there are no primary key values of the passed entity


_processFindOrCreate()source protected

_processFindOrCreate( array|callable $search , callable $callback null , array $options [] )

Performs the actual find and/or create of an entity based on the passed options.

Parameters

array|callable $search

The criteria to find an existing record by, or a callable tha will customize the find query.

callable $callback optional null

A callback that will be invoked for newly created entities. This callback will be called before the entity is persisted.

array $options optional []
The options to use when saving.

Returns

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface
An entity.

_processSave()source protected

_processSave( Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity , ArrayObject $options )

Performs the actual saving of an entity based on the passed options.

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity
the entity to be saved
ArrayObject $options
the options to use for the save operation

Returns

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface|boolean

Throws

RuntimeException
When an entity is missing some of the primary keys.
Cake\ORM\Exception\RolledbackTransactionException

If the transaction is aborted in the afterSave event.


_setFieldMatchers()source protected

_setFieldMatchers( array $options , array $keys )

Out of an options array, check if the keys described in $keys are arrays and change the values for closures that will concatenate the each of the properties in the value array when passed a row.

This is an auxiliary function used for result formatters that can accept composite keys when comparing values.

Parameters

array $options
the original options passed to a finder
array $keys

the keys to check in $options to build matchers from the associated value

Returns

array

_update()source protected

_update( Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity , array $data )

Auxiliary function to handle the update of an entity's data in the table

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity
the subject entity from were $data was extracted
array $data
The actual data that needs to be saved

Returns

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface|boolean

Throws

InvalidArgumentException
When primary key data is missing.

addAssociations()source public

addAssociations( array $params )

Setup multiple associations.

It takes an array containing set of table names indexed by association type as argument:

$this->Posts->addAssociations([
  'belongsTo' => [
    'Users' => ['className' => 'App\Model\Table\UsersTable']
  ],
  'hasMany' => ['Comments'],
  'belongsToMany' => ['Tags']
]);

Each association type accepts multiple associations where the keys are the aliases, and the values are association config data. If numeric keys are used the values will be treated as association aliases.

Parameters

array $params
Set of associations to bind (indexed by association type)

See

\Cake\ORM\Table::belongsTo()
\Cake\ORM\Table::hasOne()
\Cake\ORM\Table::hasMany()
\Cake\ORM\Table::belongsToMany()

addBehavior()source public

addBehavior( string $name , array $options [] )

Add a behavior.

Adds a behavior to this table's behavior collection. Behaviors provide an easy way to create horizontally re-usable features that can provide trait like functionality, and allow for events to be listened to.

Example:

Load a behavior, with some settings.

$this->addBehavior('Tree', ['parent' => 'parentId']);

Behaviors are generally loaded during Table::initialize().

Parameters

string $name
The name of the behavior. Can be a short class reference.
array $options optional []
The options for the behavior to use.

Throws

RuntimeException
If a behavior is being reloaded.

See

Cake\ORM\Behavior

alias()source public

alias( string|null $alias null )

Returns the table alias or sets a new one

Parameters

string|null $alias optional null
the new table alias

Returns

string

Implementation of

Cake\Datasource\RepositoryInterface::alias()

aliasField()source public

aliasField( string $field )

Alias a field with the table's current alias.

Parameters

string $field
The field to alias.

Returns

string
The field prefixed with the table alias.

association()source public

association( string $name )

Returns an association object configured for the specified alias if any

Parameters

string $name
the alias used for the association.

Returns

Cake\ORM\Association|null
Either the association or null.

associations()source public

associations( )

Get the associations collection for this table.

Returns

Cake\ORM\AssociationCollection
The collection of association objects.

behaviors()source public

behaviors( )

Returns the behavior registry for this table.

Returns

Cake\ORM\BehaviorRegistry
The BehaviorRegistry instance.

belongsTo()source public

belongsTo( string $associated , array $options [] )

Creates a new BelongsTo association between this table and a target table. A "belongs to" association is a N-1 relationship where this table is the N side, and where there is a single associated record in the target table for each one in this table.

Target table can be inferred by its name, which is provided in the first argument, or you can either pass the to be instantiated or an instance of it directly.

The options array accept the following keys:

  • className: The class name of the target table object
  • targetTable: An instance of a table object to be used as the target table
  • foreignKey: The name of the field to use as foreign key, if false none will be used
  • conditions: array with a list of conditions to filter the join with
  • joinType: The type of join to be used (e.g. INNER)
  • strategy: The loading strategy to use. 'join' and 'select' are supported.
  • finder: The finder method to use when loading records from this association. Defaults to 'all'. When the strategy is 'join', only the fields, containments, and where conditions will be used from the finder.

This method will return the association object that was built.

Parameters

string $associated

the alias for the target table. This is used to uniquely identify the association

array $options optional []
list of options to configure the association definition

Returns

Cake\ORM\Association\BelongsTo

belongsToMany()source public

belongsToMany( string $associated , array $options [] )

Creates a new BelongsToMany association between this table and a target table. A "belongs to many" association is a M-N relationship.

Target table can be inferred by its name, which is provided in the first argument, or you can either pass the class name to be instantiated or an instance of it directly.

The options array accept the following keys:

  • className: The class name of the target table object.
  • targetTable: An instance of a table object to be used as the target table.
  • foreignKey: The name of the field to use as foreign key.
  • targetForeignKey: The name of the field to use as the target foreign key.
  • joinTable: The name of the table representing the link between the two
  • through: If you choose to use an already instantiated link table, set this key to a configured Table instance containing associations to both the source and target tables in this association.
  • dependent: Set to false, if you do not want junction table records removed when an owning record is removed.
  • cascadeCallbacks: Set to true if you want CakePHP to fire callbacks on cascaded deletes. If false the ORM will use deleteAll() to remove data. When true join/junction table records will be loaded and then deleted.
  • conditions: array with a list of conditions to filter the join with.
  • sort: The order in which results for this association should be returned.
  • strategy: The strategy to be used for selecting results Either 'select' or 'subquery'. If subquery is selected the query used to return results in the source table will be used as conditions for getting rows in the target table.
  • saveStrategy: Either 'append' or 'replace'. Indicates the mode to be used for saving associated entities. The former will only create new links between both side of the relation and the latter will do a wipe and replace to create the links between the passed entities when saving.
  • strategy: The loading strategy to use. 'select' and 'subquery' are supported.
  • finder: The finder method to use when loading records from this association. Defaults to 'all'.

This method will return the association object that was built.

Parameters

string $associated

the alias for the target table. This is used to uniquely identify the association

array $options optional []
list of options to configure the association definition

Returns

Cake\ORM\Association\BelongsToMany

buildRules()source public

buildRules( Cake\ORM\RulesChecker $rules )

Parameters

Cake\ORM\RulesChecker $rules
The rules object to be modified.

Returns

Cake\ORM\RulesChecker

callFinder()source public

callFinder( string $type , Cake\ORM\Query $query , array $options [] )

Calls a finder method directly and applies it to the passed query, if no query is passed a new one will be created and returned

Parameters

string $type
name of the finder to be called
Cake\ORM\Query $query
The query object to apply the finder options to
array $options optional []
List of options to pass to the finder

Returns

Cake\ORM\Query

Throws

BadMethodCallException

connection()source public

connection( Cake\Datasource\ConnectionInterface $conn null )

Returns the connection instance or sets a new one

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\ConnectionInterface $conn optional null
The new connection instance

Returns

Cake\Datasource\ConnectionInterface

defaultConnectionName()source public static

defaultConnectionName( )

Get the default connection name.

This method is used to get the fallback connection name if an instance is created through the TableRegistry without a connection.

Returns

string

See

\Cake\ORM\TableRegistry::get()

delete()source public

delete( Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity , array|ArrayAccess $options [] )

Delete a single entity.

For HasMany and HasOne associations records will be removed based on the dependent option. Join table records in BelongsToMany associations will always be removed. You can use the cascadeCallbacks option when defining associations to change how associated data is deleted.

Options

  • atomic Defaults to true. When true the deletion happens within a transaction.
  • checkRules Defaults to true. Check deletion rules before deleting the record.

Events

  • Model.beforeDelete Fired before the delete occurs. If stopped the delete will be aborted. Receives the event, entity, and options.
  • Model.afterDelete Fired after the delete has been successful. Receives the event, entity, and options.
  • Model.afterDeleteCommit Fired after the transaction is committed for an atomic delete. Receives the event, entity, and options.

The options argument will be converted into an \ArrayObject instance for the duration of the callbacks, this allows listeners to modify the options used in the delete operation.

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity
The entity to remove.
array|ArrayAccess $options optional []
The options for the delete.

Returns

boolean
success

Implementation of

Cake\Datasource\RepositoryInterface::delete()

deleteAll()source public

deleteAll( mixed $conditions )

Delete all matching records.

Parameters

mixed $conditions

Conditions to be used, accepts anything Query::where() can take.

Returns

integer
Count Returns the affected rows.

Implementation of

Cake\Datasource\RepositoryInterface::deleteAll()

displayField()source public

displayField( string|null $key null )

Returns the display field or sets a new one

Parameters

string|null $key optional null
sets a new name to be used as display field

Returns

string

entityClass()source public

entityClass( string|null $name null )

Returns the class used to hydrate rows for this table or sets a new one

Parameters

string|null $name optional null
the name of the class to use

Returns

string

Throws

Cake\ORM\Exception\MissingEntityException
when the entity class cannot be found

exists()source public

exists( array|ArrayAccess $conditions )

Returns true if there is any record in this repository matching the specified conditions.

Parameters

array|ArrayAccess $conditions
list of conditions to pass to the query

Returns

boolean

Implementation of

Cake\Datasource\RepositoryInterface::exists()

find()source public

find( string $type 'all' , array|ArrayAccess $options [] )

Creates a new Query for this repository and applies some defaults based on the type of search that was selected.

Model.beforeFind event

Each find() will trigger a Model.beforeFind event for all attached listeners. Any listener can set a valid result set using $query

By default, $options will recognize the following keys:

  • fields
  • conditions
  • order
  • limit
  • offset
  • page
  • group
  • having
  • contain
  • join

Usage

Using the options array:

$query = $articles->find('all', [
  'conditions' => ['published' => 1],
  'limit' => 10,
  'contain' => ['Users', 'Comments']
]);

Using the builder interface:

$query = $articles->find()
  ->where(['published' => 1])
  ->limit(10)
  ->contain(['Users', 'Comments']);

Calling finders

The find() method is the entry point for custom finder methods. You can invoke a finder by specifying the type:

$query = $articles->find('published');

Would invoke the findPublished method.

Parameters

string $type optional 'all'
the type of query to perform
array|ArrayAccess $options optional []
An array that will be passed to Query::applyOptions()

Returns

Cake\ORM\Query
The query builder

Implementation of

Cake\Datasource\RepositoryInterface::find()

findAll()source public

findAll( Cake\ORM\Query $query , array $options )

Returns the query as passed.

By default findAll() applies no conditions, you can override this method in subclasses to modify how find('all') works.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Query $query
The query to find with
array $options
The options to use for the find

Returns

Cake\ORM\Query
The query builder

findList()source public

findList( Cake\ORM\Query $query , array $options )

Sets up a query object so results appear as an indexed array, useful for any place where you would want a list such as for populating input select boxes.

When calling this finder, the fields passed are used to determine what should be used as the array key, value and optionally what to group the results by. By default the primary key for the model is used for the key, and the display field as value.

The results of this finder will be in the following form:

[
 1 => 'value for id 1',
 2 => 'value for id 2',
 4 => 'value for id 4'
]

You can specify which property will be used as the key and which as value by using the $options array, when not specified, it will use the results of calling primaryKey and displayField respectively in this table:

$table->find('list', [
 'keyField' => 'name',
 'valueField' => 'age'
]);

Results can be put together in bigger groups when they share a property, you can customize the property to use for grouping by setting groupField:

$table->find('list', [
 'groupField' => 'category_id',
]);

When using a groupField results will be returned in this format:

[
 'group_1' => [
     1 => 'value for id 1',
     2 => 'value for id 2',
 ]
 'group_2' => [
     4 => 'value for id 4'
 ]
]

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Query $query
The query to find with
array $options
The options for the find

Returns

Cake\ORM\Query
The query builder

findOrCreate()source public

findOrCreate( array|callable|Cake\ORM\Query $search , callable $callback null , array $options [] )

Finds an existing record or creates a new one.

A find() will be done to locate an existing record using the attributes defined in $search. If records matches the conditions, the first record will be returned.

If no record can be found, a new entity will be created with the $search properties. If a callback is provided, it will be called allowing you to define additional default values. The new entity will be saved and returned.

If your find conditions require custom order, associations or conditions, then the $search parameter can be a callable that takes the Query as the argument, or a \Cake\ORM\Query object passed as the $search parameter. Allowing you to customize the find results.

Options

The options array is passed to the save method with exception to the following keys:

  • atomic: Whether to execute the methods for find, save and callbacks inside a database transaction (default: true)
  • defaults: Whether to use the search criteria as default values for the new entity (default: true)

Parameters

array|callable|Cake\ORM\Query $search

The criteria to find an existing record by, or a callable that will customize the find query.

callable $callback optional null

A callback that will be invoked for newly created entities. This callback will be called before the entity is persisted.

array $options optional []
The options to use when saving.

Returns

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface
An entity.

findThreaded()source public

findThreaded( Cake\ORM\Query $query , array $options )

Results for this finder will be a nested array, and is appropriate if you want to use the parent_id field of your model data to build nested results.

Values belonging to a parent row based on their parent_id value will be recursively nested inside the parent row values using the children property

You can customize what fields are used for nesting results, by default the primary key and the parent_id fields are used. If you wish to change these defaults you need to provide the keys keyField or parentField in $options:

$table->find('threaded', [
 'keyField' => 'id',
 'parentField' => 'ancestor_id'
]);

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Query $query
The query to find with
array $options
The options to find with

Returns

Cake\ORM\Query
The query builder

get()source public

get( mixed $primaryKey , array|ArrayAccess $options [] )

Returns a single record after finding it by its primary key, if no record is found this method throws an exception.

Usage

Get an article and some relationships:

$article = $articles->get(1, ['contain' => ['Users', 'Comments']]);

Parameters

mixed $primaryKey
primary key value to find
array|ArrayAccess $options optional []
options accepted by Table::find()

Returns

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface

Throws

Cake\Datasource\Exception\InvalidPrimaryKeyException

When $primaryKey has an incorrect number of elements.


Implementation of

Cake\Datasource\RepositoryInterface::get()

hasBehavior()source public

hasBehavior( string $name )

Check if a behavior with the given alias has been loaded.

Parameters

string $name
The behavior alias to check.

Returns

boolean
Whether or not the behavior exists.

hasField()source public

hasField( string $field )

Test to see if a Table has a specific field/column.

Delegates to the schema object and checks for column presence using the Schema\Table instance.

Parameters

string $field
The field to check for.

Returns

boolean
True if the field exists, false if it does not.

Implementation of

Cake\Datasource\RepositoryInterface::hasField()

hasFinder()source public

hasFinder( string $type )

Returns true if the finder exists for the table

Parameters

string $type
name of finder to check

Returns

boolean

hasMany()source public

hasMany( string $associated , array $options [] )

Creates a new HasMany association between this table and a target table. A "has many" association is a 1-N relationship.

Target table can be inferred by its name, which is provided in the first argument, or you can either pass the class name to be instantiated or an instance of it directly.

The options array accept the following keys:

  • className: The class name of the target table object
  • targetTable: An instance of a table object to be used as the target table
  • foreignKey: The name of the field to use as foreign key, if false none will be used
  • dependent: Set to true if you want CakePHP to cascade deletes to the associated table when an entity is removed on this table. The delete operation on the associated table will not cascade further. To get recursive cascades enable cascadeCallbacks as well. Set to false if you don't want CakePHP to remove associated data, or when you are using database constraints.
  • cascadeCallbacks: Set to true if you want CakePHP to fire callbacks on cascaded deletes. If false the ORM will use deleteAll() to remove data. When true records will be loaded and then deleted.
  • conditions: array with a list of conditions to filter the join with
  • sort: The order in which results for this association should be returned
  • saveStrategy: Either 'append' or 'replace'. When 'append' the current records are appended to any records in the database. When 'replace' associated records not in the current set will be removed. If the foreign key is a null able column or if dependent is true records will be orphaned.
  • strategy: The strategy to be used for selecting results Either 'select' or 'subquery'. If subquery is selected the query used to return results in the source table will be used as conditions for getting rows in the target table.
  • finder: The finder method to use when loading records from this association. Defaults to 'all'.

This method will return the association object that was built.

Parameters

string $associated

the alias for the target table. This is used to uniquely identify the association

array $options optional []
list of options to configure the association definition

Returns

Cake\ORM\Association\HasMany

hasOne()source public

hasOne( string $associated , array $options [] )

Creates a new HasOne association between this table and a target table. A "has one" association is a 1-1 relationship.

Target table can be inferred by its name, which is provided in the first argument, or you can either pass the class name to be instantiated or an instance of it directly.

The options array accept the following keys:

  • className: The class name of the target table object
  • targetTable: An instance of a table object to be used as the target table
  • foreignKey: The name of the field to use as foreign key, if false none will be used
  • dependent: Set to true if you want CakePHP to cascade deletes to the associated table when an entity is removed on this table. The delete operation on the associated table will not cascade further. To get recursive cascades enable cascadeCallbacks as well. Set to false if you don't want CakePHP to remove associated data, or when you are using database constraints.
  • cascadeCallbacks: Set to true if you want CakePHP to fire callbacks on cascaded deletes. If false the ORM will use deleteAll() to remove data. When true records will be loaded and then deleted.
  • conditions: array with a list of conditions to filter the join with
  • joinType: The type of join to be used (e.g. LEFT)
  • strategy: The loading strategy to use. 'join' and 'select' are supported.
  • finder: The finder method to use when loading records from this association. Defaults to 'all'. When the strategy is 'join', only the fields, containments, and where conditions will be used from the finder.

This method will return the association object that was built.

Parameters

string $associated

the alias for the target table. This is used to uniquely identify the association

array $options optional []
list of options to configure the association definition

Returns

Cake\ORM\Association\HasOne

implementedEvents()source public

implementedEvents( )

Get the Model callbacks this table is interested in.

By implementing the conventional methods a table class is assumed to be interested in the related event.

Override this method if you need to add non-conventional event listeners. Or if you want you table to listen to non-standard events.

The conventional method map is:

  • Model.beforeMarshal => beforeMarshal
  • Model.buildValidator => buildValidator
  • Model.beforeFind => beforeFind
  • Model.beforeSave => beforeSave
  • Model.afterSave => afterSave
  • Model.afterSaveCommit => afterSaveCommit
  • Model.beforeDelete => beforeDelete
  • Model.afterDelete => afterDelete
  • Model.afterDeleteCommit => afterDeleteCommit
  • Model.beforeRules => beforeRules
  • Model.afterRules => afterRules

Returns

array

Implementation of

Cake\Event\EventListenerInterface::implementedEvents()

initialize()source public

initialize( array $config )

Initialize a table instance. Called after the constructor.

You can use this method to define associations, attach behaviors define validation and do any other initialization logic you need.

public function initialize(array $config)
 {
     $this->belongsTo('Users');
     $this->belongsToMany('Tagging.Tags');
     $this->primaryKey('something_else');
 }

Parameters

array $config
Configuration options passed to the constructor

loadInto()source public

loadInto( Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface|array $entities , array $contain )

Loads the specified associations in the passed entity or list of entities by executing extra queries in the database and merging the results in the appropriate properties.

Example:

$user = $usersTable->get(1);
$user = $usersTable->loadInto($user, ['Articles.Tags', 'Articles.Comments']);
echo $user->articles[0]->title;

You can also load associations for multiple entities at once

Example:

$users = $usersTable->find()->where([...])->toList();
$users = $usersTable->loadInto($users, ['Articles.Tags', 'Articles.Comments']);
echo $user[1]->articles[0]->title;

The properties for the associations to be loaded will be overwritten on each entity.

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface|array $entities
a single entity or list of entities
array $contain
A contain() compatible array.

Returns

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface|array

See

\Cake\ORM\Query::contain()

marshaller()source public

marshaller( )

Get the object used to marshal/convert array data into objects.

Override this method if you want a table object to use custom marshalling logic.

Returns

Cake\ORM\Marshaller

See

Cake\ORM\Marshaller

newEntities()source public

newEntities( array $data , array $options [] )

Create a list of entities + associated entities from an array.

By default all the associations on this table will be hydrated. You can limit which associations are built, or include deeper associations using the options parameter:

$articles = $this->Articles->newEntities(
  $this->request->data(),
  ['associated' => ['Tags', 'Comments.Users']]
);

You can limit fields that will be present in the constructed entities by passing the fieldList option, which is also accepted for associations:

$articles = $this->Articles->newEntities($this->request->data(), [
 'fieldList' => ['title', 'body'],
 'associated' => ['Tags', 'Comments.Users' => ['fieldList' => 'username']]
 ]
);

You can use the Model.beforeMarshal event to modify request data before it is converted into entities.

Parameters

array $data
The data to build an entity with.
array $options optional []
A list of options for the objects hydration.

Returns

array
An array of hydrated records.

Implementation of

Cake\Datasource\RepositoryInterface::newEntities()

newEntity()source public

newEntity( array|null $data null , array $options [] )

Create a new entity + associated entities from an array.

By default all the associations on this table will be hydrated. You can limit which associations are built, or include deeper associations using the options parameter:

$article = $this->Articles->newEntity(
  $this->request->data(),
  ['associated' => ['Tags', 'Comments.Users']]
);

You can limit fields that will be present in the constructed entity by passing the fieldList option, which is also accepted for associations:

$article = $this->Articles->newEntity($this->request->data(), [
 'fieldList' => ['title', 'body'],
 'associated' => ['Tags', 'Comments.Users' => ['fieldList' => 'username']]
]
);

The fieldList option lets remove or restrict input data from ending up in the entity. If you'd like to relax the entity's default accessible fields, you can use the accessibleFields option:

$article = $this->Articles->newEntity(
  $this->request->data(),
  ['accessibleFields' => ['protected_field' => true]]
);

By default, the data is validated before being passed to the new entity. In the case of invalid fields, those will not be present in the resulting object. The validate option can be used to disable validation on the passed data:

$article = $this->Articles->newEntity(
  $this->request->data(),
  ['validate' => false]
);

You can also pass the name of the validator to use in the validate option. If null is passed to the first param of this function, no validation will be performed.

You can use the Model.beforeMarshal event to modify request data before it is converted into entities.

Parameters

array|null $data optional null
The data to build an entity with.
array $options optional []
A list of options for the object hydration.

Returns

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface

Implementation of

Cake\Datasource\RepositoryInterface::newEntity()

patchEntities()source public

patchEntities( array|Traversable $entities , array $data , array $options [] )

Merges each of the elements passed in $data into the entities found in $entities respecting the accessible fields configured on the entities. Merging is done by matching the primary key in each of the elements in $data and $entities.

Those entries in $entities that cannot be matched to any record in $data will be discarded. Records in $data that could not be matched will be marshalled as a new entity.

When merging HasMany or BelongsToMany associations, all the entities in the $data array will appear, those that can be matched by primary key will get the data merged, but those that cannot, will be discarded.

You can limit fields that will be present in the merged entities by passing the fieldList option, which is also accepted for associations:

$articles = $this->Articles->patchEntities($articles, $this->request->data(), [
 'fieldList' => ['title', 'body'],
 'associated' => ['Tags', 'Comments.Users' => ['fieldList' => 'username']]
 ]
);

You can use the Model.beforeMarshal event to modify request data before it is converted into entities.

Parameters

array|Traversable $entities

the entities that will get the data merged in

array $data
list of arrays to be merged into the entities
array $options optional []
A list of options for the objects hydration.

Returns

array

Implementation of

Cake\Datasource\RepositoryInterface::patchEntities()

patchEntity()source public

patchEntity( Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity , array $data , array $options [] )

Merges the passed $data into $entity respecting the accessible fields configured on the entity. Returns the same entity after being altered.

When merging HasMany or BelongsToMany associations, all the entities in the $data array will appear, those that can be matched by primary key will get the data merged, but those that cannot, will be discarded.

You can limit fields that will be present in the merged entity by passing the fieldList option, which is also accepted for associations:

$article = $this->Articles->patchEntity($article, $this->request->data(), [
 'fieldList' => ['title', 'body'],
 'associated' => ['Tags', 'Comments.Users' => ['fieldList' => 'username']]
 ]
);

By default, the data is validated before being passed to the entity. In the case of invalid fields, those will not be assigned to the entity. The validate option can be used to disable validation on the passed data:

$article = $this->patchEntity($article, $this->request->data(),[
 'validate' => false
]);

You can use the Model.beforeMarshal event to modify request data before it is converted into entities.

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity

the entity that will get the data merged in

array $data
key value list of fields to be merged into the entity
array $options optional []
A list of options for the object hydration.

Returns

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface

Implementation of

Cake\Datasource\RepositoryInterface::patchEntity()

primaryKey()source public

primaryKey( string|array|null $key null )

Returns the primary key field name or sets a new one

Parameters

string|array|null $key optional null
sets a new name to be used as primary key

Returns

string|array

query()source public

query( )

Creates a new Query instance for this repository

Returns

Cake\ORM\Query

Implementation of

Cake\Datasource\RepositoryInterface::query()

registryAlias()source public

registryAlias( string|null $registryAlias null )

Returns the table registry key used to create this table instance

Parameters

string|null $registryAlias optional null
the key used to access this object

Returns

string

removeBehavior()source public

removeBehavior( string $name )

Removes a behavior from this table's behavior registry.

Example:

Remove a behavior from this table.

$this->removeBehavior('Tree');

Parameters

string $name
The alias that the behavior was added with.

See

Cake\ORM\Behavior

save()source public

save( Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity , array|ArrayAccess $options [] )

Persists an entity based on the fields that are marked as dirty and returns the same entity after a successful save or false in case of any error.

Options

The options array accepts the following keys:

  • atomic: Whether to execute the save and callbacks inside a database transaction (default: true)
  • checkRules: Whether or not to check the rules on entity before saving, if the checking fails, it will abort the save operation. (default:true)
  • associated: If true it will save 1st level associated entities as they are found in the passed $entity whenever the property defined for the association is marked as dirty. If an array, it will be interpreted as the list of associations to be saved. It is possible to provide different options for saving on associated table objects using this key by making the custom options the array value. If false no associated records will be saved. (default: true)
  • checkExisting: Whether or not to check if the entity already exists, assuming that the entity is marked as not new, and the primary key has been set.

Events

When saving, this method will trigger four events:

  • Model.beforeRules: Will be triggered right before any rule checking is done for the passed entity if the checkRules key in $options is not set to false. Listeners will receive as arguments the entity, options array and the operation type. If the event is stopped the rules check result will be set to the result of the event itself.
  • Model.afterRules: Will be triggered right after the checkRules() method is called for the entity. Listeners will receive as arguments the entity, options array, the result of checking the rules and the operation type. If the event is stopped the checking result will be set to the result of the event itself.
  • Model.beforeSave: Will be triggered just before the list of fields to be persisted is calculated. It receives both the entity and the options as arguments. The options array is passed as an ArrayObject, so any changes in it will be reflected in every listener and remembered at the end of the event so it can be used for the rest of the save operation. Returning false in any of the listeners will abort the saving process. If the event is stopped using the event API, the event object's result property will be returned. This can be useful when having your own saving strategy implemented inside a listener.
  • Model.afterSave: Will be triggered after a successful insert or save, listeners will receive the entity and the options array as arguments. The type of operation performed (insert or update) can be determined by checking the entity's method isNew, true meaning an insert and false an update.
  • Model.afterSaveCommit: Will be triggered after the transaction is commited for atomic save, listeners will receive the entity and the options array as arguments.

This method will determine whether the passed entity needs to be inserted or updated in the database. It does that by checking the isNew method on the entity. If the entity to be saved returns a non-empty value from its errors() method, it will not be saved.

Saving on associated tables

This method will by default persist entities belonging to associated tables, whenever a dirty property matching the name of the property name set for an association in this table. It is possible to control what associations will be saved and to pass additional option for saving them.

// Only save the comments association
$articles->save($entity, ['associated' => ['Comments']);

// Save the company, the employees and related addresses for each of them.
// For employees do not check the entity rules
$companies->save($entity, [
  'associated' => [
    'Employees' => [
      'associated' => ['Addresses'],
      'checkRules' => false
    ]
  ]
]);

// Save no associations
$articles->save($entity, ['associated' => false]);

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity
the entity to be saved
array|ArrayAccess $options optional []
The options to use when saving.

Returns

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface|boolean

Throws

Cake\ORM\Exception\RolledbackTransactionException

If the transaction is aborted in the afterSave event.


Implementation of

Cake\Datasource\RepositoryInterface::save()

saveMany()source public

saveMany( array|Cake\ORM\ResultSet $entities , array|ArrayAccess $options [] )

Persists multiple entities of a table.

The records will be saved in a transaction which will be rolled back if any one of the records fails to save due to failed validation or database error.

Parameters

array|Cake\ORM\ResultSet $entities
Entities to save.
array|ArrayAccess $options optional []
Options used when calling Table::save() for each entity.

Returns

boolean|array|Cake\ORM\ResultSet
False on failure, entities list on success.

schema()source public

schema( array|Cake\Database\Schema\Table|null $schema null )

Returns the schema table object describing this table's properties.

If an \Cake\Database\Schema\Table is passed, it will be used for this table instead of the default one.

If an array is passed, a new \Cake\Database\Schema\Table will be constructed out of it and used as the schema for this table.

Parameters

array|Cake\Database\Schema\Table|null $schema optional null
New schema to be used for this table

Returns

Cake\Database\Schema\Table

table()source public

table( string|null $table null )

Returns the database table name or sets a new one

Parameters

string|null $table optional null
the new table name

Returns

string

updateAll()source public

updateAll( array $fields , mixed $conditions )

Update all matching records.

Parameters

array $fields
A hash of field => new value.
mixed $conditions

Conditions to be used, accepts anything Query::where() can take.

Returns

integer
Count Returns the affected rows.

Implementation of

Cake\Datasource\RepositoryInterface::updateAll()

validateUnique()source public

validateUnique( mixed $value , array $options , array $context null )

Validator method used to check the uniqueness of a value for a column. This is meant to be used with the validation API and not to be called directly.

Example:

$validator->add('email', [
 'unique' => ['rule' => 'validateUnique', 'provider' => 'table']
])

Unique validation can be scoped to the value of another column:

$validator->add('email', [
 'unique' => [
     'rule' => ['validateUnique', ['scope' => 'site_id']],
     'provider' => 'table'
 ]
]);

In the above example, the email uniqueness will be scoped to only rows having the same site_id. Scoping will only be used if the scoping field is present in the data to be validated.

Parameters

mixed $value
The value of column to be checked for uniqueness
array $options

The options array, optionally containing the 'scope' key. May also be the validation context if there are no options.

array $context optional null
Either the validation context or null.

Returns

boolean
true if the value is unique

Methods used from Cake\Event\EventDispatcherTrait

dispatchEvent()source public

dispatchEvent( string $name , array|null $data null , object|null $subject null )

Wrapper for creating and dispatching events.

Returns a dispatched event.

Parameters

string $name
Name of the event.
array|null $data optional null

Any value you wish to be transported with this event to it can be read by listeners.

object|null $subject optional null

The object that this event applies to ($this by default).

Returns

Cake\Event\Event

eventManager()source public

eventManager( Cake\Event\EventManager $eventManager null )

Returns the Cake\Event\EventManager manager instance for this object.

You can use this instance to register any new listeners or callbacks to the object events, or create your own events and trigger them at will.

Parameters

Cake\Event\EventManager $eventManager optional null
the eventManager to set

Returns

Cake\Event\EventManager

Methods used from Cake\Datasource\RulesAwareTrait

checkRules()source public

checkRules( Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity , string $operation RulesChecker::CREATE , ArrayObject|array|null $options null )

Returns whether or not the passed entity complies with all the rules stored in the rules checker.

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity
The entity to check for validity.
string $operation optional RulesChecker::CREATE
The operation being run. Either 'create', 'update' or 'delete'.
ArrayObject|array|null $options optional null
The options To be passed to the rules.

Returns

boolean

rulesChecker()source public

rulesChecker( )

Returns the RulesChecker for this instance.

A RulesChecker object is used to test an entity for validity on rules that may involve complex logic or data that needs to be fetched from relevant datasources.

Returns

Cake\Datasource\RulesChecker

See

Cake\Datasource\RulesChecker

Methods used from Cake\Validation\ValidatorAwareTrait

validationDefault()source public

validationDefault( Cake\Validation\Validator $validator )

Returns the default validator object. Subclasses can override this function to add a default validation set to the validator object.

Parameters

Cake\Validation\Validator $validator

The validator that can be modified to add some rules to it.

Returns

Cake\Validation\Validator

validator()source public

validator( string|null $name null , Cake\Validation\Validator $validator null )

Returns the validation rules tagged with $name. It is possible to have multiple different named validation sets, this is useful when you need to use varying rules when saving from different routines in your system.

There are two different ways of creating and naming validation sets: by creating a new method inside your own Table subclass, or by building the validator object yourself and storing it using this method.

For example, if you wish to create a validation set called 'forSubscription', you will need to create a method in your Table subclass as follows:

public function validationForSubscription($validator)
{
 return $validator
 ->add('email', 'valid-email', ['rule' => 'email'])
 ->add('password', 'valid', ['rule' => 'notBlank'])
 ->requirePresence('username');
}

Otherwise, you can build the object by yourself and store it in the Table object:

$validator = new \Cake\Validation\Validator($table);
$validator
 ->add('email', 'valid-email', ['rule' => 'email'])
 ->add('password', 'valid', ['rule' => 'notBlank'])
 ->allowEmpty('bio');
$table->validator('forSubscription', $validator);

You can implement the method in validationDefault in your Table subclass should you wish to have a validation set that applies in cases where no other set is specified.

Parameters

string|null $name optional null
the name of the validation set to return
Cake\Validation\Validator $validator optional null

The validator instance to store, use null to get a validator.

Returns

Cake\Validation\Validator

Throws

RuntimeException

Properties detail

$_aliassource

protected string

Human name giving to this particular instance. Multiple objects representing the same database table can exist by using different aliases.

$_associationssource

protected Cake\ORM\AssociationCollection

The associations container for this Table.

$_behaviorssource

protected Cake\ORM\BehaviorRegistry

BehaviorRegistry for this table

$_connectionsource

protected Cake\Datasource\ConnectionInterface

Connection instance

$_displayFieldsource

protected string

The name of the field that represents a human readable representation of a row

$_entityClasssource

protected string

The name of the class that represent a single row for this table

$_primaryKeysource

protected string|array

The name of the field that represents the primary key in the table

$_registryAliassource

protected string

Registry key used to create this table object

$_schemasource

protected Cake\Database\Schema\Table

The schema object containing a description of this table fields

$_tablesource

protected string

Name of the table as it can be found in the database

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Licensed under the MIT License.
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http://api.cakephp.org/3.2/class-Cake.ORM.Table.html