Database: Traits

Model traits are used to implement common functionality.

Hashable

Hashed attributes are hashed immediately when the attribute is first set on the model. To hash attributes in your model, apply the Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Hashable trait and declare a protected $hashable property with an array containing the attributes to hash.

class User extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Hashable;

    /**
     * @var array List of attributes to hash.
     */
    protected $hashable = ['password'];
}

Purgeable

NOTE: The Purgeable trait is applied to all models extending the base Winter\Storm\Database\Model class by default.

Purged attributes will not be saved to the database when a model is created or updated. To purge attributes in your model, apply the Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Purgeable trait and declare a protected $purgeable property with an array containing the attributes to purge.

class User extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Purgeable;

    /**
     * @var array List of attributes to purge.
     */
    protected $purgeable = ['password_confirmation'];
}

The defined attributes will be purged when the model is saved, before the model events are triggered, including validation. Use the getOriginalPurgeValue to find a value that was purged.

return $user->getOriginalPurgeValue('password_confirmation');

Encryptable

Similar to the hashable trait, encrypted attributes are encrypted when set but also decrypted when an attribute is retrieved. To encrypt attributes in your model, apply the Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Encryptable trait and declare a protected $encryptable property with an array containing the attributes to encrypt.

class User extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Encryptable;

    /**
     * @var array List of attributes to encrypt.
     */
    protected $encryptable = ['api_key', 'api_secret'];
}

NOTE: Encrypted attributes will be serialized and unserialized as a part of the encryption / decryption process. Do not make an attribute that is encryptable also jsonable at the same time as the jsonable process will attempt to decode a value that has already been unserialized by the encryptor.

Sluggable

Slugs are meaningful codes that are commonly used in page URLs. To automatically generate a unique slug for your model, apply the Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Sluggable trait and declare a protected $slugs property.

class User extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Sluggable;

    /**
     * @var array Generate slugs for these attributes.
     */
    protected $slugs = ['slug' => 'name'];
}

The $slugs property should be an array where the key is the destination column for the slug and the value is the source string used to generate the slug. In the above example, if the name column was set to Cheyenne, as a result the slug column would be set to cheyenne, cheyenne-2, or cheyenne-3, etc before the model is created.

To generate a slug from multiple sources, pass another array as the source value:

protected $slugs = [
    'slug' => ['first_name', 'last_name']
];

The source value also supports using dot notation to generate a slug from a relation's attribute:

protected $slugs = [
    'slug' => ['first_name', 'family.last_name']
];

Slugs are only generated when a model first created. To override or disable this functionality, simply set the slug attribute manually:

$user = new User;
$user->name = 'Remy';
$user->slug = 'custom-slug';
$user->save(); // Slug will not be generated

Use the slugAttributes method to regenerate slugs when updating a model:

$user = User::find(1);
$user->slug = null;
$user->slugAttributes();
$user->save();

Sluggable with the SoftDelete trait

By default, soft deleted models are ignored when the slug is generated. You might want to prevent slug duplication when recovering soft deleted models.

Set the $allowTrashedSlugs attribute to true in order to take into account soft deleted records when generating new slugs.

protected $allowTrashedSlugs = true;

Revisionable

Winter models can record the history of changes in values by storing revisions. To store revisions for your model, apply the Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Revisionable trait and declare a protected $revisionable property with an array containing the attributes to monitor for changes. You also need to define a $morphMany model relation called revision_history that refers to the System\Models\Revision class with the name revisionable - this is where the revision history data is stored.

class User extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Revisionable;

    /**
     * @var array Monitor these attributes for changes.
     */
    protected $revisionable = ['name', 'email'];

    /**
     * @var array Relations
     */
    public $morphMany = [
        'revision_history' => ['System\Models\Revision', 'name' => 'revisionable']
    ];
}

By default 500 records will be kept, however this can be modified by declaring a $revisionableLimit property on the model with a new limit value.

/**
 * @var int Maximum number of revision records to keep.
 */
public $revisionableLimit = 8;

The revision history can be accessed like any other relation:

$history = User::find(1)->revision_history;

foreach ($history as $record) {
    echo $record->field . ' updated ';
    echo 'from ' . $record->old_value;
    echo 'to ' . $record->new_value;
}

The revision record optionally supports a user relationship using the user_id attribute. You may include a getRevisionableUser method in your model to keep track of the user that made the modification.

public function getRevisionableUser()
{
    return BackendAuth::getUser()->id;
}

Sortable

Sorted models will store a number value in sort_order which maintains the sort order of each individual model in a collection. To store a sort order for your models, apply the Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Sortable trait and ensure that your schema has a column defined for it to use (example: $table->integer('sort_order')->default(0);).

class User extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Sortable;
}

You may modify the key name used to identify the sort order by defining the SORT_ORDER constant:

const SORT_ORDER = 'my_sort_order_column';

Use the setSortableOrder method to set the orders on a single record or multiple records.

// Sets the order of the user to 1...
$user->setSortableOrder($user->id, 1);

// Sets the order of records 1, 2, 3 to 3, 2, 1 respectively...
$user->setSortableOrder([1, 2, 3], [3, 2, 1]);

NOTE: If adding this trait to a model where data (rows) already existed previously, the data set may need to be initialized before this trait will work correctly. To do so, either manually update each row's sort_order column or run a query against the data to copy the record's id column to the sort_order column (ex. UPDATE myvendor_myplugin_mymodelrecords SET sort_order = id).

Simple Tree

A simple tree model will use the parent_id column maintain a parent and child relationship between models. To use the simple tree, apply the Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\SimpleTree trait.

class Category extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\SimpleTree;
}

This trait will automatically inject two model relations called parent and children, it is the equivalent of the following definitions:

public $belongsTo = [
    'parent'    => ['User', 'key' => 'parent_id'],
];

public $hasMany = [
    'children'    => ['User', 'key' => 'parent_id'],
];

You may modify the key name used to identify the parent by defining the PARENT_ID constant:

const PARENT_ID = 'my_parent_column';

Collections of models that use this trait will return the type of Winter\Storm\Database\TreeCollection which adds the toNested method. To build an eager loaded tree structure, return the records with the relations eager loaded.

Category::all()->toNested();

Rendering

In order to render all levels of items and their children, you can use recursive processing

{% macro renderChildren(item) %}
    {% import _self as SELF %}
    {% if item.children is not empty %}
        <ul>
            {% for child in item.children %}
                <li>{{ child.name }}{{ SELF.renderChildren(child) | raw }}</li>
            {% endfor %}
        </ul>
    {% endif %}
{% endmacro %}

{% import _self as SELF %}
{{ SELF.renderChildren(category) | raw }}

Nested Tree

The nested set model is an advanced technique for maintaining hierachies among models using parent_id, nest_left, nest_right, and nest_depth columns.

$table->integer('parent_id')->nullable();
$table->integer('nest_left')->nullable();
$table->integer('nest_right')->nullable();
$table->integer('nest_depth')->nullable();

To use a nested set model, apply the Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\NestedTree trait. All of the features of the SimpleTree trait are inherently available in this model.

class Category extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\NestedTree;
}

You can change the column names used by defining the following constants on the model:

const PARENT_ID = 'my_parent_column';
const NEST_LEFT = 'my_left_column';
const NEST_RIGHT = 'my_right_column';
const NEST_DEPTH = 'my_depth_column';

General access methods

$model->getRoot(); - Returns the highest parent of a node.
$model->getRootList(); - Returns an indented array of key and value columns from root.
$model->getParent(); - The direct parent node.
$model->getParents(); - Returns all parents up the tree.
$model->getParentsAndSelf(); - Returns all parents up the tree and self.
$model->getChildren(); - Set of all direct child nodes.
$model->getSiblings(); - Return all siblings (parent's children).
$model->getSiblingsAndSelf(); - Return all siblings and self.
$model->getLeaves(); - Returns all final nodes without children.
$model->getDepth(); - Returns the depth of a current node.
$model->getChildCount(); - Returns number of all children.

Query builder methods

$query->withoutNode(); - Filters a specific node from the results.
$query->withoutSelf(); - Filters current node from the results.
$query->withoutRoot(); - Filters root from the results.
$query->children(); - Filters as direct children down the tree.
$query->allChildren(); - Filters as all children down the tree.
$query->parent(); - Filters as direct parent up the tree.
$query->parents(); - Filters as all parents up the tree.
$query->siblings(); - Filters as all siblings (parent's children).
$query->leaves(); - Filters as all final nodes without children.
$query->getNested(); - Returns an eager loaded collection of results.
$query->listsNested(); - Returns an indented array of key and value columns.

Flat result access methods

$model->getAll(); - Returns everything in correct order.
$model->getAllRoot(); - Returns all root nodes.
$model->getAllChildren(); - Returns all children down the tree.
$model->getAllChildrenAndSelf(); - Returns all children and self.

Eager loaded access methods

$model->getEagerRoot(); - Returns a list of all root nodes, with ->children eager loaded.
$model->getEagerChildren(); - Returns direct child nodes, with ->children eager loaded.

Creating a root node

By default, all nodes are created as roots:

$root = Category::create(['name' => 'Root category']);

Alternatively, you may find yourself in the need of converting an existing node into a root node:

$node->makeRoot();

You may also nullify it's parent_id column which works the same as `makeRoot'.

$node->parent_id = null;
$node->save();

Inserting nodes

You can insert new nodes directly by the relation:

$child1 = $root->children()->create(['name' => 'Child 1']);

Or use the makeChildOf method for existing nodes:

$child2 = Category::create(['name' => 'Child 2']);
$child2->makeChildOf($root);

Deleting nodes

When a node is deleted with the delete method, all descendants of the node will also be deleted. Note that the delete model events will not be fired for the child models.

$child1->delete();

Getting the nesting level of a node

The getLevel method will return current nesting level, or depth, of a node.

// 0 when root
$node->getLevel()

Moving nodes around

There are several methods for moving nodes around:

moveLeft(): Find the left sibling and move to the left of it.
moveRight(): Find the right sibling and move to the right of it.
moveBefore($otherNode): Move to the node to the left of ...
moveAfter($otherNode): Move to the node to the right of ...
makeChildOf($otherNode): Make the node a child of ...
makeRoot(): Make current node a root node.

Validation

Winter models uses the built-in Validator class. The validation rules are defined in the model class as a public property named $rules and the class must use the trait Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Validation:

class User extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Validation;

    public $rules = [
        'name'                  => 'required|between:4,16',
        'email'                 => 'required|email',
        'password'              => 'required|alpha_num|between:4,8|confirmed',
        'password_confirmation' => 'required|alpha_num|between:4,8'
    ];
}

NOTE: You're free to use the array syntax for validation rules as well.

class User extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Validation;

    public $rules = [
        'links.*.url'    => 'required|url',
        'links.*.anchor' => 'required'
    ];
}

Models validate themselves automatically when the save method is called.

$user = new User;
$user->name = 'Actual Person';
$user->email = 'a.person@example.com';
$user->password = 'passw0rd';

// Returns false if model is invalid
$success = $user->save();

NOTE: You can also validate a model at any time using the validate method.

Retrieving validation errors

When a model fails to validate, a Illuminate\Support\MessageBag object is attached to the model. The object which contains validation failure messages. Retrieve the validation errors message collection instance with errors method or $validationErrors property. Retrieve all validation errors with errors()->all(). Retrieve errors for a specific attribute using validationErrors->get('attribute').

NOTE: The Model leverages the MessagesBag object which has a simple and elegant method of formatting errors.

Overriding validation

The forceSave method validates the model and saves regardless of whether or not there are validation errors.

$user = new User;

// Creates a user without validation
$user->forceSave();

Custom error messages

Just like the Validator class, you can set custom error messages using the same syntax.

class User extends Model
{
    public $customMessages = [
        'required' => 'The :attribute field is required.',
        ...
    ];
}

You can also add custom error messages to the array syntax for validation rules as well.

class User extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Validation;

    public $rules = [
        'links.*.url'    => 'required|url',
        'links.*.anchor' => 'required'
    ];

    public $customMessages = [
        'links.*.url.required'    => 'The url is required',
        'links.*.url.*'           => 'The url needs to be a valid url',
        'links.*.anchor.required' => 'The anchor text is required',
    ];
}

In the above example you can write custom error messages to specific validation rules (here we used: required). Or you can use a * to select everything else (here we added a custom message to the url validation rule using the *).

Custom attribute names

You may also set custom attribute names with the $attributeNames array.

class User extends Model
{
    public $attributeNames = [
        'email' => 'Email Address',
        ...
    ];
}

Dynamic validation rules

You can apply rules dynamically by overriding the beforeValidate model event method. Here we check if the is_remote attribute is false and then dynamically set the latitude and longitude attributes to be required fields.

public function beforeValidate()
{
    if (!$this->is_remote) {
        $this->rules['latitude'] = 'required';
        $this->rules['longitude'] = 'required';
    }
}

Custom validation rules

You can also create custom validation rules the same way you would for the Validator service.

Soft deleting

Soft deleting allows for models to "act" as being deleted whilst still remaining in the database. Instead of removing a model record from the database on delete, a deleted_at timestamp is set on the record which, by default, will hide the record from any database query results.

To enable soft deleting for a model, apply the Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\SoftDelete trait to the model and add the deleted_at column to your $dates property:

class User extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\SoftDelete;

    protected $dates = ['deleted_at'];
}

To add a deleted_at column to your table, you may use the softDeletes method from a migration:

Schema::table('posts', function ($table) {
    $table->softDeletes();
});

Now, when you call the delete method on the model, the deleted_at column will be set to the current timestamp. When querying a model that uses soft deletes, the "deleted" models will not be included in query results.

To determine if a given model instance has been soft deleted, use the trashed method:

if ($user->trashed()) {
    //
}

If you wish, you may also change the column that the deleted timestamp is saved to, by specifying a DELETED_AT constant in your model. Make sure that you change the column in the $dates property as well.

class User extends Model
{
    // ...
    const DELETED_AT = 'hidden_at';

    protected $dates = ['hidden_at'];
    // ...
}

Querying soft deleted models

Including soft deleted models

As noted above, soft deleted models will automatically be excluded from query results. However, you may force soft deleted models to appear in a result set using the withTrashed method on the query:

$users = User::withTrashed()->where('account_id', 1)->get();

The withTrashed method may also be used on a relationship query:

$flight->history()->withTrashed()->get();

Retrieving only soft deleted models

The onlyTrashed method will retrieve only soft deleted models:

$users = User::onlyTrashed()->where('account_id', 1)->get();

Restoring soft deleted models

Sometimes you may wish to "un-delete" a soft deleted model. To restore a soft deleted model into an active state, use the restore method on a model instance:

$user->restore();

You may also use the restore method in a query to quickly restore multiple models:

// Restore a single model instance...
User::withTrashed()->where('account_id', 1)->restore();

// Restore all related models...
$user->posts()->restore();

Permanently deleting models

Sometimes you may need to truly remove a model from your database. To permanently remove a soft deleted model from the database, use the forceDelete method:

// Force deleting a single model instance...
$user->forceDelete();

// Force deleting all related models...
$user->posts()->forceDelete();

Soft deleting relations

A model that uses the SoftDelete trait may also define that related models also be soft deleting when the primary model is soft delete. You can cascade the soft deletion by defining the softDelete option in the relation definition if you are using property-style relation definitions.

In this example, if the user model is soft deleted, the comments belonging to that user will also be soft deleted.

class User extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\SoftDelete;

    public $hasMany = [
        'comments' => ['Acme\Blog\Models\Comment', 'softDelete' => true],
    ];
}

If your related model uses a different column for storing the deleted timestamp, you may specify it in the deletedAtColumn option on the relation definition.

class User extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\SoftDelete;

    public $hasMany = [
        'comments' => [
            'Acme\Blog\Models\Comment',
            'softDelete' => true,
            'deletedAtColumn' => 'hidden_at',
        ],
    ];
}

If you use method style relations, you can include the ->softDeletable() chained method to the relation definition to indicate that this relation should also be soft deleted when the main model is soft deleted.

class User extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\SoftDelete;

    public function comments(): HasMany
    {
        $this->hasMany('Acme\Blog\Models\Comment')->softDeletable();
    }
}

If your related model uses a different column for storing the deleted timestamp, you may specify it in the first parameter of the chained method:

class User extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\SoftDelete;

    public function comments(): HasMany
    {
        $this->hasMany('Acme\Blog\Models\Comment')->softDeletable('hidden_at');
    }
}

WARNING: If the related model does not also use the SoftDelete trait and you specify the relation as soft-deletable, the relation will be permanently deleted.

Under these same conditions, when the primary model is restored, all the related models that use the softDelete option will also be restored.

// Restore the user and comments
$user->restore();

Soft Delete with Sluggable trait

By default, Sluggable trait will ignore soft deleted models when the slug is generated. In order to make the model restoration less painful checkout the Sluggable section.

Nullable

Nullable attributes are set to NULL when left empty. To nullify attributes in your model, apply the Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Nullable trait and declare a $nullable property with an array containing the attributes to nullify.

class Product extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\Nullable;

    /**
     * @var array Nullable attributes.
     */
    protected $nullable = ['sku'];
}

Array Source

NOTE: This functionality requires the PDO SQLite extension to be enabled on your server, even if you intend to use a different database type for your other models.

The Array Source trait allows you to create temporary models that do not rely on database tables, but still provide all the functionality and flexibility of a real database-driven model. This can be useful for custom datasets that you may not wish to store in the database, such as API-provided data or indexable data, but still would like the ability to display this data in widgets that require models, or to use the Eloquent query builder to filter the data.

This functionality works by creating a temporary SQLite database either in memory, or optionally, cached to the filesystem. This SQLite database will be populated with the records that you require automatically, and then all subsequent database queries for this model will be run on this database.

To use this feature, you need to apply the Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\ArraySource trait. You will also need to do some configuration in order to define either the records that you intend to populate, or the schema that you wish to use for the temporary database.

class ApiData extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\ArraySource;

    // ...
}

Configuration

Defining the default records

To define a static set of records to populate the database with, you can add a public $records property to your model that contains an array set. Each array should contain column names as the key, and column values as the value.

class ApiData extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\ArraySource;

    public $records = [
        [
            'id' => 1,
            'name' => 'Bugs',
            'animal' => 'Bunny',
            'is_loony_tune' => true,
        ],
        [
            'id' => 2,
            'name' => 'Donald',
            'animal' => 'Duck',
            'is_loony_tune' => false,
        ],
    ];
}

If you want to populate records dynamically, you can instead override the getRecords method with your own functionality, as long as it returns an array in the same format as the one above.

class ApiData extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\ArraySource;

    public function getRecords(): array
    {
        $pluginManager = \System\Classes\PluginManager::instance();
        $records = [];

        foreach ($pluginManager->getPlugins() as $code => $plugin) {
            $details = $plugin->pluginDetails();

            $records[] = [
                'code' => $code,
                'name' => $details['name'],
                'description' => $details['description'],
            ];
        }

        return $records;
    }
}

You may also opt to not provide either of the above, which effectively creates an empty database, however, you must provide the schema for the table in this instance.

Defining the schema

By default, when populating the temporary database with records using the methods above, the schema of the table will be automatically generated based on the data provided. This may not always be accurate, so you may define the schema manually if you would like to control the column types in your temporary database, or if you don't provide any initial records to the model.

To do this, define a public $recordSchema property on the model as an array, with the column names as the key and the data type (matching the $casts property) as the value.

class ApiData extends Model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\ArraySource;

    public $records = [
        [
            'id' => 1,
            'name' => 'Bugs',
            'animal' => 'Bunny',
            'is_loony_tune' => true,
        ],
        [
            'id' => 2,
            'name' => 'Donald',
            'animal' => 'Duck',
            'is_loony_tune' => false,
        ],
    ];

    public $recordSchema = [
        'id' => 'integer',
        'name' => 'string',
        'animal' => 'string',
        'is_loony_tune' => 'boolean',
    ];
}

HasSortableRelations

Add this trait to your model in order to allow its relations to be sorted/reordered.

class MyModel extends model
{
    use \Winter\Storm\Database\Traits\HasSortableRelations;

    /**
     * @var array Relations that can be sorted/reordered and the column name to use for sorting/reordering.
     */
    public $sortableRelations = ['relation_name' => 'sort_order_column'];
...
}

← Previous page Database: Model Serialization Next page → Database: Behaviors

Database: Traits

#Hashable

#Purgeable

#Encryptable

#Sluggable

#Sluggable with the SoftDelete trait

#Revisionable

#Sortable

#Simple Tree

#Rendering

#Nested Tree

#General access methods

#Query builder methods

#Flat result access methods

#Eager loaded access methods

#Creating a root node

#Inserting nodes

#Deleting nodes

#Getting the nesting level of a node

#Moving nodes around

#Validation

#Retrieving validation errors

#Overriding validation

#Custom error messages

#Custom attribute names

#Dynamic validation rules

#Custom validation rules

#Soft deleting

#Querying soft deleted models