Class Controller

Controller

Application controller class for organization of business logic. Provides basic functionality, such as rendering views inside layouts, automatic model availability, redirection, callbacks, and more.

Object

Controller

Direct Subclasses

AppController

Indirect Subclasses

Package: cake\cake\libs\controller
Link: http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#Introduction
Copyright: Copyright 2005-2012, Cake Software Foundation, Inc. (http://cakefoundation.org)
License: License (http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php)
Location: controller/controller.php

Properties summary

$Component public

string

Instance of Component used to handle callbacks.
$__httpCodes public

array

Contains a list of the HTTP codes that CakePHP recognizes. These may be queried and/or modified through Controller::httpCodes(), which is also tasked with their lazy-loading.
$action public

string

The name of the currently requested controller action.
$autoLayout public

boolean

Set to true to automatically render the layout around views.
$autoRender public

boolean

Set to true to automatically render the view after action logic.
$base public

string

Base URL path.
$cacheAction public

mixed

Used to define methods a controller that will be cached. To cache a single action, the value is set to an array containing keys that match action names and values that denote cache expiration times (in seconds).
$components public

array

Array containing the names of components this controller uses. Component names should not contain the "Component" portion of the classname.
$data public

array

Data POSTed to the controller using the HtmlHelper. Data here is accessible using the $this->data['ModelName']['fieldName'] pattern.
$ext public

string

File extension for view templates. Defaults to Cake's conventional ".ctp".
$helpers public

mixed

An array containing the names of helpers this controller uses. The array elements should not contain the "Helper" part of the classname.
$here public

string

Stores the current URL, relative to the webroot of the application.
$layout public

string

The name of the layout file to render the view inside of. The name specified is the filename of the layout in /app/views/layouts without the .ctp extension.
$layoutPath public

string

The name of the layouts subfolder containing layouts for this controller.
$methods public

array

Holds current methods of the controller
$modelClass public

string

This controller's primary model class name, the Inflector::classify()'ed version of the controller's $name property.
$modelKey public

string

This controller's model key name, an underscored version of the controller's $modelClass property.
$modelNames public

array

An array containing the class names of the models this controller uses.
$name public

string

The name of this controller. Controller names are plural, named after the model they manipulate.
$output public

string

The output of the requested action. Contains either a variable returned from the action, or the data of the rendered view; You can use this var in child controllers' afterFilter() callbacks to alter output.
$paginate public

array

Holds pagination defaults for controller actions. The keys that can be included in this array are: 'conditions', 'fields', 'order', 'limit', 'page', and 'recursive', similar to the keys in the second parameter of Model::find().
$params public

array

Parameters received in the current request: GET and POST data, information about the request, etc.
$passedArgs public

mixed

Holds all params passed and named.
$persistModel public

boolean

Used to create cached instances of models a controller uses. When set to true, all models related to the controller will be cached. This can increase performance in many cases.
$plugin public

string

Automatically set to the name of a plugin.
$scaffold public

mixed

Triggers Scaffolding
$uses public

mixed

An array containing the class names of models this controller uses.
$validationErrors public

array

Holds any validation errors produced by the last call of the validateErrors() method/
$view public

string

The name of the View class this controller sends output to.
$viewPath public

string

The name of the views subfolder containing views for this controller.
$viewVars public

array

Contains variables to be handed to the view.
$webroot public

string

The webroot of the application.

Method Summary

__construct() public

Constructor.
__mergeVars() public

Merge components, helpers, and uses vars from AppController and PluginAppController.
_afterScaffoldSave() public

This method should be overridden in child classes.
_afterScaffoldSaveError() public

This method should be overridden in child classes.
_beforeScaffold() public

This method should be overridden in child classes.
_scaffoldError() public

This method should be overridden in child classes. If not it will render a scaffold error. Method MUST return true in child classes
afterFilter() public

Called after the controller action is run and rendered.
beforeFilter() public

Called before the controller action.
beforeRender() public

Called after the controller action is run, but before the view is rendered.
constructClasses() public

Loads Model classes based on the uses property see Controller::loadModel(); for more info. Loads Components and prepares them for initialization.
disableCache() public

Forces the user's browser not to cache the results of the current request.
flash() public

Shows a message to the user for $pause seconds, then redirects to $url. Uses flash.ctp as the default layout for the message. Does not work if the current debug level is higher than 0.
header() public

Convenience and object wrapper method for header(). Useful when doing tests and asserting that particular headers have been set.
httpCodes() public

Queries & sets valid HTTP response codes & messages.
isAuthorized() public

Controller callback to tie into Auth component. Only called when AuthComponent::$authorize is set to 'controller'.
loadModel() public

Loads and instantiates models required by this controller. If Controller::$persistModel; is true, controller will cache model instances on first request, additional request will used cached models. If the model is non existent, it will throw a missing database table error, as Cake generates dynamic models for the time being.
paginate() public

Handles automatic pagination of model records.
postConditions() public

Converts POST'ed form data to a model conditions array, suitable for use in a Model::find() call.
redirect() public

Redirects to given $url, after turning off $this->autoRender. Script execution is halted after the redirect.
referer() public

Returns the referring URL for this request.
render() public

Instantiates the correct view class, hands it its data, and uses it to render the view output.
set() public

Saves a variable for use inside a view template.
setAction() public

Internally redirects one action to another. Does not perform another HTTP request unlike Controller::redirect()
shutdownProcess() public

Perform the various shutdown processes for this controller. Fire the Component and Controller callbacks in the correct order.
startupProcess() public

Perform the startup process for this controller. Fire the Component and Controller callbacks in the correct order.
validate() public

Returns number of errors in a submitted FORM.
validateErrors() public

Validates models passed by parameters. Example:

Method Detail

__construct() public ¶

__construct( )

Constructor.

Overrides

Object::__construct()

__mergeVars() public ¶

__mergeVars( )

Merge components, helpers, and uses vars from AppController and PluginAppController.

_afterScaffoldSave() public ¶

_afterScaffoldSave( string $method )

This method should be overridden in child classes.

Parameters

string $method: name of method called either edit or update.

Returns

boolean
Success

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#Callbacks

_afterScaffoldSaveError() public ¶

_afterScaffoldSaveError( string $method )

This method should be overridden in child classes.

Parameters

string $method: name of method called either edit or update.

Returns

boolean
Success

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#Callbacks

_beforeScaffold() public ¶

_beforeScaffold( string $method )

This method should be overridden in child classes.

Parameters

string $method: name of method called example index, edit, etc.

Returns

boolean
Success

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#Callbacks

_scaffoldError() public ¶

_scaffoldError( string $method )

This method should be overridden in child classes. If not it will render a scaffold error. Method MUST return true in child classes

Parameters

string $method: name of method called example index, edit, etc.

Returns

boolean
Success

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#Callbacks

afterFilter() public ¶

afterFilter( )

Called after the controller action is run and rendered.

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#Callbacks

beforeFilter() public ¶

beforeFilter( )

Called before the controller action.

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#Callbacks

beforeRender() public ¶

beforeRender( )

Called after the controller action is run, but before the view is rendered.

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#Callbacks

constructClasses() public ¶

constructClasses( )

Loads Model classes based on the uses property see Controller::loadModel(); for more info. Loads Components and prepares them for initialization.

Returns

mixed
true if models found and instance created, or cakeError if models not found.

See

Controller::loadModel()

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#Controller-Methods#constructClasses-986

disableCache() public ¶

disableCache( )

Forces the user's browser not to cache the results of the current request.

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#disableCache

flash() public ¶

flash( string $message , mixed $url , integer $pause = 1 , string $layout = 'flash' )

Shows a message to the user for $pause seconds, then redirects to $url. Uses flash.ctp as the default layout for the message. Does not work if the current debug level is higher than 0.

Parameters

string $message: Message to display to the user
mixed $url: Relative string or array-based URL to redirect to after the time expires
integer $pause optional 1: Time to show the message
string $layout optional 'flash': Layout you want to use, defaults to 'flash'

Returns

Renders flash layout

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#flash

header() public ¶

header( string $status )

Convenience and object wrapper method for header(). Useful when doing tests and asserting that particular headers have been set.

Parameters

string $status: The header message that is being set.

httpCodes() public ¶

httpCodes( mixed $code = null )

Queries & sets valid HTTP response codes & messages.

Parameters

mixed $code optional null

If $code is an integer, then the corresponding code/message is returned if it exists, null if it does not exist. If $code is an array, then the 'code' and 'message' keys of each nested array are added to the default HTTP codes. Example:

   httpCodes(404); // returns array(404 => 'Not Found')

   httpCodes(array(
       701 => 'Unicorn Moved',
       800 => 'Unexpected Minotaur'
   )); // sets these new values, and returns true

Returns

mixed

Associative array of the HTTP codes as keys, and the message strings as values, or null of the given $code does not exist.

isAuthorized() public ¶

isAuthorized( )

Controller callback to tie into Auth component. Only called when AuthComponent::$authorize is set to 'controller'.

Returns

boolean
true if authorized, false otherwise

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#authorize

loadModel() public ¶

loadModel( string $modelClass = null , mixed $id = null )

Loads and instantiates models required by this controller. If Controller::$persistModel; is true, controller will cache model instances on first request, additional request will used cached models. If the model is non existent, it will throw a missing database table error, as Cake generates dynamic models for the time being.

Parameters

string $modelClass optional null: Name of model class to load
mixed $id optional null: Initial ID the instanced model class should have

Returns

mixed
true when single model found and instance created, error returned if model not found.

paginate() public ¶

paginate( mixed $object = null , mixed $scope = array() , array $whitelist = array() )

Handles automatic pagination of model records.

Parameters

mixed $object optional null: Model to paginate (e.g: model instance, or 'Model', or 'Model.InnerModel')
mixed $scope optional array(): Conditions to use while paginating
array $whitelist optional array(): List of allowed options for paging

Returns

array
Model query results

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#Controller-Setup

postConditions() public ¶

postConditions( array $data = array() , mixed $op = null , string $bool = 'AND' , boolean $exclusive = false )

Converts POST'ed form data to a model conditions array, suitable for use in a Model::find() call.

Parameters

array $data optional array(): POST'ed data organized by model and field
mixed $op optional null: A string containing an SQL comparison operator, or an array matching operators to fields
string $bool optional 'AND': SQL boolean operator: AND, OR, XOR, etc.
boolean $exclusive optional false: If true, and $op is an array, fields not included in $op will not be included in the returned conditions

Returns

array
An array of model conditions

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#postConditions

redirect() public ¶

redirect( mixed $url , integer $status = null , boolean $exit = true )

Redirects to given $url, after turning off $this->autoRender. Script execution is halted after the redirect.

Parameters

mixed $url: A string or array-based URL pointing to another location within the app, or an absolute URL
integer $status optional null: Optional HTTP status code (eg: 404)
boolean $exit optional true: If true, exit() will be called after the redirect

Returns

mixed
void if $exit = false. Terminates script if $exit = true

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#redirect

referer() public ¶

referer( string $default = null , boolean $local = false )

Returns the referring URL for this request.

Parameters

string $default optional null: Default URL to use if HTTP_REFERER cannot be read from headers
boolean $local optional false: If true, restrict referring URLs to local server

Returns

string
Referring URL

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#referer

render() public ¶

render( string $action = null , string $layout = null , string $file = null )

Instantiates the correct view class, hands it its data, and uses it to render the view output.

Parameters

string $action optional null: Action name to render
string $layout optional null: Layout to use
string $file optional null: File to use for rendering

Returns

string
Full output string of view contents

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#render

set() public ¶

set( mixed $one , mixed $two = null )

Saves a variable for use inside a view template.

Parameters

mixed $one: A string or an array of data.
mixed $two optional null: Value in case $one is a string (which then works as the key). Unused if $one is an associative array, otherwise serves as the values to $one's keys.

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#set

setAction() public ¶

setAction( string $action )

Internally redirects one action to another. Does not perform another HTTP request unlike Controller::redirect()

Examples:

{{{ setAction('another_action'); setAction('action_with_parameters', $parameter1); }}}

Parameters

string $action: The new action to be 'redirected' to

Returns

mixed
Returns the return value of the called action

shutdownProcess() public ¶

shutdownProcess( )

Perform the various shutdown processes for this controller. Fire the Component and Controller callbacks in the correct order.

triggers the component shutdown callback.
calls the Controller's afterFilter method.

startupProcess() public ¶

startupProcess( )

Perform the startup process for this controller. Fire the Component and Controller callbacks in the correct order.

Initializes components, which fires their initialize callback
Calls the controller beforeFilter.
triggers Component startup methods.

validate() public ¶

validate( )

Returns number of errors in a submitted FORM.

Returns

integer
Number of errors

validateErrors() public ¶

validateErrors( )

Validates models passed by parameters. Example:

$errors = $this->validateErrors($this->Article, $this->User);

Returns

array
Validation errors, or false if none

Methods inherited from Object

Object() public ¶

Object( )

A hack to support __construct() on PHP 4 Hint: descendant classes have no PHP4 class_name() constructors, so this constructor gets called first and calls the top-layer __construct() which (if present) should call parent::__construct()

Returns

Object

__openPersistent() public ¶

__openPersistent( string $name , string $type = null )

Open the persistent class file for reading Used by Object::_persist()

Parameters

string $name: Name of persisted class
string $type optional null: Type of persistance (e.g: registry)

_persist() public ¶

_persist( string $name , string $return , $object , $type = null )

Checks for a persistent class file, if found file is opened and true returned If file is not found a file is created and false returned If used in other locations of the model you should choose a unique name for the persistent file There are many uses for this method, see manual for examples

Parameters

string $name: name of the class to persist
string $return: $object the object to persist
$object
$type optional null

Returns

boolean
Success

_savePersistent() public ¶

_savePersistent( string $name , object $object )

You should choose a unique name for the persistent file

There are many uses for this method, see manual for examples

Parameters

string $name: name used for object to cache
object $object: the object to persist

Returns

boolean
true on save, throws error if file can not be created

_set() public ¶

_set( array $properties = array() )

Allows setting of multiple properties of the object in a single line of code. Will only set properties that are part of a class declaration.

Parameters

array $properties optional array(): An associative array containing properties and corresponding values.

_stop() public ¶

_stop( $status = 0 )

Stop execution of the current script. Wraps exit() making testing easier.

Parameters

$status optional 0: http://php.net/exit for values

cakeError() public ¶

cakeError( string $method , array $messages = array() )

Used to report user friendly errors. If there is a file app/error.php or app/app_error.php this file will be loaded error.php is the AppError class it should extend ErrorHandler class.

Parameters

string $method: Method to be called in the error class (AppError or ErrorHandler classes)
array $messages optional array(): Message that is to be displayed by the error class

Returns

error
message

dispatchMethod() public ¶

dispatchMethod( string $method , array $params = array() )

Calls a method on this object with the given parameters. Provides an OO wrapper for call_user_func_array

Parameters

string $method: Name of the method to call
array $params optional array(): Parameter list to use when calling $method

Returns

mixed
Returns the result of the method call

log() public ¶

log( string $msg , integer $type = LOG_ERROR )

Convience method to write a message to CakeLog. See CakeLog::write() for more information on writing to logs.

Parameters

string $msg: Log message
integer $type optional LOG_ERROR: Error type constant. Defined in app/config/core.php.

Returns

boolean
Success of log write

requestAction() public ¶

requestAction( mixed $url , array $extra = array() )

Calls a controller's method from any location. Can be used to connect controllers together or tie plugins into a main application. requestAction can be used to return rendered views or fetch the return value from controller actions.

Parameters

mixed $url: String or array-based url.
array $extra optional array(): if array includes the key "return" it sets the AutoRender to true.

Returns

mixed

Boolean true or false on success/failure, or contents of rendered action if 'return' is set in $extra.

toString() public ¶

toString( )

Object-to-string conversion. Each class can override this method as necessary.

Returns

string
The name of this class

Properties detail

`$Component` ¶

public string

Instance of Component used to handle callbacks.

null

`$__httpCodes` ¶

public array

Contains a list of the HTTP codes that CakePHP recognizes. These may be queried and/or modified through Controller::httpCodes(), which is also tasked with their lazy-loading.

null

`$action` ¶

public string

The name of the currently requested controller action.

null

`$autoLayout` ¶

public boolean

Set to true to automatically render the layout around views.

true

`$autoRender` ¶

public boolean

Set to true to automatically render the view after action logic.

true

`$base` ¶

public string

Base URL path.

null

`$cacheAction` ¶

public mixed

Used to define methods a controller that will be cached. To cache a single action, the value is set to an array containing keys that match action names and values that denote cache expiration times (in seconds).

Example:

{{{ var $cacheAction = array( 'view/23/' => 21600, 'recalled/' => 86400 ); }}}

$cacheAction can also be set to a strtotime() compatible string. This marks all the actions in the controller for view caching.

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#Caching-in-the-Controller

false

`$components` ¶

public array

Array containing the names of components this controller uses. Component names should not contain the "Component" portion of the classname.

Example: var $components = array('Session', 'RequestHandler', 'Acl');

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#components-helpers-and-uses

array('Session')

`$data` ¶

public array

Data POSTed to the controller using the HtmlHelper. Data here is accessible using the $this->data['ModelName']['fieldName'] pattern.

array()

`$ext` ¶

public string

File extension for view templates. Defaults to Cake's conventional ".ctp".

'.ctp'

`$helpers` ¶

public mixed

An array containing the names of helpers this controller uses. The array elements should not contain the "Helper" part of the classname.

Example: var $helpers = array('Html', 'Javascript', 'Time', 'Ajax');

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#components-helpers-and-uses

array('Session', 'Html', 'Form')

`$here` ¶

public string

Stores the current URL, relative to the webroot of the application.

null

`$layout` ¶

public string

The name of the layout file to render the view inside of. The name specified is the filename of the layout in /app/views/layouts without the .ctp extension.

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#Page-related-Attributes-layout-and-pageTitle

'default'

`$layoutPath` ¶

public string

The name of the layouts subfolder containing layouts for this controller.

null

`$methods` ¶

public array

Holds current methods of the controller

Link

array()

`$modelClass` ¶

public string

This controller's primary model class name, the Inflector::classify()'ed version of the controller's $name property.

Example: For a controller named 'Comments', the modelClass would be 'Comment'

null

`$modelKey` ¶

public string

This controller's model key name, an underscored version of the controller's $modelClass property.

Example: For a controller named 'ArticleComments', the modelKey would be 'article_comment'

null

`$modelNames` ¶

public array

An array containing the class names of the models this controller uses.

array()

`$name` ¶

public string

The name of this controller. Controller names are plural, named after the model they manipulate.

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#Controller-Attributes

null

`$output` ¶

public string

The output of the requested action. Contains either a variable returned from the action, or the data of the rendered view; You can use this var in child controllers' afterFilter() callbacks to alter output.

null

`$paginate` ¶

public array

Holds pagination defaults for controller actions. The keys that can be included in this array are: 'conditions', 'fields', 'order', 'limit', 'page', and 'recursive', similar to the keys in the second parameter of Model::find().

Pagination defaults can also be supplied in a model-by-model basis by using the name of the model as a key for a pagination array:

{{{ var $paginate = array( 'Post' => array(...), 'Comment' => array(...) ); }}}

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#Pagination

array('limit' => 20, 'page' => 1)

`$params` ¶

public array

Parameters received in the current request: GET and POST data, information about the request, etc.

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#The-Parameters-Attribute-params

array()

`$passedArgs` ¶

public mixed

Holds all params passed and named.

array()

`$persistModel` ¶

public boolean

Used to create cached instances of models a controller uses. When set to true, all models related to the controller will be cached. This can increase performance in many cases.

false

`$plugin` ¶

public string

Automatically set to the name of a plugin.

null

`$scaffold` ¶

public mixed

Triggers Scaffolding

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#Scaffolding

false

`$uses` ¶

public mixed

An array containing the class names of models this controller uses.

Example: var $uses = array('Product', 'Post', 'Comment');

Can be set to array() to use no models. Can be set to false to use no models and prevent the merging of $uses with AppController

Link

http://book.cakephp.org/1.3/en/The-Manual/Developing-With-CakePHP/Controllers.html#components-helpers-and-uses

false

`$validationErrors` ¶

public array

Holds any validation errors produced by the last call of the validateErrors() method/

null

`$view` ¶

public string

The name of the View class this controller sends output to.

'View'

`$viewPath` ¶

public string

The name of the views subfolder containing views for this controller.

null

`$viewVars` ¶

public array

Contains variables to be handed to the view.

array()

`$webroot` ¶

public string

The webroot of the application.

null

Classes

Functions

Class Controller

Direct Subclasses

Indirect Subclasses

Properties summary

Method Summary

__construct() public

__mergeVars() public

_afterScaffoldSave() public

_afterScaffoldSaveError() public

_beforeScaffold() public

_scaffoldError() public

afterFilter() public

beforeFilter() public

beforeRender() public

constructClasses() public

disableCache() public

flash() public

header() public

httpCodes() public

isAuthorized() public

loadModel() public

paginate() public

postConditions() public

redirect() public

referer() public

render() public

set() public

setAction() public

shutdownProcess() public

startupProcess() public

validate() public

validateErrors() public

Method Detail

__construct() public ¶

Overrides

__mergeVars() public ¶

_afterScaffoldSave() public ¶

Parameters

Returns

Link

_afterScaffoldSaveError() public ¶

Parameters

Returns

Link

_beforeScaffold() public ¶

Parameters

Returns

Link

_scaffoldError() public ¶

Parameters

Returns

Link

afterFilter() public ¶

Link

beforeFilter() public ¶

Link

beforeRender() public ¶

Link

constructClasses() public ¶

Returns

See

Link

disableCache() public ¶

Link

flash() public ¶

Parameters

Returns

Link

header() public ¶

Parameters

httpCodes() public ¶

Parameters

Returns

isAuthorized() public ¶

Returns

Link

loadModel() public ¶

Parameters

`$Component` ¶

`$__httpCodes` ¶

`$action` ¶

`$autoLayout` ¶