Creating a new Entity

This document provides a guide for developers on how to create a new Entity class in the WebFramework. Entities are objects that represent data in the application and are persisted to the database. They should not contain any business logic, only data and methods for accessing and manipulating that data.

Steps to Create a New Entity

1. Define the Entity Class: Create a new class that extends EntityCore and implements the necessary methods and properties.

2. Define the Repository Class: Create a new class that extends RepositoryCore and provides methods for accessing and manipulating the entity data.

3. Create the Database Table: Define a new database table that matches the structure of the entity.

Example: Creating a Car Entity

Step 1: Define the Car Entity Class

Create a new class Car that extends EntityCore. Define the properties and methods for accessing and manipulating the data.

<?php

namespace WebFramework\Entity;

use WebFramework\Core\EntityCore;

/**
 * Represents a car in the system.
 */
class Car extends EntityCore
{
    protected static string $tableName = 'cars';
    protected static array $baseFields = ['make', 'model', 'year', 'color'];
    protected static array $privateFields = [];

    protected int $id;
    protected string $make = '';
    protected string $model = '';
    protected int $year = 0;
    protected string $color = '';

    public function getId(): int
    {
        return $this->id;
    }

    public function getMake(): string
    {
        return $this->make;
    }

    public function setMake(string $make): void
    {
        $this->make = $make;
    }

    public function getModel(): string
    {
        return $this->model;
    }

    public function setModel(string $model): void
    {
        $this->model = $model;
    }

    public function getYear(): int
    {
        return $this->year;
    }

    public function setYear(int $year): void
    {
        $this->year = $year;
    }

    public function getColor(): string
    {
        return $this->color;
    }

    public function setColor(string $color): void
    {
        $this->color = $color;
    }
}

Step 2: Define the CarRepository Class

Create a new class CarRepository that extends RepositoryCore. Implement methods for accessing and manipulating Car entities.

<?php

namespace WebFramework\Repository;

use WebFramework\Core\EntityCollection;
use WebFramework\Core\RepositoryCore;
use WebFramework\Entity\Car;

/**
 * Repository class for Car entities.
 *
 * @extends RepositoryCore<Car>
 */
class CarRepository extends RepositoryCore
{
    /** @var class-string<Car> The entity class associated with this repository */
    protected static string $entityClass = Car::class;

    /**
     * Get a Car entity by make and model.
     *
     * @param string $make  The make of the car
     * @param string $model The model of the car
     *
     * @return null|Car The Car entity if found, null otherwise
     */
    public function getCarByMakeAndModel(string $make, string $model): ?Car
    {
        return $this->getObject(['make' => $make, 'model' => $model]);
    }

    /**
     * Search for cars based on a string.
     *
     * @param string $string The search string
     *
     * @return EntityCollection<Car> A collection of matching Car entities
     */
    public function searchCars(string $string): EntityCollection
    {
        $query = <<<'SQL'
        SELECT id
        FROM cars
        WHERE make LIKE ? OR
              model LIKE ? OR
              color LIKE ?
SQL;

        $result = $this->database->query($query, [
            "%{$string}%",
            "%{$string}%",
            "%{$string}%",
        ], 'Failed to search cars');

        $data = [];
        foreach ($result as $row)
        {
            $car = $this->getObjectById($row['id']);

            if ($car === null)
            {
                throw new \RuntimeException('Failed to retrieve car');
            }

            $data[] = $car;
        }

        return new EntityCollection($data);
    }
}

Step 3: Create the Database Table

Define a new database table cars that matches the structure of the Car entity. This is typically done through a database migration. The DatabaseManager class is used to manage database schema changes.

Check out the Database Migrations documentation for more information on how to create and apply database migrations.

The target_version is used to track the version of the database schema. The actions array contains the actual schema changes to be applied. The actual version number is important and should be incremented with each change to the database schema. You also need to update the versions.required_app_db field in your config.php file to reflect the new version number.

You don't need to include a field for the id column in the actions array, as it will be added automatically.

To perform the migration you would typically run the DbUpdateTask task, by executing php scripts/update_db.php in the console of your system.

Example Migration File

<?php

return [
    'target_version' => 1,
    'actions' => [
        [
            'type' => 'create_table',
            'table_name' => 'cars',
            'fields' => [
                [
                    'name' => 'make',
                    'type' => 'varchar',
                    'size' => 255,
                    'null' => false,
                ],
                [
                    'name' => 'model',
                    'type' => 'varchar',
                    'size' => 255,
                    'null' => false,
                ],
                [
                    'name' => 'year',
                    'type' => 'int',
                    'null' => false,
                ],
                [
                    'name' => 'color',
                    'type' => 'varchar',
                    'size' => 255,
                    'null' => false,
                ],
            ],
            'constraints' => [],
        ],
    ],
];