ADOdb

Database Abstraction Layer for PHP

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v5:activerecord:activerecord_index

ADOdb Active Record

Introduction

ADOdb Active Record is an Object Relation Mapping (ORM) implementation using PHP. In an ORM system, the tables and rows of the database are abstracted into native PHP objects. This allows the programmer to focus more on manipulating the data and less on writing SQL queries.

The ADODB Active Method library takes advantage of all the functionality of the underlying ADOdb system, from table naming and casing control, mutiple database connections to features such as recordset caching.

Thre are a couple of simple rules that aid development, especially when developing simple applications in a rapid development environment. Following these rules will avoid additional configuration requirement:

  • The table and column names should be a consistent case in case sensitive environments.
  • The table and column names should not include special characters or reserved words.
  • The name of the table should be a plural, based on the name of class, so for example, a class name of person, should be provided by a table name of persons, not people.
  • The unique identifier, and primary key for the record for each table should be called id
  • The fields in the Active record are bound by the same restraints as the columns in the database, e.g., if a field is declared as NOT NULL in the database, it must follow the same rule in the Active Record.

ADODb Active Record is designed upon the principles of the ActiveRecord design pattern, which was first described by Martin Fowler. The ActiveRecord pattern has been implemented in many forms across the spectrum of programming languages. ADODb Active Record attempts to represent the database as closely to native PHP objects as possible.

ADODb Active Record maps a database table to a PHP class, and each instance of that class represents a table row. Relations between tables can also be defined, allowing the ADODb Active Record objects to be nested.

ADOdb Active Record functions support the Record Caching functions of ADOdb.

Using ADOdb Active Record

See the tutorial

Developer Reference

Active Record Methods

Method Description
getAttributeNames Returns the names in an ADODb Active Record object
save Updates the object to the database
replace Inserts or Updates an object
load Loads an object from the database
find Finds an object in the database
set Converts an an array to an ADODb Active Record object
hasMany Deprecated General class replaced by classHasMany, tableHasMany and tableKeyHasMany
belongsTo Deprecated General class replaced by classBelongsTo, tableBelongsTo and tableKeyBelongsTo
loadRelations Loads a subset of data in a relationship
lastInsertId Retrieves the last insert id of a database

Static Active Record Methods

MethodDescription
classHasManySets a one-to-many Active Record relationship
tableHasManySets a one-to-many Active Record table relationship
tableKeyHasManySets a one-to-many Active Record table key relationship
classBelongsToSets the parent of a many-to-one Active Record relationship
tableBelongsToSets the parent of a many-to-one Active Record table relationship
tableKeyBelongsToSets the parent of a many-to-one Active Record table key relationship
setDatabaseAdapter Sets the database connection for an Active Record class

Associated Connection Methods

MethodDescription
getActiveRecordsReads Active Records directly from a connection into an array
getActiveRecordsClassReads Active Records directly from a connection into objects

Class Variables

Variable Description
$_quoteNames Quotes column names
$_table Overrides the associated table name
$_dbat Overrides the database connection
$_where Sets a default where statement for load()
$lockMode Applies a SELECT lock operation

Global Variables

Variable Description
$ADODB_ACTIVE_CACHESECSSet to true to enable caching of metadata such as field info
$ACTIVE_RECORD_SAFETYSet to false to disable safety checks. This confirms that the structure of the active record matches the structure of the associated table
$ADODB_ACTIVE_DEFVALSUse default values of table definition when creating new active record.

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Author Credit: Chris Ravenscroft

Active Records Extended

This is the original one-to-many Active Record implementation. The reason we offer both versions is that the Extended version is more powerful but more complex.

To use, just include adodb-active-recordx.inc.php instead of adodb-active-record.inc.php.

It provides a new function called Find().It also supports loading all relationships using a single query (using joins).

Extended Active Record Methods

MethodDescription
findfinds an ADODb Active Record object in a database
v5/activerecord/activerecord_index.txt · Last modified: 2022/06/09 18:37 by 3.83.52.90