Inflector

class Cake\Utility\Inflector

The Inflector class takes a string and can manipulate it to handle word variations such as pluralizations or camelizing and is normally accessed statically. Example: Inflector::pluralize('example') returns “examples”.

You can try out the inflections online at inflector.cakephp.org.

Summary of Inflector Methods and Their Output

Quick summary of the Inflector built-in methods and the results they output when provided a multi-word argument:

Method

Argument

Output

pluralize()

BigApple

BigApples

big_apple

big_apples

singularize()

BigApples

BigApple

big_apples

big_apple

camelize()

big_apples

BigApples

big apple

BigApple

underscore()

BigApples

big_apples

Big Apples

big apples

humanize()

big_apples

Big Apples

bigApple

BigApple

classify()

big_apples

BigApple

big apple

BigApple

dasherize()

BigApples

big-apples

big apple

big apple

tableize()

BigApple

big_apples

Big Apple

big apples

variable()

big_apple

bigApple

big apples

bigApples

slug()

Big Apple

big-apple

BigApples

BigApples

Creating Plural & Singular Forms

static Cake\Utility\Inflector::singularize($singular)
static Cake\Utility\Inflector::pluralize($singular)

Both pluralize and singularize() work on most English nouns. If you need to support other languages, you can use Inflection Configuration to customize the rules used:

// Apples
echo Inflector::pluralize('Apple');

Note

pluralize() may not always correctly convert a noun that is already in its plural form.

// Person
echo Inflector::singularize('People');

Note

singularize() may not always correctly convert a noun that is already in its singular form.

Creating CamelCase and under_scored Forms

static Cake\Utility\Inflector::camelize($underscored)
static Cake\Utility\Inflector::underscore($camelCase)

These methods are useful when creating class names, or property names:

// ApplePie
Inflector::camelize('Apple_pie')

// apple_pie
Inflector::underscore('ApplePie');

It should be noted that underscore will only convert camelCase formatted words. Words that contains spaces will be lower-cased, but will not contain an underscore.

Creating Human Readable Forms

static Cake\Utility\Inflector::humanize($underscored)

This method is useful when converting underscored forms into “Title Case” forms for human readable values:

// Apple Pie
Inflector::humanize('apple_pie');

Creating Table and Class Name Forms

static Cake\Utility\Inflector::classify($underscored)
static Cake\Utility\Inflector::dasherize($dashed)
static Cake\Utility\Inflector::tableize($camelCase)

When generating code, or using CakePHP’s conventions you may need to inflect table names or class names:

// UserProfileSetting
Inflector::classify('user_profile_settings');

// user-profile-setting
Inflector::dasherize('UserProfileSetting');

// user_profile_settings
Inflector::tableize('UserProfileSetting');

Creating Variable Names

static Cake\Utility\Inflector::variable($underscored)

Variable names are often useful when doing meta-programming tasks that involve generating code or doing work based on conventions:

// applePie
Inflector::variable('apple_pie');

Creating URL Safe Strings

static Cake\Utility\Inflector::slug($word, $replacement = '-')

Slug converts special characters into latin versions and converting unmatched characters and spaces to dashes. The slug method expects UTF-8 encoding:

// apple-puree
Inflector::slug('apple purée');

Note

Inflector::slug() has been deprecated since 3.2.7. Use Text::slug() instead.

Inflection Configuration

CakePHP’s naming conventions can be really nice - you can name your database table big_boxes, your model BigBoxes, your controller BigBoxesController, and everything just works together automatically. The way CakePHP knows how to tie things together is by inflecting the words between their singular and plural forms.

There are occasions (especially for our non-English speaking friends) where you may run into situations where CakePHP’s inflector (the class that pluralizes, singularizes, camelCases, and under_scores) might not work as you’d like. If CakePHP won’t recognize your Foci or Fish, you can tell CakePHP about your special cases.

Loading Custom Inflections

static Cake\Utility\Inflector::rules($type, $rules, $reset = false)

Define new inflection and transliteration rules for Inflector to use. Often, this method is used in your config/bootstrap.php:

Inflector::rules('singular', ['/^(bil)er$/i' => '\1', '/^(inflec|contribu)tors$/i' => '\1ta']);
Inflector::rules('uninflected', ['singulars']);
Inflector::rules('irregular', ['phylum' => 'phyla']); // The key is singular form, value is plural form

The supplied rules will be merged into the respective inflection sets defined in Cake/Utility/Inflector, with the added rules taking precedence over the core rules. You can use Inflector::reset() to clear rules and restore the original Inflector state.