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.

Cake\ORM\Association uses Cake\Core\ConventionsTrait , Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorAwareTrait
Extended by Cake\ORM\Association\BelongsToMany

Constants summary

Inherited Constants

Properties summary

  • $_dependent protected
    boolean

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

  • $_joinType protected
    string
    The type of join to be used when adding the association to a query
  • string

    The name of the hasMany association from the target table to the junction table

  • null|array
    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
    Junction table instance
  • string
    Junction table name
  • $_saveStrategy protected
    string
    Saving strategy to be used by this association
  • $_sort protected
    mixed
    Order in which target records should be returned
  • $_strategy protected
    string
    The strategy name to be used to fetch associated records.
  • $_targetConditions protected
    null|array
    Filtered conditions that reference the target table.
  • $_targetForeignKey protected
    string|array
    The name of the field representing the foreign key to the target table
  • $_through protected
    The table instance for the junction relation.
  • $_validStrategies protected
    array
    Valid strategies for this type of association

Inherited Properties

Method Summary

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

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

  • Generate associations on the junction table as necessary
  • Generate additional source table associations as necessary.
  • Generate reciprocal associations as necessary.
  • _joinCondition() protected
    Return false as join conditions are defined in the junction table
  • 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.

  • 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.

  • _options() protected
    Parse extra options passed in the constructor.
  • _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.

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

  • 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 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.

  • find() public

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

  • Gets the name of the field representing the foreign key to the source table.
  • Gets the strategy that should be used for saving.
  • getSort() public
    Gets the sort order in which target records should be returned.
  • 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.
  • 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

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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

  • Sets the strategy that should be used for saving. If called with no arguments, it will return the currently configured strategy

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

  • Sets the strategy that should be used for saving.
  • setSort() public
    Sets the sort order in which target records should be returned.
  • 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.
  • sort() public

    Sets the sort order in which target records should be returned. If no arguments are passed the currently configured value is returned

  • targetConditions() protected
    Returns filtered conditions that reference the target table.
  • Sets the name of the field representing the foreign key to the target table. If no parameters are passed current field is returned

  • 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.

Method Detail

_appendJunctionJoin()source protected

_appendJunctionJoin( Cake\ORM\Query $query , string|array $conditions )

Append a join to the junction table.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Query $query
The query to append.
string|array $conditions
The query conditions to use.

Returns

Cake\ORM\Query
The modified query.

_appendNotMatching()source protected

_appendNotMatching( Cake\Datasource\QueryInterface $query , array $options )

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

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\QueryInterface $query
The query to modify
array $options
Options array containing the negateMatch key.

Overrides

Cake\ORM\Association::_appendNotMatching()

_checkPersistenceStatus()source protected

_checkPersistenceStatus( Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity , array $targetEntities )

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

array $targetEntities

list of entities belonging to the target side of this association

Returns

boolean

Throws

InvalidArgumentException

_collectJointEntities()source protected

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

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

array

Throws

InvalidArgumentException

if any of the entities is lacking a primary key value


_diffLinks( Cake\ORM\Query $existing , array $jointEntities , array $targetEntities , array $options [] )

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
array $jointEntities
link entities that should be persisted
array $targetEntities

entities in target table that are related to the $jointEntities

array $options optional []
list of options accepted by Table::delete()

Returns

array

_generateJunctionAssociations()source protected

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

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.

_generateSourceAssociations()source protected

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

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.

_generateTargetAssociations()source protected

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

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.

_joinCondition()source protected

_joinCondition( array $options )

Return false as join conditions are defined in the junction table

Parameters

array $options
list of options passed to attachTo method

Returns

boolean
false

Throws

RuntimeException

if the number of columns in the foreignKey do not match the number of columns in the source table primaryKey


Overrides

Cake\ORM\Association::_joinCondition()

_junctionAssociationName()source protected

_junctionAssociationName( )

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()source protected

_junctionTableName( string|null $name null )

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 null
The name of the junction table.

Returns

string

_options()source protected

_options( array $opts )

Parse extra options passed in the constructor.

Parameters

array $opts
original list of options passed in constructor

Overrides

Cake\ORM\Association::_options()
_saveLinks( Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity , array $targetEntities , array $options )

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

array $targetEntities

list of entities to link to link to the source entity using the junction table

array $options
list of options accepted by Table::save()

Returns

boolean
success

_saveTarget()source protected

_saveTarget( Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $parentEntity , array|Traversable $entities , array $options )

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|Traversable $entities

list of entities to persist in target table and to link to the parent entity

array $options
list of options accepted by Table::save()

Returns

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface|boolean

The parent entity after all links have been created if no errors happened, false otherwise


Throws

InvalidArgumentException

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


attachTo()source public

attachTo( Cake\ORM\Query $query , array $options [] )

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 $options optional []
Any extra options or overrides to be taken in account

Throws

RuntimeException

if the query builder passed does not return a query object


Overrides

Cake\ORM\Association::attachTo()

canBeJoined()source public

canBeJoined( array $options [] )

Whether this association can be expressed directly in a query join

Parameters

array $options optional []
custom options key that could alter the return value

Returns

boolean

if the 'matching' key in $option is true then this function will return true, false otherwise


Overrides

Cake\ORM\Association::canBeJoined()

cascadeDelete()source public

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

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

Parameters

Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $entity
The entity that started the cascading delete.
array $options optional []
The options for the original delete.

Returns

boolean
Success.

defaultRowValue()source public

defaultRowValue( array $row , boolean $joined )

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 $row
The row to set a default on.
boolean $joined

Whether or not the row is a result of a direct join with this association

Returns

array

Overrides

Cake\ORM\Association::defaultRowValue()

eagerLoader()source public

eagerLoader( array $options )

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 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.

Parameters

array $options
The options for eager loading.

Returns

callable

find()source public

find( string|array|null $type null , array $options [] )

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, the junction table will be included in the query's contained associations.

Parameters

string|array|null $type optional null

the type of query to perform, if an array is passed, it will be interpreted as the $options parameter

array $options optional []
The options to for the find

Returns

Cake\ORM\Query

See

\Cake\ORM\Table::find()

Overrides

Cake\ORM\Association::find()

getForeignKey()source public

getForeignKey( )

Gets the name of the field representing the foreign key to the source table.

Returns

string

Overrides

Cake\ORM\Association::getForeignKey()

getSaveStrategy()source public

getSaveStrategy( )

Gets the strategy that should be used for saving.

Returns

string
the strategy to be used for saving

getSort()source public

getSort( )

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

Returns

mixed

getTargetForeignKey()source public

getTargetForeignKey( )

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

Returns

string

getThrough()source public

getThrough( )

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

Returns

string|Cake\ORM\Table

isOwningSide()source public

isOwningSide( Cake\ORM\Table $side )

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

boolean

junction()source public

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

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

Parameters

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

Returns

Cake\ORM\Table

junctionConditions()source protected

junctionConditions( )

Returns filtered conditions that specifically reference the junction table.

Returns

array
link( Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity , array $targetEntities , array $options [] )

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();
$articles->association('tags')->link($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

array $targetEntities

list of entities belonging to the target side of this association

array $options optional []
list of options to be passed to the internal save call

Returns

boolean
true on success, false otherwise

Throws

InvalidArgumentException

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


replaceLinks( Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity , array $targetEntities , array $options [] )

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];
$articles->association('tags')->replaceLinks($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 $options optional []

list of options to be passed to the internal save/delete calls when persisting/updating new links, or deleting existing ones

Returns

boolean
success

Throws

InvalidArgumentException

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


saveAssociated()source public

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

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 $options optional []

options to be passed to the save method in the target table

Returns

boolean|Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface

false if $entity could not be saved, otherwise it returns the saved entity


Throws

InvalidArgumentException

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


See

\Cake\ORM\Table::save()
\Cake\ORM\Association\BelongsToMany::replaceLinks()

saveStrategy()source public

saveStrategy( string|null $strategy null )

Sets the strategy that should be used for saving. If called with no arguments, it will return the currently configured strategy

Deprecated

3.4.0 Use setSaveStrategy()/getSaveStrategy() instead.

Parameters

string|null $strategy optional null
the strategy name to be used

Returns

string
the strategy to be used for saving

Throws

InvalidArgumentException
if an invalid strategy name is passed

setConditions()source public

setConditions( array $conditions )

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

Parameters

array $conditions
list of conditions to be used

Returns


$this

Overrides

Cake\ORM\Association::setConditions()

setSaveStrategy()source public

setSaveStrategy( string $strategy )

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()source public

setSort( mixed $sort )

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

Parameters

mixed $sort
A find() compatible order clause

Returns


$this

setTargetForeignKey()source public

setTargetForeignKey( string $key )

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

Parameters

string $key
the key to be used to link both tables together

Returns


$this

setThrough()source public

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

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

Parameters

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

Returns


$this

sort()source public

sort( mixed $sort null )

Sets the sort order in which target records should be returned. If no arguments are passed the currently configured value is returned

Deprecated

3.5.0 Use setSort()/getSort() instead.

Parameters

mixed $sort optional null
A find() compatible order clause

Returns

mixed

targetConditions()source protected

targetConditions( )

Returns filtered conditions that reference the target table.

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

Returns

mixed

Generally an array. If the conditions are not an array, the association conditions will be returned unmodified.


targetForeignKey()source public

targetForeignKey( string|null $key null )

Sets the name of the field representing the foreign key to the target table. If no parameters are passed current field is returned

Deprecated

3.4.0 Use setTargetForeignKey()/getTargetForeignKey() instead.

Parameters

string|null $key optional null
the key to be used to link both tables together

Returns

string

type()source public

type( )

Get the relationship type.

Returns

string
unlink( Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface $sourceEntity , array $targetEntities , array|boolean $options [] )

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 or not 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];
$articles->association('tags')->unlink($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

array $targetEntities

list of entities persisted in the target table for this association

array|boolean $options optional []

list of options to be passed to the internal delete call, or a boolean

Returns

boolean
Success

Throws

InvalidArgumentException

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


Methods inherited from Cake\ORM\Association

__call()source public

__call( string $method , array $argument )

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()source public

__construct( string $alias , array $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 $options optional []
A list of properties to be set on this object

__get()source public

__get( string $property )

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()source public

__isset( string $property )

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

boolean
true if the property exists

_appendFields()source protected

_appendFields( Cake\ORM\Query $query , Cake\ORM\Query $surrogate , array $options )

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 $options
options passed to the method attachTo

_bindNewAssociations()source protected

_bindNewAssociations( Cake\ORM\Query $query , Cake\ORM\Query $surrogate , array $options )

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 $options
options passed to the method attachTo

_dispatchBeforeFind()source protected

_dispatchBeforeFind( Cake\ORM\Query $query )

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

_extractFinder()source protected

_extractFinder( string|array $finderData )

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

string|array $finderData

The finder name or an array having the name as key and options as value.

Returns

array

_formatAssociationResults()source protected

_formatAssociationResults( Cake\ORM\Query $query , Cake\ORM\Query $surrogate , array $options )

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 $options
options passed to the method attachTo

_getClassName()source protected

_getClassName( string $alias , array $options [] )

Gets the table class name.

Parameters

string $alias
The alias name you want to get.
array $options optional []
Table options array.

Returns

string

_propertyName()source protected

_propertyName( )

Returns default property name based on association name.

Returns

string

bindingKey()source public

bindingKey( string|null $key null )

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.

If no parameters are passed the current field is returned

Deprecated

3.4.0 Use setBindingKey()/getBindingKey() instead.

Parameters

string|null $key optional null
the table field to be used to link both tables together

Returns

string|array

cascadeCallbacks()source public

cascadeCallbacks( boolean|null $cascadeCallbacks null )

Sets whether or not cascaded deletes should also fire callbacks. If no arguments are passed, the current configured value is returned

Deprecated

3.4.0 Use setCascadeCallbacks()/getCascadeCallbacks() instead.

Parameters

boolean|null $cascadeCallbacks optional null
cascade callbacks switch value

Returns

boolean

className()source public

className( )

The class name of the target table object

Returns

string

conditions()source public

conditions( array|null $conditions null )

Sets a list of conditions to be always included when fetching records from the target association. If no parameters are passed the current list is returned

Deprecated

3.4.0 Use setConditions()/getConditions() instead.

Parameters

array|null $conditions optional null
list of conditions to be used

Returns

array

See

\Cake\Database\Query::where() for examples on the format of the array

deleteAll()source public

deleteAll( mixed $conditions )

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

Parameters

mixed $conditions

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

Returns

integer
Returns the number of affected rows.

See

\Cake\ORM\Table::deleteAll()

dependent()source public

dependent( boolean|null $dependent null )

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.

Deprecated

3.4.0 Use setDependent()/getDependent() instead.

Parameters

boolean|null $dependent optional null
Set the dependent mode. Use null to read the current state.

Returns

boolean

exists()source public

exists( array|callable|Cake\Database\ExpressionInterface $conditions )

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

Parameters

array|callable|Cake\Database\ExpressionInterface $conditions

The conditions to use for checking if any record matches.

Returns

boolean

See

\Cake\ORM\Table::exists()

finder()source public

finder( string|null $finder null )

Sets the default finder to use for fetching rows from the target table. If no parameters are passed, it will return the currently configured finder name.

Deprecated

3.4.0 Use setFinder()/getFinder() instead.

Parameters

string|null $finder optional null
the finder name to use

Returns

string

foreignKey()source public

foreignKey( string|null $key null )

Sets the name of the field representing the foreign key to the target table. If no parameters are passed the current field is returned

Deprecated

3.4.0 Use setForeignKey()/getForeignKey() instead.

Parameters

string|null $key optional null
the key to be used to link both tables together

Returns

string|array

getBindingKey()source public

getBindingKey( )

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

string|array

getCascadeCallbacks()source public

getCascadeCallbacks( )

Gets whether or not cascaded deletes should also fire callbacks.

Returns

boolean

getConditions()source public

getConditions( )

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

Returns

array

See

\Cake\Database\Query::where() for examples on the format of the array

getDependent()source public

getDependent( )

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.

Returns

boolean

getFinder()source public

getFinder( )

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

Returns

string

getJoinType()source public

getJoinType( )

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

Returns

string

getName()source public

getName( )

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

Returns

string

getProperty()source public

getProperty( )

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

Returns

string

getSource()source public

getSource( )

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

Returns

Cake\ORM\Table

getStrategy()source public

getStrategy( )

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.

Returns

string

getTarget()source public

getTarget( )

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

Returns

Cake\ORM\Table

joinType()source public

joinType( string|null $type null )

Sets the type of join to be used when adding the association to a query. If no arguments are passed, the currently configured type is returned.

Deprecated

3.4.0 Use setJoinType()/getJoinType() instead.

Parameters

string|null $type optional null
the join type to be used (e.g. INNER)

Returns

string

name()source public

name( string|null $name null )

Sets the name for this association.

Deprecated

3.4.0 Use setName()/getName() instead.

Parameters

string|null $name optional null
Name to be assigned

Returns

string

property()source public

property( string|null $name null )

Sets the property name that should be filled with data from the target table in the source table record. If no arguments are passed, the currently configured type is returned.

Deprecated

3.4.0 Use setProperty()/getProperty() instead.

Parameters

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

Returns

string

requiresKeys()source public

requiresKeys( array $options [] )

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 $options optional []
The options containing the strategy to be used.

Returns

boolean
true if a list of keys will be required

setBindingKey()source public

setBindingKey( string|array $key )

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

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

Returns


$this

setCascadeCallbacks()source public

setCascadeCallbacks( boolean $cascadeCallbacks )

Sets whether or not cascaded deletes should also fire callbacks.

Parameters

boolean $cascadeCallbacks
cascade callbacks switch value

Returns


$this

setDependent()source public

setDependent( boolean $dependent )

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

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

Returns


$this

setFinder()source public

setFinder( string $finder )

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

Parameters

string $finder
the finder name to use

Returns


$this

setForeignKey()source public

setForeignKey( string|array $key )

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

Parameters

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

Returns


$this

setJoinType()source public

setJoinType( string $type )

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()source public

setName( string $name )

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()source public

setProperty( string $name )

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

setSource()source public

setSource( Cake\ORM\Table $table )

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()source public

setStrategy( string $name )

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.

setTarget()source public

setTarget( Cake\ORM\Table $table )

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

source()source public

source( Cake\ORM\Table $table null )

Sets the table instance for the source side of the association. If no arguments are passed, the current configured table instance is returned

Deprecated

3.4.0 Use setSource()/getSource() instead.

Parameters

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

Returns

Cake\ORM\Table

strategy()source public

strategy( string|null $name null )

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. If no arguments are passed, the currently configured strategy is returned.

Deprecated

3.4.0 Use setStrategy()/getStrategy() instead.

Parameters

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

Returns

string

Throws

InvalidArgumentException
When an invalid strategy is provided.

target()source public

target( Cake\ORM\Table $table null )

Sets the table instance for the target side of the association. If no arguments are passed, the current configured table instance is returned

Deprecated

3.4.0 Use setTarget()/getTarget() instead.

Parameters

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

Returns

Cake\ORM\Table

transformRow()source public

transformRow( array $row , string $nestKey , boolean $joined , string|null $targetProperty null )

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

boolean $joined

Whether or not the row is a result of a direct join with this association

string|null $targetProperty optional null

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

updateAll()source public

updateAll( array $fields , mixed $conditions )

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

Parameters

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

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

Returns

boolean
Success Returns true if one or more rows are affected.

See

\Cake\ORM\Table::updateAll()

Methods used from Cake\Core\ConventionsTrait

_camelize()source protected

_camelize( string $name )

Creates a camelized version of $name

Parameters

string $name
name

Returns

string
Camelized name

_entityName()source protected

_entityName( string $name )

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

Parameters

string $name
Name

Returns

string
Camelized and plural model name

_fixtureName()source protected

_fixtureName( string $name )

Creates a fixture name

Parameters

string $name
Model class name

Returns

string
Singular model key

_modelKey()source protected

_modelKey( string $name )

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
Singular model key

_modelNameFromKey()source protected

_modelNameFromKey( string $key )

Creates the proper model name from a foreign key

Parameters

string $key
Foreign key

Returns

string
Model name

_pluginNamespace()source protected

_pluginNamespace( string $pluginName )

Return plugin's namespace

Parameters

string $pluginName
Plugin name

Returns

string
Plugin's namespace

_pluginPath()source protected

_pluginPath( string $pluginName )

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
path path to the correct plugin.

_pluralHumanName()source protected

_pluralHumanName( string $name )

Creates the plural human name used in views

Parameters

string $name
Controller name

Returns

string
Plural human name

_singularHumanName()source protected

_singularHumanName( string $name )

Creates the singular human name used in views

Parameters

string $name
Controller name

Returns

string
Singular human name

_singularName()source protected

_singularName( string $name )

Creates the singular name for use in views.

Parameters

string $name
Name to use

Returns

string
Variable name

_variableName()source protected

_variableName( string $name )

Creates the plural variable name for views

Parameters

string $name
Name to use

Returns

string
Plural name for views

Methods used from Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorAwareTrait

getTableLocator()source public

getTableLocator( )

Gets the table locator.

Returns

Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface

setTableLocator()source public

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

Sets the table locator.

Parameters

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

Returns


$this

tableLocator()source public

tableLocator( Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface $tableLocator null )

Sets the table locator. If no parameters are passed, it will return the currently used locator.

Deprecated

3.5.0 Use getTableLocator()/setTableLocator() instead.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface $tableLocator optional null
LocatorInterface instance.

Returns

Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface

Properties detail

$_dependentsource

protected boolean

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

Defaults to true for backwards compatibility.

true

$_joinTypesource

protected string

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

'INNER'

$_junctionAssociationNamesource

protected string

The name of the hasMany association from the target table to the junction table

$_junctionConditionssource

protected null|array

Filtered conditions that reference the junction table.

$_junctionPropertysource

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

'_joinData'

$_junctionTablesource

protected Cake\ORM\Table

Junction table instance

$_junctionTableNamesource

protected string

Junction table name

$_saveStrategysource

protected string

Saving strategy to be used by this association

self::SAVE_REPLACE

$_sortsource

protected mixed

Order in which target records should be returned

$_strategysource

protected string

The strategy name to be used to fetch associated records.

self::STRATEGY_SELECT

$_targetConditionssource

protected null|array

Filtered conditions that reference the target table.

$_targetForeignKeysource

protected string|array

The name of the field representing the foreign key to the target table

$_throughsource

protected string|Cake\ORM\Table

The table instance for the junction relation.

$_validStrategiessource

protected array

Valid strategies for this type of association

[
    self::STRATEGY_SELECT,
    self::STRATEGY_SUBQUERY
]

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Licensed under the MIT License.
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https://api.cakephp.org/3.4/class-Cake.ORM.Association.BelongsToMany.html