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Class BelongsToMany

Represents an M - N relationship where there exists a junction - or join - table that contains the association fields between the source and the target table.

An example of a BelongsToMany association would be Article belongs to many Tags. In this example 'Article' is the source table and 'Tags' is the target table.

Namespace: Cake\ORM\Association

Constants

string

MANY_TO_MANY
```
'manyToMany'
```
Association type for many to many associations.
string

MANY_TO_ONE
```
'manyToOne'
```
Association type for many to one associations.
string

ONE_TO_MANY
```
'oneToMany'
```
Association type for one to many associations.
string

ONE_TO_ONE
```
'oneToOne'
```
Association type for one to one associations.
string

SAVE_APPEND
```
'append'
```
Saving strategy that will only append to the links set
string

SAVE_REPLACE
```
'replace'
```
Saving strategy that will replace the links with the provided set
string

STRATEGY_JOIN
```
'join'
```
Strategy name to use joins for fetching associated records
string

STRATEGY_SELECT
```
'select'
```
Strategy name to use a select for fetching associated records
string

STRATEGY_SUBQUERY
```
'subquery'
```
Strategy name to use a subquery for fetching associated records

Property Summary

$_bindingKey protected

array<string>|string|null

The field name in the owning side table that is used to match with the foreignKey
$_cascadeCallbacks protected

bool

Whether cascaded deletes should also fire callbacks.
$_className protected

string

The class name of the target table object
$_conditions protected

Closure|array

A list of conditions to be always included when fetching records from the target association
$_dependent protected

bool

Whether the records on the joint table should be removed when a record on the source table is deleted.
$_finder protected

array|string

The default finder name to use for fetching rows from the target table With array value, finder name and default options are allowed.
$_foreignKey protected

array<string>|string

The name of the field representing the foreign key to the table to load
$_joinType protected

string

The type of join to be used when adding the association to a query
$_junctionAssociationName protected

string

The name of the hasMany association from the target table to the junction table
$_junctionConditions protected

array|null

Filtered conditions that reference the junction table.
$_junctionProperty protected

string

The name of the property to be set containing data from the junction table once a record from the target table is hydrated
$_junctionTable protected

Cake\ORM\Table

Junction table instance
$_junctionTableName protected

string

Junction table name
$_name protected

string

Name given to the association, it usually represents the alias assigned to the target associated table
$_propertyName protected

string

The property name that should be filled with data from the target table in the source table record.
$_saveStrategy protected

string

Saving strategy to be used by this association
$_sort protected

mixed

Order in which target records should be returned
$_sourceTable protected

Cake\ORM\Table

Source table instance
$_strategy protected

string

The strategy name to be used to fetch associated records.
$_tableLocator protected

Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface|null

Table locator instance
$_targetConditions protected

array|null

Filtered conditions that reference the target table.
$_targetForeignKey protected

array<string>|string|null

The name of the field representing the foreign key to the target table
$_targetTable protected

Cake\ORM\Table

Target table instance
$_through protected

Cake\ORM\Table|string

The table instance for the junction relation.
$_validStrategies protected

array<string>

Valid strategies for this type of association
$defaultTable protected

string|null

This object's default table alias.

Method Summary

__call() public

Proxies method calls to the target table.
__construct() public

Constructor. Subclasses can override _options function to get the original list of passed options if expecting any other special key
__get() public

Proxies property retrieval to the target table. This is handy for getting this association's associations
__isset() public

Proxies the isset call to the target table. This is handy to check if the target table has another association with the passed name
_appendFields() protected

Helper function used to conditionally append fields to the select clause of a query from the fields found in another query object.
_appendJunctionJoin() protected

Append a join to the junction table.
_appendNotMatching() protected

Conditionally adds a condition to the passed Query that will make it find records where there is no match with this association.
_bindNewAssociations() protected

Applies all attachable associations to $query out of the containments found in the $surrogate query.
_camelize() protected

Creates a camelized version of $name
_checkPersistenceStatus() protected

Throws an exception should any of the passed entities is not persisted.
_collectJointEntities() protected

Returns the list of joint entities that exist between the source entity and each of the passed target entities
_diffLinks() protected

Helper method used to delete the difference between the links passed in $existing and $jointEntities. This method will return the values from $targetEntities that were not deleted from calculating the difference.
_dispatchBeforeFind() protected

Triggers beforeFind on the target table for the query this association is attaching to
_entityName() protected

Creates the proper entity name (singular) for the specified name
_extractFinder() protected

Helper method to infer the requested finder and its options.
_fixtureName() protected

Creates a fixture name
_formatAssociationResults() protected

Adds a formatter function to the passed $query if the $surrogate query declares any other formatter. Since the $surrogate query correspond to the associated target table, the resulting formatter will be the result of applying the surrogate formatters to only the property corresponding to such table.
_generateJunctionAssociations() protected

Generate associations on the junction table as necessary
_generateSourceAssociations() protected

Generate additional source table associations as necessary.
_generateTargetAssociations() protected

Generate reciprocal associations as necessary.
_joinCondition() protected

Return false as join conditions are defined in the junction table
_junctionAssociationName() protected

Returns the name of the association from the target table to the junction table, this name is used to generate alias in the query and to later on retrieve the results.
_junctionTableName() protected

Sets the name of the junction table. If no arguments are passed the current configured name is returned. A default name based of the associated tables will be generated if none found.
_modelKey() protected

Creates the proper underscored model key for associations
_modelNameFromKey() protected

Creates the proper model name from a foreign key
_options() protected

Parse extra options passed in the constructor.
_pluginNamespace() protected

Return plugin's namespace
_pluginPath() protected

Find the correct path for a plugin. Scans $pluginPaths for the plugin you want.
_pluralHumanName() protected

Creates the plural human name used in views
_propertyName() protected

Returns default property name based on association name.
_saveLinks() protected

Creates links between the source entity and each of the passed target entities
_saveTarget() protected

Persists each of the entities into the target table and creates links between the parent entity and each one of the saved target entities.
_singularHumanName() protected

Creates the singular human name used in views
_singularName() protected

Creates the singular name for use in views.
_variableName() protected

Creates the plural variable name for views
attachTo() public

Alters a Query object to include the associated target table data in the final result
canBeJoined() public

Whether this association can be expressed directly in a query join
cascadeDelete() public

Clear out the data in the junction table for a given entity.
defaultRowValue() public

Returns a modified row after appending a property for this association with the default empty value according to whether the association was joined or fetched externally.
deleteAll() public

Proxies the delete operation to the target table's deleteAll method
eagerLoader() public

Eager loads a list of records in the target table that are related to another set of records in the source table. Source records can be specified in two ways: first one is by passing a Query object setup to find on the source table and the other way is by explicitly passing an array of primary key values from the source table.
exists() public

Proxies the operation to the target table's exists method after appending the default conditions for this association
fetchTable() public

Convenience method to get a table instance.
find() public

Proxies the finding operation to the target table's find method and modifies the query accordingly based of this association configuration.
getBindingKey() public

Gets the name of the field representing the binding field with the target table. When not manually specified the primary key of the owning side table is used.
getCascadeCallbacks() public

Gets whether cascaded deletes should also fire callbacks.
getClassName() public

Gets the class name of the target table object.
getConditions() public

Gets a list of conditions to be always included when fetching records from the target association.
getDependent() public

Sets whether the records on the target table are dependent on the source table.
getFinder() public

Gets the default finder to use for fetching rows from the target table.
getForeignKey() public

Gets the name of the field representing the foreign key to the source table.
getJoinType() public

Gets the type of join to be used when adding the association to a query.
getName() public

Gets the name for this association, usually the alias assigned to the target associated table
getProperty() public

Gets the property name that should be filled with data from the target table in the source table record.
getSaveStrategy() public

Gets the strategy that should be used for saving.
getSort() public

Gets the sort order in which target records should be returned.
getSource() public

Gets the table instance for the source side of the association.
getStrategy() public

Gets the strategy name to be used to fetch associated records. Keep in mind that some association types might not implement but a default strategy, rendering any changes to this setting void.
getTableLocator() public

Gets the table locator.
getTarget() public

Gets the table instance for the target side of the association.
getTargetForeignKey() public

Gets the name of the field representing the foreign key to the target table.
getThrough() public

Gets the current join table, either the name of the Table instance or the instance itself.
isOwningSide() public

Returns boolean true, as both of the tables 'own' rows in the other side of the association via the joint table.
junction() public

Sets the table instance for the junction relation. If no arguments are passed, the current configured table instance is returned
junctionConditions() protected

Returns filtered conditions that specifically reference the junction table.
link() public

Associates the source entity to each of the target entities provided by creating links in the junction table. Both the source entity and each of the target entities are assumed to be already persisted, if they are marked as new or their status is unknown then an exception will be thrown.
replaceLinks() public

Replaces existing association links between the source entity and the target with the ones passed. This method does a smart cleanup, links that are already persisted and present in $targetEntities will not be deleted, new links will be created for the passed target entities that are not already in the database and the rest will be removed.
requiresKeys() public

Returns true if the eager loading process will require a set of the owning table's binding keys in order to use them as a filter in the finder query.
saveAssociated() public

Takes an entity from the source table and looks if there is a field matching the property name for this association. The found entity will be saved on the target table for this association by passing supplied $options
setBindingKey() public

Sets the name of the field representing the binding field with the target table. When not manually specified the primary key of the owning side table is used.
setCascadeCallbacks() public

Sets whether cascaded deletes should also fire callbacks.
setClassName() public

Sets the class name of the target table object.
setConditions() public

Sets a list of conditions to be always included when fetching records from the target association.
setDependent() public

Sets whether the records on the target table are dependent on the source table.
setFinder() public

Sets the default finder to use for fetching rows from the target table.
setForeignKey() public

Sets the name of the field representing the foreign key to the target table.
setJoinType() public

Sets the type of join to be used when adding the association to a query.
setName() public deprecated

Sets the name for this association, usually the alias assigned to the target associated table
setProperty() public

Sets the property name that should be filled with data from the target table in the source table record.
setSaveStrategy() public

Sets the strategy that should be used for saving.
setSort() public

Sets the sort order in which target records should be returned.
setSource() public

Sets the table instance for the source side of the association.
setStrategy() public

Sets the strategy name to be used to fetch associated records. Keep in mind that some association types might not implement but a default strategy, rendering any changes to this setting void.
setTableLocator() public

Sets the table locator.
setTarget() public

Sets the table instance for the target side of the association.
setTargetForeignKey() public

Sets the name of the field representing the foreign key to the target table.
setThrough() public

Sets the current join table, either the name of the Table instance or the instance itself.
targetConditions() protected

Returns filtered conditions that reference the target table.
transformRow() public

Correctly nests a result row associated values into the correct array keys inside the source results.
type() public

Get the relationship type.
unlink() public

Removes all links between the passed source entity and each of the provided target entities. This method assumes that all passed objects are already persisted in the database and that each of them contain a primary key value.
updateAll() public

Proxies the update operation to the target table's updateAll method

Method Detail

__call() public

__call(string $method, array $argument): mixed

Proxies method calls to the target table.

Parameters

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

Returns

mixed

Throws

BadMethodCallException

__construct() public

__construct(string $alias, array<string, mixed> $options = [])

Constructor. Subclasses can override _options function to get the original list of passed options if expecting any other special key

Parameters

string $alias: The name given to the association
array<string, mixed> $options optional: A list of properties to be set on this object

__get() public

__get(string $property): Cake\ORM\Association

Proxies property retrieval to the target table. This is handy for getting this association's associations

Parameters

string $property: the property name

Returns

Cake\ORM\Association

Throws

RuntimeException
if no association with such name exists

__isset() public

__isset(string $property): bool

Proxies the isset call to the target table. This is handy to check if the target table has another association with the passed name

Parameters

string $property: the property name

Returns

bool

_appendFields() protected

_appendFields(Cake\ORM\Query $query, Cake\ORM\Query $surrogate, array<string, mixed> $options): void

Helper function used to conditionally append fields to the select clause of a query from the fields found in another query object.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Query $query: the query that will get the fields appended to
Cake\ORM\Query $surrogate: the query having the fields to be copied from
array<string, mixed> $options: options passed to the method attachTo

Returns

void

_appendJunctionJoin() protected

_appendJunctionJoin(Cake\ORM\Query $query, array|null $conditions = null): Cake\ORM\Query

Append a join to the junction table.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Query $query: The query to append.
array|null $conditions optional: The query conditions to use.

Returns

Cake\ORM\Query

_appendNotMatching() protected

_appendNotMatching(Cake\ORM\Query $query, array<string, mixed> $options): void

Conditionally adds a condition to the passed Query that will make it find records where there is no match with this association.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Query $query
array<string, mixed> $options

Returns

void

_bindNewAssociations() protected

_bindNewAssociations(Cake\ORM\Query $query, Cake\ORM\Query $surrogate, array<string, mixed> $options): void

Applies all attachable associations to $query out of the containments found in the $surrogate query.

Copies all contained associations from the $surrogate query into the passed $query. Containments are altered so that they respect the associations chain from which they originated.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Query $query: the query that will get the associations attached to
Cake\ORM\Query $surrogate: the query having the containments to be attached
array<string, mixed> $options: options passed to the method attachTo

Returns

void

_camelize() protected

_camelize(string $name): string

Creates a camelized version of $name

Parameters

string $name: name

Returns

string

_checkPersistenceStatus() protected

_checkPersistenceStatus(Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity, arrayCake\Datasource\EntityInterface> $targetEntities): bool

Throws an exception should any of the passed entities is not persisted.

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity: the row belonging to the source side of this association
arrayCake\Datasource\EntityInterface> $targetEntities: list of entities belonging to the target side of this association

Returns

bool

Throws

InvalidArgumentException

_collectJointEntities() protected

_collectJointEntities(Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity, array $targetEntities): arrayCake\Datasource\EntityInterface>

Returns the list of joint entities that exist between the source entity and each of the passed target entities

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity: The row belonging to the source side of this association.
array $targetEntities: The rows belonging to the target side of this association.

Returns

arrayCake\Datasource\EntityInterface>

Throws

InvalidArgumentException
if any of the entities is lacking a primary key value

_diffLinks() protected

_diffLinks(Cake\ORM\Query $existing, arrayCake\Datasource\EntityInterface> $jointEntities, array $targetEntities, array<string, mixed> $options = []): array|false

Helper method used to delete the difference between the links passed in $existing and $jointEntities. This method will return the values from $targetEntities that were not deleted from calculating the difference.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Query $existing: a query for getting existing links
arrayCake\Datasource\EntityInterface> $jointEntities: link entities that should be persisted
array $targetEntities: entities in target table that are related to the $jointEntities
array<string, mixed> $options optional: list of options accepted by Table::delete()

Returns

array|false

_dispatchBeforeFind() protected

_dispatchBeforeFind(Cake\ORM\Query $query): void

Triggers beforeFind on the target table for the query this association is attaching to

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Query $query: the query this association is attaching itself to

Returns

void

_entityName() protected

_entityName(string $name): string

Creates the proper entity name (singular) for the specified name

Parameters

string $name: Name

Returns

string

_extractFinder() protected

_extractFinder(array|string $finderData): array

Helper method to infer the requested finder and its options.

Returns the inferred options from the finder $type.

Examples:

The following will call the finder 'translations' with the value of the finder as its options: $query->contain(['Comments' => ['finder' => ['translations']]]); $query->contain(['Comments' => ['finder' => ['translations' => []]]]); $query->contain(['Comments' => ['finder' => ['translations' => ['locales' => ['en_US']]]]]);

Parameters

array|string $finderData: The finder name or an array having the name as key and options as value.

Returns

array

_fixtureName() protected

_fixtureName(string $name): string

Creates a fixture name

Parameters

string $name: Model class name

Returns

string

_formatAssociationResults() protected

_formatAssociationResults(Cake\ORM\Query $query, Cake\ORM\Query $surrogate, array<string, mixed> $options): void

Adds a formatter function to the passed $query if the $surrogate query declares any other formatter. Since the $surrogate query correspond to the associated target table, the resulting formatter will be the result of applying the surrogate formatters to only the property corresponding to such table.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Query $query: the query that will get the formatter applied to
Cake\ORM\Query $surrogate: the query having formatters for the associated target table.
array<string, mixed> $options: options passed to the method attachTo

Returns

void

_generateJunctionAssociations() protected

_generateJunctionAssociations(Cake\ORM\Table $junction, Cake\ORM\Table $source, Cake\ORM\Table $target): void

Generate associations on the junction table as necessary

Generates the following associations:

junction belongsTo source e.g. ArticlesTags belongsTo Tags
junction belongsTo target e.g. ArticlesTags belongsTo Articles

You can override these generated associations by defining associations with the correct aliases.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Table $junction: The junction table.
Cake\ORM\Table $source: The source table.
Cake\ORM\Table $target: The target table.

Returns

void

Throws

InvalidArgumentException
If the expected associations are incompatible with existing associations.

_generateSourceAssociations() protected

_generateSourceAssociations(Cake\ORM\Table $junction, Cake\ORM\Table $source): void

Generate additional source table associations as necessary.

Generates the following associations:

source hasMany junction e.g. Tags hasMany ArticlesTags

You can override these generated associations by defining associations with the correct aliases.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Table $junction: The junction table.
Cake\ORM\Table $source: The source table.

Returns

void

_generateTargetAssociations() protected

_generateTargetAssociations(Cake\ORM\Table $junction, Cake\ORM\Table $source, Cake\ORM\Table $target): void

Generate reciprocal associations as necessary.

Generates the following associations:

target hasMany junction e.g. Articles hasMany ArticlesTags
target belongsToMany source e.g Articles belongsToMany Tags.

You can override these generated associations by defining associations with the correct aliases.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Table $junction: The junction table.
Cake\ORM\Table $source: The source table.
Cake\ORM\Table $target: The target table.

Returns

void

_joinCondition() protected

_joinCondition(array<string, mixed> $options): array

Return false as join conditions are defined in the junction table

Parameters

array<string, mixed> $options: list of options passed to attachTo method

Returns

array

_junctionAssociationName() protected

_junctionAssociationName(): string

Returns the name of the association from the target table to the junction table, this name is used to generate alias in the query and to later on retrieve the results.

Returns

string

_junctionTableName() protected

_junctionTableName(string|null $name = null): string

Sets the name of the junction table. If no arguments are passed the current configured name is returned. A default name based of the associated tables will be generated if none found.

Parameters

string|null $name optional: The name of the junction table.

Returns

string

_modelKey() protected

_modelKey(string $name): string

Creates the proper underscored model key for associations

If the input contains a dot, assume that the right side is the real table name.

Parameters

string $name: Model class name

Returns

string

_modelNameFromKey() protected

_modelNameFromKey(string $key): string

Creates the proper model name from a foreign key

Parameters

string $key: Foreign key

Returns

string

_options() protected

_options(array<string, mixed> $options): void

Parse extra options passed in the constructor.

Parameters

array<string, mixed> $options: original list of options passed in constructor

Returns

void

_pluginNamespace() protected

_pluginNamespace(string $pluginName): string

Return plugin's namespace

Parameters

string $pluginName: Plugin name

Returns

string

_pluginPath() protected

_pluginPath(string $pluginName): string

Find the correct path for a plugin. Scans $pluginPaths for the plugin you want.

Parameters

string $pluginName: Name of the plugin you want ie. DebugKit

Returns

string

_pluralHumanName() protected

_pluralHumanName(string $name): string

Creates the plural human name used in views

Parameters

string $name: Controller name

Returns

string

_propertyName() protected

_propertyName(): string

Returns default property name based on association name.

Returns

string

_saveLinks() protected

_saveLinks(Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity, arrayCake\Datasource\EntityInterface> $targetEntities, array<string, mixed> $options): bool

Creates links between the source entity and each of the passed target entities

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity: the entity from source table in this association
arrayCake\Datasource\EntityInterface> $targetEntities: list of entities to link to link to the source entity using the junction table
array<string, mixed> $options: list of options accepted by Table::save()

Returns

bool

_saveTarget() protected

_saveTarget(Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $parentEntity, array $entities, array<string, mixed> $options): Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface|false

Persists each of the entities into the target table and creates links between the parent entity and each one of the saved target entities.

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $parentEntity: the source entity containing the target entities to be saved.
array $entities: list of entities to persist in target table and to link to the parent entity
array<string, mixed> $options: list of options accepted by Table::save()

Returns

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface|false

Throws

InvalidArgumentException
if the property representing the association in the parent entity cannot be traversed

_singularHumanName() protected

_singularHumanName(string $name): string

Creates the singular human name used in views

Parameters

string $name: Controller name

Returns

string

_singularName() protected

_singularName(string $name): string

Creates the singular name for use in views.

Parameters

string $name: Name to use

Returns

string

_variableName() protected

_variableName(string $name): string

Creates the plural variable name for views

Parameters

string $name: Name to use

Returns

string

attachTo() public

attachTo(Cake\ORM\Query $query, array<string, mixed> $options = []): void

Alters a Query object to include the associated target table data in the final result

The options array accept the following keys:

includeFields: Whether to include target model fields in the result or not
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
fields: a list of fields in the target table to include in the result
type: The type of join to be used (e.g. INNER)

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Query $query: the query to be altered to include the target table data
array<string, mixed> $options optional: Any extra options or overrides to be taken in account

Returns

void

canBeJoined() public

canBeJoined(array<string, mixed> $options = []): bool

Whether this association can be expressed directly in a query join

Parameters

array<string, mixed> $options optional: custom options key that could alter the return value

Returns

bool

cascadeDelete() public

cascadeDelete(Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity, array<string, mixed> $options = []): bool

Clear out the data in the junction table for a given entity.

Each implementing class should handle the cascaded delete as required.

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity: The entity that started the cascading delete.
array<string, mixed> $options optional: The options for the original delete.

Returns

bool

defaultRowValue() public

defaultRowValue(array<string, mixed> $row, bool $joined): array<string, mixed>

Returns a modified row after appending a property for this association with the default empty value according to whether the association was joined or fetched externally.

Parameters

array<string, mixed> $row
bool $joined

Returns

array<string, mixed>

deleteAll() public

deleteAll(Cake\Database\ExpressionInterfaceClosure|array|string|null $conditions): int

Proxies the delete operation to the target table's deleteAll method

Parameters

Cake\Database\ExpressionInterfaceClosure|array|string|null $conditions: Conditions to be used, accepts anything Query::where() can take.

Returns

int

eagerLoader() public

eagerLoader(array<string, mixed> $options): Closure

Eager loads a list of records in the target table that are related to another set of records in the source table. Source records can be specified in two ways: first one is by passing a Query object setup to find on the source table and the other way is by explicitly passing an array of primary key values from the source table.

The required way of passing related source records is controlled by "strategy" When the subquery strategy is used it will require a query on the source table. When using the select strategy, the list of primary keys will be used.

Returns a closure that should be run for each record returned in a specific Query. This callable will be responsible for injecting the fields that are related to each specific passed row.

Options array accepts the following keys:

query: Query object setup to find the source table records
keys: List of primary key values from the source table
foreignKey: The name of the field used to relate both tables
conditions: List of conditions to be passed to the query where() method
sort: The direction in which the records should be returned
fields: List of fields to select from the target table
contain: List of related tables to eager load associated to the target table
strategy: The name of strategy to use for finding target table records
nestKey: The array key under which results will be found when transforming the row

Parameters

array<string, mixed> $options

Returns

Closure

exists() public

exists(Cake\Database\ExpressionInterfaceClosure|array|string|null $conditions): bool

Proxies the operation to the target table's exists method after appending the default conditions for this association

Parameters

Cake\Database\ExpressionInterfaceClosure|array|string|null $conditions: The conditions to use for checking if any record matches.

Returns

bool

fetchTable() public

fetchTable(string|null $alias = null, array<string, mixed> $options = []): Cake\ORM\Table

Convenience method to get a table instance.

Parameters

string|null $alias optional: The alias name you want to get. Should be in CamelCase format. If null then the value of $defaultTable property is used.
array<string, mixed> $options optional: The options you want to build the table with. If a table has already been loaded the registry options will be ignored.

Returns

Cake\ORM\Table

Throws

Cake\Core\Exception\CakeException
If `$alias` argument and `$defaultTable` property both are `null`.

find() public

find(array<string, mixed>|string|null $type = null, array<string, mixed> $options = []): Cake\ORM\Query

Proxies the finding operation to the target table's find method and modifies the query accordingly based of this association configuration.

If your association includes conditions or a finder, the junction table will be included in the query's contained associations.

Parameters

array<string, mixed>|string|null $type optional: the type of query to perform, if an array is passed, it will be interpreted as the $options parameter
array<string, mixed> $options optional: The options to for the find

Returns

Cake\ORM\Query

getBindingKey() public

getBindingKey(): array<string>|string

Gets the name of the field representing the binding field with the target table. When not manually specified the primary key of the owning side table is used.

Returns

array<string>|string

getCascadeCallbacks() public

getCascadeCallbacks(): bool

Gets whether cascaded deletes should also fire callbacks.

Returns

bool

getClassName() public

getClassName(): string

Gets the class name of the target table object.

Returns

string

getConditions() public

getConditions(): Closure|array

Gets a list of conditions to be always included when fetching records from the target association.

Returns

Closure|array

getDependent() public

getDependent(): bool

isOwningSide(Cake\ORM\Table $side): bool

Returns boolean true, as both of the tables 'own' rows in the other side of the association via the joint table.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Table $side: The potential Table with ownership

Returns

bool

junction() public

junction(Cake\ORM\Table|string|null $table = null): Cake\ORM\Table

Sets the table instance for the junction relation. If no arguments are passed, the current configured table instance is returned

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Table|string|null $table optional: Name or instance for the join table

Returns

Cake\ORM\Table

Throws

InvalidArgumentException
If the expected associations are incompatible with existing associations.

junctionConditions() protected

junctionConditions(): array

Returns filtered conditions that specifically reference the junction table.

Returns

array

link() public

link(Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity, arrayCake\Datasource\EntityInterface> $targetEntities, array<string, mixed> $options = []): bool

Associates the source entity to each of the target entities provided by creating links in the junction table. Both the source entity and each of the target entities are assumed to be already persisted, if they are marked as new or their status is unknown then an exception will be thrown.

When using this method, all entities in $targetEntities will be appended to the source entity's property corresponding to this association object.

This method does not check link uniqueness.

Example:

$newTags = $tags->find('relevant')->toArray();
$articles->getAssociation('tags')->link($article, $newTags);

$article->get('tags') will contain all tags in $newTags after liking

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity: the row belonging to the source side of this association
arrayCake\Datasource\EntityInterface> $targetEntities: list of entities belonging to the target side of this association
array<string, mixed> $options optional: list of options to be passed to the internal save call

Returns

bool

Throws

InvalidArgumentException
when any of the values in $targetEntities is detected to not be already persisted

replaceLinks() public

replaceLinks(Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity, array $targetEntities, array<string, mixed> $options = []): bool

Replaces existing association links between the source entity and the target with the ones passed. This method does a smart cleanup, links that are already persisted and present in $targetEntities will not be deleted, new links will be created for the passed target entities that are not already in the database and the rest will be removed.

For example, if an article is linked to tags 'cake' and 'framework' and you pass to this method an array containing the entities for tags 'cake', 'php' and 'awesome', only the link for cake will be kept in database, the link for 'framework' will be deleted and the links for 'php' and 'awesome' will be created.

Existing links are not deleted and created again, they are either left untouched or updated so that potential extra information stored in the joint row is not lost. Updating the link row can be done by making sure the corresponding passed target entity contains the joint property with its primary key and any extra information to be stored.

On success, the passed $sourceEntity will contain $targetEntities as value in the corresponding property for this association.

This method assumes that links between both the source entity and each of the target entities are unique. That is, for any given row in the source table there can only be one link in the junction table pointing to any other given row in the target table.

Additional options for new links to be saved can be passed in the third argument, check Table::save() for information on the accepted options.

Example:

$article->tags = [$tag1, $tag2, $tag3, $tag4];
$articles->save($article);
$tags = [$tag1, $tag3];
$articles->getAssociation('tags')->replaceLinks($article, $tags);

$article->get('tags') will contain only [$tag1, $tag3] at the end

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity: an entity persisted in the source table for this association
array $targetEntities: list of entities from the target table to be linked
array<string, mixed> $options optional: list of options to be passed to the internal save/delete calls when persisting/updating new links, or deleting existing ones

Returns

bool

Throws

InvalidArgumentException
if non persisted entities are passed or if any of them is lacking a primary key value

requiresKeys() public

requiresKeys(array<string, mixed> $options = []): bool

Returns true if the eager loading process will require a set of the owning table's binding keys in order to use them as a filter in the finder query.

Parameters

array<string, mixed> $options optional: The options containing the strategy to be used.

Returns

bool

saveAssociated() public

saveAssociated(Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity, array<string, mixed> $options = []): Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface|false

Takes an entity from the source table and looks if there is a field matching the property name for this association. The found entity will be saved on the target table for this association by passing supplied $options

When using the 'append' strategy, this function will only create new links between each side of this association. It will not destroy existing ones even though they may not be present in the array of entities to be saved.

When using the 'replace' strategy, existing links will be removed and new links will be created in the joint table. If there exists links in the database to some of the entities intended to be saved by this method, they will be updated, not deleted.

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity: an entity from the source table
array<string, mixed> $options optional: options to be passed to the save method in the target table

Returns

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface|false

Throws

InvalidArgumentException
if the property representing the association in the parent entity cannot be traversed

setBindingKey() public

setBindingKey(array<string>|string $key): $this

Sets the name of the field representing the binding field with the target table. When not manually specified the primary key of the owning side table is used.

Parameters

array<string>|string $key: the table field or fields to be used to link both tables together

Returns

$this

setCascadeCallbacks() public

setCascadeCallbacks(bool $cascadeCallbacks): $this

Sets whether cascaded deletes should also fire callbacks.

Parameters

bool $cascadeCallbacks: cascade callbacks switch value

Returns

$this

setClassName() public

setClassName(string $className): $this

Sets the class name of the target table object.

Parameters

string $className: Class name to set.

Returns

$this

Throws

InvalidArgumentException
In case the class name is set after the target table has been resolved, and it doesn't match the target table's class name.

setConditions() public

setConditions(Closure|array $conditions): $this

Sets a list of conditions to be always included when fetching records from the target association.

Parameters

Closure|array $conditions

Returns

$this

setDependent() public

setDependent(bool $dependent): $this

Sets whether the records on the target table are dependent on the source table.

This is primarily used to indicate that records should be removed if the owning record in the source table is deleted.

If no parameters are passed the current setting is returned.

Parameters

bool $dependent: Set the dependent mode. Use null to read the current state.

Returns

$this

setFinder() public

setFinder(array|string $finder): $this

Sets the default finder to use for fetching rows from the target table.

Parameters

array|string $finder: the finder name to use or array of finder name and option.

Returns

$this

setForeignKey() public

setForeignKey(array<string>|string $key): $this

Sets the name of the field representing the foreign key to the target table.

Parameters

array<string>|string $key: the key or keys to be used to link both tables together

Returns

$this

setJoinType() public

setJoinType(string $type): $this

Sets the type of join to be used when adding the association to a query.

Parameters

string $type: the join type to be used (e.g. INNER)

Returns

$this

setName() public

setName(string $name): $this

Sets the name for this association, usually the alias assigned to the target associated table

Parameters

string $name: Name to be assigned

Returns

$this

setProperty() public

setProperty(string $name): $this

Sets the property name that should be filled with data from the target table in the source table record.

Parameters

string $name: The name of the association property. Use null to read the current value.

Returns

$this

setSaveStrategy() public

setSaveStrategy(string $strategy): $this

Sets the strategy that should be used for saving.

Parameters

string $strategy: the strategy name to be used

Returns

$this

Throws

InvalidArgumentException
if an invalid strategy name is passed

setSort() public

setSort(mixed $sort): $this

Sets the sort order in which target records should be returned.

Parameters

mixed $sort: A find() compatible order clause

Returns

$this

setSource() public

setSource(Cake\ORM\Table $table): $this

Sets the table instance for the source side of the association.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Table $table: the instance to be assigned as source side

Returns

$this

setStrategy() public

setStrategy(string $name): $this

Sets the strategy name to be used to fetch associated records. Keep in mind that some association types might not implement but a default strategy, rendering any changes to this setting void.

Parameters

string $name: The strategy type. Use null to read the current value.

Returns

$this

Throws

InvalidArgumentException
When an invalid strategy is provided.

setTableLocator() public

setTableLocator(Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface $tableLocator): $this

Sets the table locator.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface $tableLocator: LocatorInterface instance.

Returns

$this

setTarget() public

setTarget(Cake\ORM\Table $table): $this

Sets the table instance for the target side of the association.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Table $table: the instance to be assigned as target side

Returns

$this

setTargetForeignKey() public

setTargetForeignKey(array<string>|string $key): $this

Sets the name of the field representing the foreign key to the target table.

Parameters

array<string>|string $key: the key to be used to link both tables together

Returns

$this

setThrough() public

setThrough(Cake\ORM\Table|string $through): $this

Sets the current join table, either the name of the Table instance or the instance itself.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Table|string $through: Name of the Table instance or the instance itself

Returns

$this

targetConditions() protected

targetConditions(): arrayClosure|null

Returns filtered conditions that reference the target table.

Any string expressions, or expression objects will also be returned in this list.

Returns

arrayClosure|null

transformRow() public

transformRow(array $row, string $nestKey, bool $joined, string|null $targetProperty = null): array

Correctly nests a result row associated values into the correct array keys inside the source results.

Parameters

array $row: The row to transform
string $nestKey: The array key under which the results for this association should be found
bool $joined: Whether the row is a result of a direct join with this association
string|null $targetProperty optional: The property name in the source results where the association data shuld be nested in. Will use the default one if not provided.

Returns

array

type() public

type(): string

Get the relationship type.

Returns

string

unlink() public

unlink(Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity, arrayCake\Datasource\EntityInterface> $targetEntities, array<string>|bool $options = []): bool

Removes all links between the passed source entity and each of the provided target entities. This method assumes that all passed objects are already persisted in the database and that each of them contain a primary key value.

Options

Additionally to the default options accepted by Table::delete(), the following keys are supported:

cleanProperty: Whether to remove all the objects in $targetEntities that are stored in $sourceEntity (default: true)

By default this method will unset each of the entity objects stored inside the source entity.

Example:

$article->tags = [$tag1, $tag2, $tag3, $tag4];
$tags = [$tag1, $tag2, $tag3];
$articles->getAssociation('tags')->unlink($article, $tags);

$article->get('tags') will contain only [$tag4] after deleting in the database

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity: An entity persisted in the source table for this association.
arrayCake\Datasource\EntityInterface> $targetEntities: List of entities persisted in the target table for this association.
array<string>|bool $options optional: List of options to be passed to the internal delete call, or a boolean as cleanProperty key shortcut.

Returns

bool

Throws

InvalidArgumentException
If non persisted entities are passed or if any of them is lacking a primary key value.

updateAll() public

updateAll(array $fields, Cake\Database\ExpressionInterfaceClosure|array|string|null $conditions): int

Proxies the update operation to the target table's updateAll method

Parameters

array $fields: A hash of field => new value.
Cake\Database\ExpressionInterfaceClosure|array|string|null $conditions: Conditions to be used, accepts anything Query::where() can take.

Returns

int

Property Detail

`$_dependent` protected

`$defaultTable` protected

This object's default table alias.

Type

string|null

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https://api.cakephp.org/4.4/class-Cake.ORM.Association.BelongsToMany.html