Get By
Get By is a dynamic method that gives you an easier way to lookup records based on a single where condition. For example, normally you might lookup a user's record based on their id in this way:
// We'll assume $id was populated via their Session Cookie
// Get user by ID
$u = new User();
$u->where('id', $id)->get();
Using the Get By method, you can do exactly as above in this way:
// We'll assume $id was populated via their Session Cookie // Get user by ID $u = new User(); $u->get_by_id($id);
I mentioned that Get By is a dynamic method. What I mean by this is, you can Get By any fields belonging to the object. For example, a user object might have a username field. So, to Get By username:
// We'll assume $username was populated via a POST request // Get user by username $u = new User(); $u->get_by_username($username);
Likewise, if they had an email field, you could Get By email:
// We'll assume $email was populated via a POST request // Get user by email $u = new User(); $u->get_by_email($email);
Get By is primarily a convenience method for developers. Whether you choose to use it instead of specifying the where clause yourself is up to you, but whatever your choice, I recommend being consistent with it.
Get By (Advanced)
Similarly to the advanced queries available in Get (Advanced), there is a Get By Related equivelant for where_related clauses. Here's the example of a simple where_related usage:
Here's how to get all Users who are related to the 'Moderator' Group, the normal way:
// Create user object $u = new User(); // Get users that are related to the Moderator group $u->where_related_group('name', 'Moderator')->get(); // ...
And here's how you do the exact same thing but using Get By Related:
// Create user object $u = new User(); // Get users that are related to the Moderator group $u->get_by_related_group('name', 'Moderator'); // ...
$object->get_by_related_{model}($field, $value);
Just like with the different usage formats in Get (Advanced), there are different ways you can use Get By Related.
{model}- Replace with related model name.- $field - First parameter for chosen query type.
- $value - Second parameter for chosen query type.
// Create user $u = new User(); // Get all users relating to the Moderator group (goes by 'group', 'name', 'Moderator') $u->get_by_related_group('name', 'Moderator');
$object->get_by_related($model, $field, $value);
Alternatively, rather than specifying the related model as part of the method, you could instead supply it as the first parameter.
$model- Supply related model name.- $field - First parameter for chosen query type.
- $value - Second parameter for chosen query type.
// Create user $u = new User(); // Get all users relating to the Moderator group (goes by 'group', 'name', 'Moderator') $u->get_by_related('group', 'name', 'Moderator');
$object->get_by_related($related_object, $field, $value);
$related_object- Supply related object.- Optional: $field - First parameter for chosen query type.
- Optional: $value - Second parameter for chosen query type.
Note: Both the $field and $value parameters are optional if the $related_object contains a valid id.
// Create and get the Moderator group
$g = new Group();
$g->get_by_name('Moderator');
// Create user
$u = new User();
// Get all users relating to the Moderator group (goes by 'group', 'id', $g->id)
$u->get_by_related($g);
Here's a similar way of doing the above, but with an unpopulated related object (no id):
// Create group $g = new Group(); // Create user $u = new User(); // Get all users relating to the Moderator group (goes by 'group', 'name', 'Moderator') $u->get_by_related($g, 'name', 'Moderator');
Which of the available usage formats you use will depend on your personal preference, although you should be consistent with your choice. It also might depend on whether you have a related object already available to use.