Active Record

Connections, models and active records are the foundations of everything that concerns database access and management. They are used to establish database connections, manage tables and their possible relationship, as well as manage the records of these tables. Leveraging OOP, the models and active records are instances which properties, getters/setters and behavior can be inherited in a business logic.

Using the query interface, you won't have to write raw SQL, manage table relationship, or worry about injection.

Finally, using providers you can define all your connections and models in a single place. Connections are established and models are instantiated on demand, so feel free the define hundreds of them.

Acknowledgments

The implementation of the query interface is vastly inspired by Ruby On Rails' Active Record Query Interface.

Getting started

Unless you bound ActiveRecord to ICanBoogie using the icanboogie/bind-activerecord package, you need to define the lazy getter for the activerecord_cache property of the Model class.

The following code should do the trick:

<?php

use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\RuntimeActiveRecordCache;
use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\Model;
use ICanBoogie\Prototype;

Prototype::from(Model::class)['lazy_get_activerecord_cache'] = function(Model $model) {

	return new RuntimeActiveRecordCache($model);

};

Establishing a connection to a database

A connection to a database is created with a Connection instance.

The following code demonstrates how a connection can be established to a MySQL database and a SQLite temporary database:

<?php

use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\Connection;

# a connection to a MySQL database
$connection = new Connection('mysql:dbname=example', 'username', 'password');

# a connection to a SQLite temporary database stored in memory
$connection = new Connection('sqlite::memory:');

The Connection class extends PDO. It takes the same parameters, and custom options can be provided with the driver options to specify a prefix to table names, specify the charset and collate of the connection or its timezone.

Defining the prefix of the database tables

The ConnectionOptions::TABLE_NAME_PREFIX option specifies the prefix for all the tables name of the connection. Thus, if the icybee prefix is defined the nodes table is renamed as icybee_nodes.

The {table_name_prefix} placeholder is replaced in queries by the prefix:

<?php

$statement = $connection('SELECT * FROM `{table_name_prefix}nodes` LIMIT 10');

Defining the charset and collate to use

The ConnectionOptions::CHARSET_AND_COLLATE option specify the charset and the collate of the connection in a single string e.g. "utf8/general_ci" for the "utf8" charset and the "utf8_general_ci" collate.

The {charset} and {collate} placeholders are replaced in queries:

<?php

$connection('ALTER TABLE nodes CHARACTER SET "{charset}" COLLATE "{collate}"');

Specifying a time zone

The ConnectionOptions::TIMEZONE option specifies the time zone of the connection.

Model overview

A model is an object-oriented representation of a database table, or a group of tables. A model is used to create, update, delete and query records. Models are instances of the Model class, and usually implement a specific business logic.

<?php

namespace App\Modules\Nodes;

use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord;
use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\Model;
use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\ModelCollection;

class NodeModel extends Model
{
	// …
}

class Node extends ActiveRecord
{
	public $id;
	public $title;
	public $number;

	// …
}

$models = new ModelCollection($connections, [

	'nodes' => [

		Model::ACTIVERECORD_CLASS => Node::class,
		Model::SCHEMA => [

			'id' => 'serial',
			'title' => [ 'varchar', 80 ],
			'number' => [ 'integer', 'unsigned' => true ]

		]
	]
]);

$models->install();

$node_model = $models['nodes'];

$node = Node::from([

	'title' => "My first node",
	'number' => 123

], [ $node_model ]);
// ^ because we don't use a model provider yet, we need to specify the model to the active record

# or

$node = $node_model->new([

	'title' => "My first node",
	'number' => 123

]);

$id = $node->save();

echo "Saved node, got id: $id\n";

Defining the database connection

The CONNECTION key specifies the database connection, an instance of the Connection class.

Defining the Active Record class

The ACTIVERECORD_CLASS key specifies the class used to instantiate the active records of the model.

Defining the name of the table

The NAME key specifies the name of the table. If a table prefix is defined by the connection, it is used to prefix the table name. The name and unprefixed_name properties returns the prefixed name and original name of the table:

<?php

echo "table name: {$model->name}, original: {$model->unprefixed_name}.";

The {self} placeholder is replaced in queries by the name property:

<?php

$stmt = $model('SELECT * FROM `{self}` LIMIT 10');

Defining the schema of the model

The columns and properties of the table are defined with a schema, which is specified by the SCHEMA attribute. A key defines the name of the column, and a value defines the properties of the column. Most column types use the following basic definition pattern:

'<identifier>' => '<type_and_default_options>'
# or
'<identifier>' => [ '<type>', <size> ];

The following types are available: blob, char, integer, text, varchar, bit, boolean, date, datetime, time, timestamp, year, enum, double et float. The serial and foreign special types are used to define auto incrementing primary keys and foreign keys:

<?php

[
	'nid' => 'serial', // bigint(20) unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT, PRIMARY KEY (`nid`)
	'uid' => 'foreign' // bigint(20) unsigned NOT NULL, KEY `uid` (`uid`)
];

The size of the field can be defined as an integer for the blob, char, integer, varchar and bit types:

<?php

[
	'title' => 'varchar', // varchar(255) NOT NULL
	'slug' => [ 'varchar', 80 ], // varchar(80) NOT NULL
	'weight' => 'integer', // int(11) NOT NULL
	'small_count' => [ 'integer', 8 ] // int(8) NOT NULL,
	'price' => [ 'float', [ 10, 3 ] ] // float(10,3) NOT NULL
];

The size of the field can be defined using the qualifiers tiny, small, medium, big or long for the blob, char, integer, text and varchar types:

<?php

[
	'body' => [ 'text', 'long' ] // longtext NOT NULL
];

The qualifier null specifies that a field can be null, by default fields are not capable of receiving the null:

[ 'varchar', 'null' => true ] // varchar(255)
[ 'integer', 'null' => true ] // int(11)
[ 'integer' ] // int(11) NOT NULL

The qualifier unsigned specifies that a numeric value is not signed:

[ 'integer' ] // int(11)
[ 'integer', 'unsigned' => true ] // int(10) unsigned

The qualifier indexed specifies that a field should be indexed:

[
	'slug' => [ 'varchar', 'indexed' => true ], // varchar(255) NOT NULL, KEY `slug` (`slug`)
	'is_online' => [ 'boolean', 'indexed' => true ] // tinyint(1) NOT NULL, KEY `is_online` (`is_online`),

	'page_id' => [ 'foreign', 'indexed' => 'page-content' ], // bigint(20) unsigned NOT NULL
	'content_id' => [ 'foreign', 'indexed' => 'page-content' ], // bigint(20) unsigned NOT NULL, KEY `page-content` (`page_id`, `content_id`)
];

The qualifier primary specifies that a column is a primary key. A multi-column primary key is created if multiple columns have the primary qualifier:

[
	'vtid' => [ 'foreign', 'primary' => true ],
	'nid' => [ 'foreign', 'primary' => true ],
	'weight' => [ 'integer', 'unsigned' => true ]
];

// ADD PRIMARY KEY ( `vtid` , `nid` )

Creating the table associated with a model

Once the model has been defined, its associated table can easily be created with the install() method.

<?php

$model->install();

The is_installed() method checks if a model has already been installed.

Note: The method only checks if the corresponding table exists, not if its schema is correct.

<?php

if ($model->is_installed())
{
	echo "The model is already installed.";
}

Placeholders

The following placeholders are replaced in model queries:

{alias}: The alias of the table.
{prefix}: The prefix of the table names of the connection.
{primary}: The primary key of the table.
{self}: The name of the table.
{self_and_related}: The escaped name of the table and the possible JOIN clauses.

Defining the relations between models

Extending another model

A model can extend another, just like a class can extend another in PHP. Fields are inherited and the primary key of the parent is used to link records together. When the model is queried, the tables are joined. When values are inserted or updated, they are split to update the various tables. Also, the connection of the parent model is inherited.

The EXTENDING attribute specifies the model to extend.

<?php

use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\Model;
use ICanBoogie\DateTime;

$models = new ModelCollection($connections, [

	'nodes' => [

		Model::SCHEMA => [

			'nid' => 'serial',
			'title' => 'varchar'

		]
	],
	
	'contents' => [

		Model::EXTENDING => 'nodes',
		Model::SCHEMA => [

			'body' => 'text',
			'date' => 'date'

		]
	],

	'news' => [
	
		Model::EXTENDING => 'contents'

	]
];

$models['news']->save([

	'title' => "Testing!",
	'body' => "Testing...",
	'date' => DateTime::now()

]);

Contrary to tables, models are not required to define a schema if they extend another model, but they may end with different parents.

In the following example the parent table of news is nodes but its parent model is contents. That's because news doesn't define a schema and thus inherits the schema and some properties of its parent model.

<?php

echo $news->parent->id;       // nodes
echo $news->parent_model->id; // contents

One-to-one relation (belongs_to)

Records of a model can belong to records of other models. For instance, a news article belonging to a user. The relation is specified with the BELONGS_TO attribute. When the belongs to relation is specified, a getter is automatically added to the prototype of the records. For instance, if records of a news model belong to records of a users model, than the get_user getter is added to the prototype of the records of the news model. The user of a news record can then by obtained using the magic property user.

<?php

use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\Model;
use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\ModelCollection;

$models = new ModelCollection($this->connections, [

	'news' => [
	
		Model::BELONGS_TO => 'users',
		Model::SCHEMA => [
	
			'news_id' => 'serial',
			'uid' => 'foreign'
			// …

		]
	],
	
	'users' => [
	
		Model::SCHEMA => [
    
            'uid' => 'serial',
            'name' => 'varchar'
            // …

        ]
	]

]);

$record = $news->one;

echo "{$record->title} belongs to {$record->user->name}.";

One-to-many relation (has_many)

A one-to-many relation can be established between two models. For instance, an article having many comments. The relation is specified with the HAS_MANY attribute or the has_many() method of the parent model. A getter is added to the active record class of the model and returns a Query instance when it is accessed.

The following example demonstrates how a one-to-many relation can be established between the "articles" and "comments" models, while creating the models:

<?php

use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\Model;
use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\ModelCollection;

// …

$models = new ModelCollection($connections, [

	'comments' => [

		Model::ACTIVERECORD_CLASS => Comment::class,
		Model::SCHEMA => [

			'comment_id' => 'serial',
			'article_id' => 'foreign',
			'body' => 'text'

		]
	],

	'articles' => [

		Model::ACTIVERECORD_CLASS => Article::class,
		Model::HAS_MANY => 'comments',
		Model::SCHEMA => [

			'article_id' => 'serial',
			'title' => 'varchar'

		]
	]

]);

The relation can also be established after the models are created using the has_many method:

<?php

$articles = $models['articles'];
$comments = $models['comments'];

$articles->has_many($comments);
# or, if the model can be obtained with `get_model()`
$articles->has_many('comments');

# The local and foreign keys can be specified if they cannot be obtained from the models
$articles->has_many('comments', [ 'local_key' => 'article_id', 'related_key' => 'comment_id' ]);

# The name of the magic property can also be specified
$articles->has_many('comments', [ 'as' => 'article_comments' ]);

The following example demonstrates how all the comments of the author called "me" can be retrieved in order from an article:

<?php

$comments = $articles->one->comments->filter_by_author("me")->ordered->all;

Active Records

An active record is an object-oriented representation of a record in a database. Usually, the table columns are its public properties and it is not unusual that getters/setters and business logic methods are implemented by its class.

The model managing the record needs to be specified when the instance is created. It can be specified through the __construct method as a model identifier or a Model instance, or by defining the MODEL_ID constant, which is the favorite method since it can be easily introspected.

<?php

namespace App;

use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord;

class Node extends ActiveRecord
{
	const MODEL_ID = "nodes";

	// …

	protected function get_next()
	{
		return $this->model->own->visible->where('date > ?', $this->date)->order('date')->one;
	}

	protected function get_previous()
	{
		return $this->model->own->visible->where('date < ?', $this->date)->order('date DESC')->one;
	}

	// …
}

Instantiating an active record

Active record are instantiated just like any other object, but the from() method is usually preferred for its shorter notation:

<?php

$record = Article::from([

	'title' => "An example",
	'body' => "My first article",
	'language' => "en",
	'is_online' => true

]);

Saving an active record

Most properties of an active record are persistent. The save() method is used to save the active record to the database. The model is clever enough to filter the properties.

<?php

$record = $model[10];
$record->is_online = false;
$record->save();

Before a record is saved its alter_persistent_properties() is invoked to alter the properties that will be sent to the model. One may extend the method to add, remove or alter properties without altering its instance.

Deleting an active record

The delete() method deletes the active record from the database:

<?php

$record = $model[190];
$record->delete();

Date time properties

The package comes with three trait properties especially designed to handle DateTime instances: DateTimeProperty, CreatedAtProperty, UpdatedAtProperty. Using this properties you are guaranteed to always get a DateTime instance, no matter what value type is used to set the date and time.

<?php

namespace App;

use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord;

class Node extends ActiveRecord
{
	public $title;

	use CreatedAtProperty;
	use UpdatedAtProperty;
}

$node = new Node;

echo get_class($node->created_at);   // ICanBoogie\Datetime
echo $node->created_at->is_empty;    // true
$node->created_at = 'now';
echo $node->created_at;              // 2014-02-21T15:00:00+0100

Query Interface

The query interface provides different ways to retrieve data from the database. Using the query interface you can find records using a variety of methods and conditions; specify the order, fields, grouping, limit, or the tables to join; use dynamic or scoped filters; check the existence or particular records; perform various calculations.

Queries often starts from a model, in the following examples the $model variable is a reference to a model managing nodes.

Retrieving records from the database

To retrieve objects and values from the database several finder methods are provided. Each of these methods defines the fragments of the database query. Complex queries can be created without having to write any raw SQL.

The methods are:

where
select
group
having
order
limit
offset
join

All of the above methods return a Query instance, allowing you to chain them.

Records can be retrieved in various ways, especially using the all, one, pairs or rc magic properties. The find() method—used to retrieve a single record or a set of records—is the most simple of them.

Retrieving a single record

Retrieving a single record using its primary key is really simple. You can either use the find() method of the model, or use the model as an array.

<?php

$article = $model->find(10);

# or

$article = $model[10];

Retrieving a set of records

Retrieving a set or records using their primary key is really simple too:

<?php

$articles = $model->find([ 10, 32, 89 ]);

# or

$articles = $model->find(10, 32, 89);

The RecordNotFound exception is thrown when a record could not be found. Its records property can be used to know which records could be found and which could not.

Note: The records of the set are returned in the same order they are requested, this also applies to the records property of the RecordNotFound exception.

Records caching

Records retrieved using find() are cached, they are reused by subsequent calls. This also applies to the array notation.

<?php

$article = $model[12]; // '12' retrieved from database
$articles = $model->find(11, 12, 13); // '11' and '13' retrieved from database, '12' is reused.

Conditions

The where() method specifies the conditions used to filter the records. It represents the WHERE-part of the SQL statement. Conditions can either be specified as a string, as a list of arguments or as an array.

Conditions specified as a string

Adding a condition to a query can be as simple as $model->where('is_online = 1');. This would return all the records where the is_online field equals "1".

Warning: Building you own conditions as string can leave you vulnerable to SQL injection exploits. For instance, $model->where('is_online = ' . $_GET['online']); is not safe. Always use placeholders when you can't trust the source of your inputs:

<?php

$model->where('is_online = ?', $_GET['online']);

Of course you can use multiple conditions:

<?php

$model->where('is_online = ? AND is_home_excluded = ?', $_GET['online'], false);

and() is alias to where() and should be preferred when linking adding conditions:

<?php

$model->where('is_online = ?', $_GET['online'])->and('is_home_excluded = ?', false);

Conditions specified as an array (or list of arguments)

Conditions can also be specified as arrays:

<?php

$model->where([ 'is_online' => $_GET['online'], 'is_home_excluded' => false ]);

Subset conditions

Records belonging to a subset can be retrieved using an array as condition value:

<?php

$model->where([ 'orders_count' => [ 1,3,5 ] ]);

This generates something like: ... WHERE (orders_count IN (1,3,5)).

Modifiers

When conditions are specified as an array it is possible to modify the comparing function. Prefixing a field name with an exclamation mark uses the not equal operator.

The following example demonstrates how to search for records where the order_count field is different than "2":

<?php

$model->where([ '!order_count' => 2 ]);

… WHERE `order_count` != 2

This also works with subsets:

<?php

$model->where([ '!order_count' => [ 1,3,5 ] ]);

… WHERE `order_count` NOT IN(1, 3, 5)

Dynamic filters

Conditions can also be specified as methods, prefixed by filter_by_ and separated by _and_:

<?php

$model->filter_by_slug('creer-nuage-mots-cle');
$model->filter_by_is_online_and_uid(true, 3);

Is equivalent to:

<?php

$model->where([ 'slug' => 'creer-nuage-mots-cle' ]);
$model->where([ 'is_online' => true, 'uid' => 3 ]);

Scopes

Scopes can be viewed as model defined filters. Models can define their own filters, inherit filters from their parent class and override them. For instance, this is how a similar_site, similar_language and visible scopes could be defined:

<?php

namespace Website\Nodes;

use ICanBoogie\Core;
use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\Query;

class Model extends \ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\Model
{
	// …

	protected function scope_similar_site(Query $query, $site_id = null)
	{
		return $query->and('site_id = 0 OR site_id = ?', $site_id !== null ? $site_id : Core::get()->site->site_id);
	}

	protected function scope_similar_language(Query $query, $language = null)
	{
		return $query->and('language = "" OR language = ?', $language !== null ? $language : Core::get()->site->language);
	}

	protected function scope_visible(Query $query, $visible = true)
	{
		return $query->similar_site->similar_language->filter_by_is_online($visible);
	}

	// …
}

Now you can easily retrieve the first ten records that are visible on your website:

<?php

$model->visible->limit(10);

Or retrieve the first ten French records:

<?php

$model->similar_language('fr')->limit(10);

Ordering

The order() method retrieves records in a specific order.

The following example demonstrates how to get records in the ascending order of their creation date:

<?php

$model->order('created');

A direction can be specified:

<?php

$model->order('created ASC');
# or
$model->order('created DESC');

Multiple fields can be used while ordering:

<?php

$model->order('created DESC, title');

Records can also be ordered by field:

<?php

$model->where([ 'nid' => [ 1, 2, 3 ] ])->order('nid', [ 2, 3, 1 ]);
# or
$model->where([ 'nid' => [ 1, 2, 3 ] ])->order('nid', 2, 3, 1);

Grouping data

The group() method specifies the GROUP BY clause.

The following example demonstrates how to retrieve the first record of records grouped by day:

<?php

$model->group('date(created)')->order('created');

Filtering groups

The having() method specifies the HAVING clause, which specifies the conditions of the GROUP BY clause.

The following example demonstrates how to retrieve the first record created by day for the past month:

<?php

$model->group('date(created)')->having('created > ?', new DateTime('-1 month'))->order('created')

Limit and offset

The limit() method limits the number of records to retrieve.

<?php

$model->limit(10); // retrieves the first 10 records

With two arguments, an offset can be specified:

<?php

$model->limit(5, 10); // retrieves records from the 6th to the 16th

The offset can also be defined using the offset() method:

<?php

$model->offset(5); // retrieves records from the 6th to the last
$model->limit(10)->offset(5);

Selecting specific fields

By default all fields are selected (SELECT *) and records are instances of the ActiveRecord class defined by the model. The select() method selects only a subset of fields from the result set, in which case each row of the result set is returned as an array, unless a fetch mode is defined.

The following example demonstrates how to get the identifier, creation date and title of records:

<?php

$model->select('nid, created, title');

Because the SELECT string is used as is to build the query, complex SQL statements can be used:

<?php

$model->select('nid, created, CONCAT_WS(":", title, language)');

Joining tables

The join() method specifies the JOIN clause. A raw string or a model identifier can be used to specify the join. The method can be used multiple times to create multiple joints.

Joining tables using a subquery

A Query instance can be joined as a subquery. The following options are available:

mode: Specifies the join mode. Default: INNER.
as: Alias for the subquery. Default: The alias of the model associated with the query.
on: The column used for the conditional expression. Depending on the columns available, the method tries to determine the best solution between ON and USING.

The following example demonstrates how to fetch users and order them by the number of online article they published since last year. We use the join mode LEFT so that users that did not publish articles are fetched as well.

<?php

// …

$online_article_count = $models['articles']
->select('user_id, COUNT(node_id) AS online_article_count')
->filter_by_type_and_created_at('articles', new DateTime('-1 year'))
->online
->group('user_id');

$users = $models['users']
->join($online_article_count, [ 'on' => 'user_id', 'mode' => 'LEFT' ])
->order('online_article_count DESC)';

Joining tables using a model

A join can be specified using a model or a model identifier, in which case the relationship between that model and the model associated with the query is used to create the join. The following options are available:

mode: Specifies the join mode. Default: INNER.
as: Alias for the joining model. Default: The alias of the joining model.

The column character ":" is used to distinguish a model identifier from a raw fragment.

<?php

$model->join($contents_model);
# or
$model->join(':contents');

$model->join(':contents', [ 'mode' => 'LEFT', 'as' => 'cnt' ]);

Note: If a model identifier is provided, the model collection associated with the query's model is used to obtain the model.

Joining tables using a raw string

Finally, a join can be specified using a raw string, which will be included as is in the final SQL statement.

<?php

$model->join('INNER JOIN `contents` USING(`nid`)');

Retrieving data

There are many ways to retrieve data. We have already seen the find() method, which can be used to retrieve records using their identifier. The following methods or magic properties work with conditions.

Retrieving data by iteration

Instances of Query are traversable, it's the easiest way the retrieve the rows of a result set:

<?php

foreach ($model->where('is_online = 1') as $node)
{
	// …
}

Retrieving the complete result set

The magic property all retrieves the complete result set as an array:

<?php

$array = $model->all;
$array = $model->visible->order('created DESC')->all

The all() method retrieves the complete result set using a specific fetch mode:

<?php

$array = $model->all(\PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
$array = $model->visible->order('created DESC')->all(\PDO::FETCH_ASSOC)

Retrieving a single record

The one magic property retrieves a single record:

<?php

$record = $model->one;
$record = $model->visible->order('created DESC')->one

The one() method retrieves a single record using a specific fetch mode:

<?php

$record = $model->one(\PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
$record = $model->visible->order('created DESC')->one(\PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);

Note: The number of records to retrieve is automatically limited to 1.

Retrieving key/value pairs

The pairs magic property retrieves key/value pairs when selecting two columns, the first column is the key and the second its value.

<?php

$model->select('nid, title')->pairs;

Results are similar to the following example:

array
  34 => string 'Créer un nuage de mots-clé' (length=28)
  57 => string 'Générer à la volée des miniatures avec mise en cache' (length=56)
  307 => string 'Mes premiers pas de développeur sous Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx)' (length=63)
  ...

Retrieving the first column of the first row

The rc magic property retrieves the first column of the first row.

<?php

$title = $model->select('title')->rc;

Note: The number of records to retrieve is automatically limited to 1.

Defining the fetch mode

The fetch mode is usually selected by the query interface but the mode can be used to specify it.

<?php

$model->select('nid, title')->mode(\PDO::FETCH_NUM);

The mode() method accepts the same arguments as the PDOStatement::setFetchMode method.

As we have seen in previous examples, the fetch mode can also be specified when fetching data with the all() and one() methods.

<?php

$array = $model->order('created DESC')->all(\PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
$record = $model->order('created DESC')->one(\PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);

Checking the existence of records

The exists() method checks the existence of a record, it queries the database just like find() but returns true when a record is found and false otherwise.

<?php

$model->exists(1);

The method accepts multiple identifiers in which case it returns true when all the records exist, false when all the record don't exist, and an array otherwise.

<?php

$model->exists(1, 2, 999)
# or
$model->exists([ 1, 2, 999 ]);

The method would return the following result if records "1" and "2" exist but not record "999".

array
  1 => boolean true
  2 => boolean true
  999 => boolean false

The exists magic property is true if at least one record matching the specified conditions exists, false otherwise.

<?php

$model->filter_by_author('Madonna')->exists;

The exists magic property of the model is true if the modal has at least one record, false otherwise.

<?php

$model->exists;

Counting

The count magic property is the number of records in a model or matching a query.

<?php

$model->count;

Or on a query:

<?php

$model->filter_by_firstname('Ryan')->count;

Of course, all query methods can be combined:

<?php

$model->filter_by_firstname('Ryan')->join(':content')->where('YEAR(date) = 2011')->count;

The count() method returns an array with the number of recond for each value of a field:

<?php

$model->count('is_online');

array
  0 => string '35' (length=2)
  1 => string '145' (length=3)

In this example, there are 35 record online and 145 offline.

Calculations

The average(), minimum(), maximum() and sum() methods are respectively used, for a column, to compute its average value, its minimum value, its maximum value and its sum.

All calculation methods work directly on the model:

<?php

$model->average('price');

And on a query:

<?php

$model->filter_by_category('Toys')->average('price');

Of course, all query methods can be combined:

<?php

$model->filter_by_category('Toys')->join(':content')->where('YEAR(date) = 2011')->average('price');

Some useful properties

The following properties might be helpful, especially when you are using the Query interface to create a query string to be used in the subquery of another query:

conditions: The conditions rendered as a string.
conditions_args: The arguments to the conditions.
model: The model associated with the query.

Using a query as a subquery

The following example demonstrates how a query on some taxonomy models can be used as a subquery to obtain only the online articles in a "music" category:

<?php

// …

$taxonomy_query = $models['taxonomy.terms/nodes']
->join(':taxonomy.vocabulary')
->join(':taxonomy_vocabulary/scopes')
->where([

	'termslug' => "music",
	'vocabularyslug' => "category",
	'constructor' => "articles"

])
->select('nid');

$articles = $models['articles']
->filter_by_is_online(true)
->and("nid IN ($taxonomy_query)", $taxonomy_query->conditions_args)
->all;

# or

$articles = $models['articles']
->filter_by_is_online_and_nid(true, $taxonomy_query)
->all;

Deleting the records matching a query

The records matching a query can be deleted using the delete() method:

<?php

$models['nodes']
->filter_by_is_deleted_and_uid(true, 123)
->limit(10)
->delete();

You might need to join tables to decide which record to delete, in which case you might want to define in which tables the records should be deleted. The following example demonstrates how to delete the nodes and comments of nodes belonging to user 123 and marked as deleted:

<?php

$models['comments']
->filter_by_is_deleted_and_uid(true, 123)
->join(':nodes')
->delete('comments, nodes');

When using join() the table associated with the query is used by default. The following example demonstrates how to delete nodes that lack content:

<?php

$models['nodes']
->join(':contents', [ 'mode' => 'LEFT' ])
->where('content.nid IS NULL')
->delete()

Query interface summary

Retrieving records:

<?php

$record = $model[10];
# or
$record = $model->find(10);

$records = $model->find(10, 15, 19);
# or
$records = $model->find([ 10, 15, 19 ]);

Conditions:

<?php

$model->where('is_online = ?', true);
$model->where([ 'is_online' => true, 'is_home_excluded' => false ]);
$model->where('site_id = 0 OR site_id = ?', 1)->and('language = '' OR language = ?', "fr");

# Sets

$model->where([ 'order_count' => [ 1, 2, 3 ] ]);
$model->where([ '!order_count' => [ 1, 2, 3 ] ]); # NOT

# Dynamic filters

$model->filter_by_nid(1);
$model->filter_by_site_id_and_language(1, 'fr');

# Scopes

$model->visible;
$model->own->visible->ordered;

Grouping and ordering:

<?php

$model->group('date(created)')->order('created');
$model->group('date(created)')->having('created > ?', new DateTime('-1 month'))->order('created');

Limits and offsets:

<?php

$model->limit(10); // first 10 records
$model->limit(5, 10); // 6th to the 16th records

$model->offset(5); // from the 6th to the last
$model->offset(5)->limit(10);

Fields selection:

<?php

$model->select('nid, created, title');
$model->select('nid, created, CONCAT_WS(":", title, language)');

Joins:

<?php

$model->join($subquery, [ 'on' => 'nid' ]);
$model->join(':contents');
$model->join('INNER JOIN contents USING(nid)');

Retrieving data:

<?php

$model->all;
$model->order('created DESC')->all(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
$model->order('created DESC')->mode(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC)->all;
$model->order('created DESC')->one;
$model->select('nid, title')->pairs;
$model->select('title')->rc;

Testing object existence:

<?php

$model->exists;
$model->exists(1, 2, 3);
$model->exists([ 1, 2, 3 ]);
$model->where('author = ?', 'madonna')->exists;

Calculations:

<?php

$model->count;
$model->count('is_online'); // count is_online = 0 and is_online = 1
$model->filter_by_is_online(true)->count; // count is_online = 1
$model->average('score');
$model->minimum('age');
$model->maximum('age');
$model->sum('comments_count');

Providers

Providers are included to manage connections and models.

The connections provider

The connections provider manages database connections.

Defining connections

Connection definitions can be specified while creating the ConnectionCollection instance.

<?php

use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\ConnectionCollection;

$connections = new ConnectionCollection
([
	'one' => [

		'dsn' => 'sqlite::memory:'
	],

	'bad' => [

		'dsn' => 'mysql:dbname=bad_database' . uniqid()
	]
]);

Or after:

<?php

$connections['two'] = [

	'dsn' => 'mysql:dbname=example',
	'username' => 'root',
	'password' => 'root'
];

You can modify a connection definition until it is established. A ConnectionAlreadyEstablished exception is thrown in attempt to modify the definition of an already established connection.

Obtaining a database connection

ConnectionCollection instances are used as arrays. For instance, this is how you obtain a Connection instance, which represents a database connection:

<?php

$one = $connections['one'];

Database connections are created on demand, so that you can define a hundred of them and they will only be established when needed.

A ConnectionNotDefined exception is thrown in attempt to obtain a connection that is not defined.

Checking defined connections

Because ConnectionCollection instances are used as arrays, the isset() function is used to check if a connection is defined.

<?php

if (isset($connections['one']))
{
	echo "The connection 'one' is defined.\n";
}

The definitions magic property returns the current connection definitions. The property is read-only.

<?php

foreach ($connections->definitions as $id => $definition)
{
	echo "The connection '$id' is defined.\n";
}

Established connections

An array with the established connections can be retrieved using the established magic property. The property is read-only.

<?php

foreach ($connections->established as $id => $connection)
{
	echo "The connection '$id' is established.\n";
}

The ConnectionCollection instance itself can be used to traverse established connections.

<?php

foreach ($connections as $id => $connection)
{
	echo "The connection '$id' is established.\n";
}

The models provider

The models provider manages models.

Defining models

Model definitions can be specified while creating the ModelCollection instance.

Note: You don't have to create the Connection instances used by the models, you can use their identifier which will get resolved when the model is needed.

Note: If CONNECTION is not specified the primary connection is used.

<?php

use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\Model;
use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\ModelCollection;

$models = new ModelCollection($connections, [

	'nodes' => [

		// …
		Model::SCHEMA => [

			'nid' => 'serial',
			'title' => 'varchar'
			// …
		]
	],

	'contents' => [

		// …
		Model::EXTENDING => 'nodes'
	]
]);

Model definitions can be modified or added after the ModelCollection instance has been created.

<?php

use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\Model;

$models['new'] = [

	// …
	Model::EXTENDING => 'contents'
];

You can modify the definition of a model until it is instantiated. A ModelAlreadyInstantiated exception is thrown in attempt to modify the definition of an already instantiated model.

Obtaining a model

Use the ModelCollection instance as an array to obtain a Model instance.

<?php

$nodes = $models['nodes'];

Models are instantiated on demand, so that you can define a hundred models an they will only by instantiated, along with their database connection, when needed.

A ModelNotDefined exception is thrown in attempts to obtain a model which is not defined.

Checking defined models

The isset() function checks if a model is defined.

<?php

if (isset($models['nodes']))
{
	echo "The model 'node' is defined.\n";
}

The definitions magic property returns the current model definitions. The property is read-only.

<?php

foreach ($models->definitions as $id => $definition)
{
	echo "The model '$id' is defined.\n";
}

Instantiated models

An array with the instantiated models can be retrieved using the instances magic property. The property is read-only.

<?php

foreach ($models->instances as $id => $model)
{
	echo "The model '$id' has been instantiated.\n";
}

Installing / Uninstalling models

All the models managed by the provider can be installed and uninstalled with a single command using the install() and uninstall() methods. The is_installed() method returns an array of key/value pair where key is a model identifier and value true if the model is installed, false otherwise.

<?php

$models->install();
var_dump($models->is_installed()); // [ "nodes" => true, "contents" => true ]
$models->uninstall();
var_dump($models->is_installed()); // [ "nodes" => false, "contents" => false ]

Records caching

By default, each model uses an instance of RuntimeActiveRecordCache to cache its records. This cache stores the records for the duration of the request, it is brand new with each HTTP request. The cache is obtained using the prototype features of the model, through the activerecord_cache magic property.

Third parties can provide a different cache instance simply by overriding the lazy_get_activerecord_cache method:

<?php

use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\Model;
use ICanBoogie\Prototype;

Prototype::from('ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\Model')['lazy_get_activerecord_cache'] = function(Model $model) {

	return new MyActiveRecordCache($model);

};

Or using a prototype configuration fragment:

<?php

// config/prototype.php

return [

	'ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\Model::lazy_get_activerecord_cache' => 'my_activerecord_cache_provider'

];

Exceptions

The exception classes defined by the package implement the ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\Exception interface so that they can easily be identified:

<?php

try
{
	// …
}
catch (\ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\Exception $e)
{
	// an ActiveRecord exception
}
catch (\Exception $e)
{
	// some other exception
}

The following exceptions are defined:

ConnectionAlreadyEstablished: Exception thrown in attempt to set/unset the definition of an already established connection.
ConnectionNotDefined: Exception thrown in attempt to obtain a connection that is not defined.
ConnectionNotEstablished: Exception thrown when a connection cannot be established.
ModelAlreadyInstantiated: Exception thrown in attempt to set/unset the definition of an already instantiated model.
ModelNotDefined: Exception thrown in attempt to obtain a model that is not defined.
RecordNotFound: Exception thrown when one or several records cannot be found.
RelationNotDefined: Exception thrown in attempt to obtain a relation that is not defined.
ScopeNotDefined: Exception thrown in attempt to obtain a scope that is not defined.
StatementInvocationFailed: Exception thrown when invoking a statement fails (execute() returned false).
StatementNotValid: Exception thrown in attempt to execute a statement that is not valid.
UnableToSetFetchMode: Exception thrown when the fetch mode of a statement fails to be set.

Patching

Retrieving models from a provider

The get_model() helper retrieves models using their identifier. It is used by active records to retrieve their model when required, and by queries during joins. You need to patch this helper according to your application logic because the default implementation only throws \RuntimeException.

In the following example, the get_model() helper is patched to retrieve models from a provider similar to the one we've seen in previous examples.

<?php

use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord;
use ICanBoogie\ActiveRecord\Helpers;

Helpers::patch('get_model', function($id) use($models) {

	return $models[$id];

});

$nodes = ActiveRecord\get_model('nodes');

Requirements

The package requires PHP 7.0 or later and the PDO extension.

Installation

The recommended way to install this package is through Composer:

$ composer require icanboogie/activerecord

Cloning the repository

The package is available on GitHub, its repository can be cloned with the following command line:

$ git clone https://github.com/ICanBoogie/ActiveRecord.git

Documentation

The package is documented as part of the ICanBoogie framework documentation. You can generate the documentation for the package and its dependencies with the make doc command. The documentation is generated in the build/docs directory. ApiGen is required. The directory can later be cleaned with the make clean command.

Testing

The test suite is ran with the make test command. PHPUnit and Composer need to be globally available to run the suite. The command installs dependencies as required. The make test-coverage command runs test suite and also creates an HTML coverage report in "build/coverage". The directory can later be cleaned with the make clean command.

The package is continuously tested by Travis CI.

License

icanboogie/activerecord is licensed under the New BSD License - See the LICENSE file for details.

Files

README.md

Latest commit

History

README.md

File metadata and controls

Active Record

Acknowledgments

Getting started

Establishing a connection to a database

Defining the prefix of the database tables

Defining the charset and collate to use

Specifying a time zone

Model overview

Defining the database connection

Defining the Active Record class

Defining the name of the table

Defining the schema of the model

Creating the table associated with a model

Placeholders

Defining the relations between models

Extending another model

One-to-one relation (belongs_to)

One-to-many relation (has_many)

Active Records

Instantiating an active record

Saving an active record

Deleting an active record

Date time properties

Query Interface

Retrieving records from the database

Retrieving a single record

Retrieving a set of records

Records caching

Conditions

Conditions specified as a string

Conditions specified as an array (or list of arguments)

Subset conditions

Modifiers

Dynamic filters

Scopes

Ordering

Grouping data

Filtering groups

Limit and offset

Selecting specific fields

Joining tables

Joining tables using a subquery

Joining tables using a model

Joining tables using a raw string

Retrieving data

Retrieving data by iteration

Retrieving the complete result set

Retrieving a single record

Retrieving key/value pairs

Retrieving the first column of the first row

Defining the fetch mode

Checking the existence of records

Counting

Calculations

Some useful properties

Using a query as a subquery

Deleting the records matching a query

Query interface summary

Providers

The connections provider

Defining connections

Obtaining a database connection

Checking defined connections

Established connections

The models provider

Defining models

Obtaining a model

Checking defined models

Instantiated models

Installing / Uninstalling models

Records caching

Exceptions

Patching

Retrieving models from a provider