Controllers¶

Interacting with Views¶

Controllers interact with views in a number of ways. First, they are able to pass data to the views, using set(). You can also decide which view class to use, and which view file should be rendered from the controller.

Controller::set(string $var, mixed $value)¶

The set() method is the main way to send data from your controller to your view. Once you’ve used set(), the variable can be accessed in your view:

// First you pass data from the controller:

$this->set('color', 'pink');

// Then, in the view, you can utilize the data:
?>

You have selected <?php echo $color; ?> icing for the cake.

The set() method also takes an associative array as its first parameter. This can often be a quick way to assign a set of information to the view:

$data = array(
    'color' => 'pink',
    'type' => 'sugar',
    'base_price' => 23.95
);

// make $color, $type, and $base_price
// available to the view:

$this->set($data);

The attribute $pageTitle no longer exists. Use set() to set the title:

$this->set('title_for_layout', 'This is the page title');

As of 2.5 the variable $title_for_layout is deprecated, use view blocks instead.

Controller::render(string $view, string $layout)¶

The render() method is automatically called at the end of each requested controller action. This method performs all the view logic (using the data you’ve submitted using the set() method), places the view inside its $layout, and serves it back to the end user.

The default view file used by render is determined by convention. If the search() action of the RecipesController is requested, the view file in /app/View/Recipes/search.ctp will be rendered:

class RecipesController extends AppController {
// ...
    public function search() {
        // Render the view in /View/Recipes/search.ctp
        $this->render();
    }
// ...
}

Although CakePHP will automatically call it after every action’s logic (unless you’ve set $this->autoRender to false), you can use it to specify an alternate view file by specifying a view name in the controller using $view.

If $view starts with ‘/’, it is assumed to be a view or element file relative to the /app/View folder. This allows direct rendering of elements, very useful in AJAX calls.

// Render the element in /View/Elements/ajaxreturn.ctp
$this->render('/Elements/ajaxreturn');

The $layout parameter allows you to specify the layout with which the view is rendered.

class PostsController extends AppController {
    public function my_action() {
        $this->render('custom_file');
    }
}

class PostsController extends AppController {
    public function my_action() {
        $this->render('Users.UserDetails/custom_file');
    }
}

Flow Control¶

Controller::redirect(mixed $url, integer $status, boolean $exit)¶

The flow control method you’ll use most often is redirect(). This method takes its first parameter in the form of a CakePHP-relative URL. When a user has successfully placed an order, you might wish to redirect them to a receipt screen.

public function place_order() {
    // Logic for finalizing order goes here
    if ($success) {
        return $this->redirect(
            array('controller' => 'orders', 'action' => 'thanks')
        );
    }
    return $this->redirect(
        array('controller' => 'orders', 'action' => 'confirm')
    );
}

You can also use a relative or absolute URL as the $url argument:

$this->redirect('/orders/thanks');
$this->redirect('http://www.example.com');

You can also pass data to the action:

$this->redirect(array('action' => 'edit', $id));

The second parameter of redirect() allows you to define an HTTP status code to accompany the redirect. You may want to use 301 (moved permanently) or 303 (see other), depending on the nature of the redirect.

The method will issue an exit() after the redirect unless you set the third parameter to false.

If you need to redirect to the referer page you can use:

$this->redirect($this->referer());

The method also supports name-based parameters. If you want to redirect to a URL like: http://www.example.com/orders/confirm/product:pizza/quantity:5 you can use:

$this->redirect(array(
    'controller' => 'orders',
    'action' => 'confirm',
    'product' => 'pizza',
    'quantity' => 5)
);

An example using query strings and hash would look like:

$this->redirect(array(
    'controller' => 'orders',
    'action' => 'confirm',
    '?' => array(
        'product' => 'pizza',
        'quantity' => 5
    ),
    '#' => 'top')
);

The generated URL would be:

http://www.example.com/orders/confirm?product=pizza&quantity=5#top

Controller::flash(string $message, string|array $url, integer $pause, string $layout)¶

Like redirect(), the flash() method is used to direct a user to a new page after an operation. The flash() method is different in that it shows a message before passing the user on to another URL.

The first parameter should hold the message to be displayed, and the second parameter is a CakePHP-relative URL. CakePHP will display the $message for $pause seconds before forwarding the user on.

If there’s a particular template you’d like your flashed message to use, you may specify the name of that layout in the $layout parameter.

For in-page flash messages, be sure to check out SessionComponent::setFlash() method.

Callbacks¶

In addition to the Request Life-cycle callbacks, CakePHP also supports callbacks related to scaffolding.

Controller::beforeScaffold($method)¶

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

Controller::afterScaffoldSave($method)¶

$method name of method called either edit or update.

Controller::afterScaffoldSaveError($method)¶

$method name of method called either edit or update.

Controller::scaffoldError($method)¶

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

Other Useful Methods¶

Controller::constructClasses()¶

This method loads the models required by the controller. This loading process is done by CakePHP normally, but this method is handy to have when accessing controllers from a different perspective. If you need CakePHP in a command-line script or some other outside use, constructClasses() may come in handy.

Controller::referer(mixed $default = null, boolean $local = false)¶

Returns the referring URL for the current request. Parameter $default can be used to supply a default URL to use if HTTP_REFERER cannot be read from headers. So, instead of doing this:

class UserController extends AppController {
    public function delete($id) {
        // delete code goes here, and then...
        if ($this->referer() != '/') {
            return $this->redirect($this->referer());
        }
        return $this->redirect(array('action' => 'index'));
    }
}

you can do this:

class UserController extends AppController {
    public function delete($id) {
        // delete code goes here, and then...
        return $this->redirect(
            $this->referer(array('action' => 'index'))
        );
    }
}

If $default is not set, the function defaults to the root of your domain - ‘/’.

Parameter $local if set to true, restricts referring URLs to local server.

Controller::disableCache()¶

Used to tell the user’s browser not to cache the results of the current request. This is different than view caching, covered in a later chapter.

The headers sent to this effect are:

Expires: Mon, 26 Jul 1997 05:00:00 GMT
Last-Modified: [current datetime] GMT
Cache-Control: no-store, no-cache, must-revalidate
Cache-Control: post-check=0, pre-check=0
Pragma: no-cache

Controller::postConditions(array $data, mixed $op, string $bool, boolean $exclusive)¶

Use this method to turn a set of POSTed model data (from HtmlHelper-compatible inputs) into a set of find conditions for a model. This function offers a quick shortcut on building search logic. For example, an administrative user may want to be able to search orders in order to know which items need to be shipped. You can use CakePHP’s FormHelper and HtmlHelper to create a quick form based on the Order model. Then a controller action can use the data posted from that form to craft find conditions:

public function index() {
    $conditions = $this->postConditions($this->request->data);
    $orders = $this->Order->find('all', compact('conditions'));
    $this->set('orders', $orders);
}

If $this->request->data['Order']['destination'] equals “Old Towne Bakery”, postConditions converts that condition to an array compatible for use in a Model->find() method. In this case, array('Order.destination' => 'Old Towne Bakery').

If you want to use a different SQL operator between terms, supply them using the second parameter:

/*
Contents of $this->request->data
array(
    'Order' => array(
        'num_items' => '4',
        'referrer' => 'Ye Olde'
    )
)
*/

// Let's get orders that have at least 4 items and contain 'Ye Olde'
$conditions = $this->postConditions(
    $this->request->data,
    array(
        'num_items' => '>=',
        'referrer' => 'LIKE'
    )
);
$orders = $this->Order->find('all', compact('conditions'));

The third parameter allows you to tell CakePHP what SQL boolean operator to use between the find conditions. Strings like ‘AND’, ‘OR’ and ‘XOR’ are all valid values.

Finally, if the last parameter is set to true, and the $op parameter is an array, fields not included in $op will not be included in the returned conditions.

Controller::paginate()¶

This method is used for paginating results fetched by your models. You can specify page sizes, model find conditions and more. See the pagination section for more details on how to use paginate.

Controller::requestAction(string $url, array $options)¶

This function calls a controller’s action from any location and returns data from the action. The $url passed is a CakePHP-relative URL (/controllername/actionname/params). To pass extra data to the receiving controller action add to the $options array.

Note

You can use requestAction() to retrieve a fully rendered view by passing ‘return’ in the options: requestAction($url, array('return'));. It is important to note that making a requestAction() using return from a controller method can cause script and CSS tags to not work correctly.

Warning

If used without caching requestAction() can lead to poor performance. It is rarely appropriate to use in a controller or model.

requestAction() is best used in conjunction with (cached) elements – as a way to fetch data for an element before rendering. Let’s use the example of putting a “latest comments” element in the layout. First we need to create a controller function that will return the data:

// Controller/CommentsController.php
class CommentsController extends AppController {
    public function latest() {
        if (empty($this->request->params['requested'])) {
            throw new ForbiddenException();
        }
        return $this->Comment->find(
            'all',
            array('order' => 'Comment.created DESC', 'limit' => 10)
        );
    }
}

You should always include checks to make sure your requestAction() methods are actually originating from requestAction(). Failing to do so will allow requestAction() methods to be directly accessible from a URL, which is generally undesirable.

If we now create a simple element to call that function:

// View/Elements/latest_comments.ctp

$comments = $this->requestAction('/comments/latest');
foreach ($comments as $comment) {
    echo $comment['Comment']['title'];
}

We can then place that element anywhere to get the output using:

echo $this->element('latest_comments');

Written in this way, whenever the element is rendered, a request will be made to the controller to get the data, the data will be processed, and returned. However in accordance with the warning above it’s best to make use of element caching to prevent needless processing. By modifying the call to element to look like this:

echo $this->element('latest_comments', array(), array('cache' => true));

The requestAction() call will not be made while the cached element view file exists and is valid.

In addition, requestAction() now takes array based cake style URLs:

echo $this->requestAction(
    array('controller' => 'articles', 'action' => 'featured'),
    array('return')
);

This allows the requestAction() call to bypass the usage of Router::url() which can increase performance. The url based arrays are the same as the ones that HtmlHelper::link() uses with one difference - if you are using named or passed parameters, you must put them in a second array and wrap them with the correct key. This is because requestAction() merges the named args array (requestAction’s 2nd parameter) with the Controller::params member array and does not explicitly place the named args array into the key ‘named’; Additional members in the $option array will also be made available in the requested action’s Controller::params array:

echo $this->requestAction('/articles/featured/limit:3');
echo $this->requestAction('/articles/view/5');

As an array in the requestAction() would then be:

echo $this->requestAction(
    array('controller' => 'articles', 'action' => 'featured'),
    array('named' => array('limit' => 3))
);

echo $this->requestAction(
    array('controller' => 'articles', 'action' => 'view'),
    array('pass' => array(5))
);

Note

Unlike other places where array URLs are analogous to string URLs, requestAction() treats them differently.

When using an array url in conjunction with requestAction() you must specify all parameters that you will need in the requested action. This includes parameters like $this->request->data. In addition to passing all required parameters, named and pass parameters must be done in the second array as seen above.

Controller::loadModel(string $modelClass, mixed $id)¶

The loadModel() function comes handy when you need to use a model which is not the controller’s default model or its associated model:

$this->loadModel('Article');
$recentArticles = $this->Article->find(
    'all',
    array('limit' => 5, 'order' => 'Article.created DESC')
);

$this->loadModel('User', 2);
$user = $this->User->read();

$components, $helpers and $uses¶

The next most often used controller attributes tell CakePHP what $helpers, $components, and models you’ll be using in conjunction with the current controller. Using these attributes make MVC classes given by $components and $uses available to the controller as class variables ($this->ModelName, for example) and those given by $helpers to the view as an object reference variable ($this->{$helpername}).

property Controller::$uses¶

Controllers have access to their primary model available by default. Our RecipesController will have the Recipe model class available at $this->Recipe, and our ProductsController also features the Product model at $this->Product. However, when allowing a controller to access additional models through the $uses variable, the name of the current controller’s model must also be included. This is illustrated in the example below.

If you do not wish to use a Model in your controller, set public $uses = array(). This will allow you to use a controller without a need for a corresponding Model file. However, the models defined in the AppController will still be loaded. You can also use false to not load any models at all. Even those defined in the AppController.

Changed in version 2.1: $uses now has a new default value, it also handles false differently.

property Controller::$helpers¶

The HtmlHelper, FormHelper, and SessionHelper are available by default, as is the SessionComponent. But if you choose to define your own $helpers array in AppController, make sure to include HtmlHelper and FormHelper if you want them still available by default in your Controllers. To learn more about these classes, be sure to check out their respective sections later in this manual.

Let’s look at how to tell a CakePHP Controller that you plan to use additional MVC classes:

class RecipesController extends AppController {
    public $uses = array('Recipe', 'User');
    public $helpers = array('Js');
    public $components = array('RequestHandler');
}

Each of these variables are merged with their inherited values, therefore it is not necessary (for example) to redeclare the FormHelper, or anything that is declared in your AppController.

property Controller::$components¶

The components array allows you to set which Components a controller will use. Like $helpers and $uses components in your controllers are merged with those in AppController. As with $helpers you can pass settings into $components. See Configuring Components for more information.

Other Attributes¶

While you can check out the details for all controller attributes in the API, there are other controller attributes that merit their own sections in the manual.

property Controller::$cacheAction¶

The cacheAction attribute is used to define the duration and other information about full page caching. You can read more about full page caching in the CacheHelper documentation.

property Controller::$paginate¶

The paginate attribute is a deprecated compatibility property. Using it loads and configures the PaginatorComponent. It is recommended that you update your code to use normal component settings:

class ArticlesController extends AppController {
    public $components = array(
        'Paginator' => array(
            'Article' => array(
                'conditions' => array('published' => 1)
            )
        )
    );
}