Note: I am using the CakeEntity plugin from a previous post in this example. Feel free to ignore that code if it helps simplify what is going on.

I want to take a little time and go over ways in which we can slim down model code. Below is some early code from an application I developed - it handles lunch scheduling for small companies and teams.

<?php
public function add($restaurant_id = null) {
  if (empty($restaurant_id)) {
    return $this->redirect(array('action' => 'index'));
  }
  $lunchDate = $this->Lunch->find('first', array(
    'entity' => true,
    'conditions' => array('Lunch.date' => date('Y-m-d')),
    'contain' => array('Restaurant'),
  ));
  if (!empty($lunchDate)) {
    return $this->redirect(array('action' => 'update', $restaurant_id));
  }
  $this->_breadcrumbs[] = array(
    'name', => 'Create Lunch Date',
    'url' => array(),
  );
  $this->set(compact('restaurant_id'));
  if (!empty($this->request->data['cancel'])) {
    $this->Session->info('Lunch canceled');
    return $this->redirect(array('action' => 'index'));
  }
  if (!$this->request->is('post')) {
    $data = $this->Lunch->getData('add');
    return $this->set($data);
  }
  try {
    $entity = $this->Lunch->addEntity($this->request->data);
    $this->Session->success(__('The Lunch has been saved.'));
    return $this->redirect($entity->route());
  } catch (Exception $e) {
    $this->Session->danger($e->getMessage());
    if ($entity) {
      $this->request->data = $entity->toArray();
    }
    $data = $this->Lunch->getData('add');
    return $this->set($data);
  }
}
?>

The above is about 50 lines of code that essentially handles:

  • Finding an associated lunchdate
  • Form cancelation
  • Breadcrumbs for the view
  • Creating a lunchdate

This could and should be way smaller, and more reusable. Lets take a look at this in chunks.

Requiring action arguments

<?php
if (empty($restaurant_id)) {
  return $this->redirect(array('action' => 'index'));
}
?>

Some people will have issues with how I do this, but because I use exceptions to handle redirection, this method works out well for me. I normally have a helper method in my AppController, AppController::redirectUnless(), with the following contents:

<?php
if (empty($restaurant_id)) {
  return $this->redirect(array('action' => 'index'));
}
?>

Then my code sample becomes:

<?php
if (empty($restaurant_id)) {
  return $this->redirect(array('action' => 'index'));
}
?>

If your tests excepted a return, this won’t work because PHP does not have conditional returns without guard statements.

Custom finds:

<?php
$lunchDate = $this->Lunch->find('first', array(
  'entity' => true,
  'conditions' => array('Lunch.date' => date('Y-m-d')),
  'contain' => array('Restaurant'),
));
if (!empty($lunchDate)) {
  return $this->redirect(array('action' => 'update', $restaurant_id));
}
?>

I absolutely hate writing finds in my view. Instead, I use custom finds:

<?php
App::uses('EntityModel', 'Entity.Model');
App::uses('LunchEntity', 'Model/Entity');
class Lunch extends EntityModel {
  public $findMethods = array(
    'lunchDate' => true,
  );
  public function _findLunchDate($state, $query, $results = array()) {
    if ($state == 'before') {
      $query['entity'] = true;
      $query['conditions'] = array('Lunch.date' => date('Y-m-d'));
      $query['contain'] = array('Restaurant');
      $query['limit'] = 1;
      return $query;
    }
    if (empty($results[0])) {
      return false;
    }
    return $results[0];
  }
}
?>

It’s quite easy to setup a custom find - they have before and after states, and can have logic that applies to both. Please read the docs for more information.

Our code sample would finally become:

<?php
$lunchDate = $this->Lunch->find('lunchDate');
$this->redirectUnless($lunchDate, array('action' => 'update', $restaurant_id));
?>

Handling common view data

<?php
$this->_breadcrumbs[] = array(
  'name', => 'Create Lunch Date',
  'url' => array(),
);
?>

I usually have some common view data, such as meta tags, breadcrumbs, etc. that are set from each controller. Rather than have the underlying datastructure be exposed to each controller - the _breadcrumbs array - I use a helper method:

<?php
protected function _addBreadcrumb($name, $url = array()) {
  $this->_breadcrumbs[] = compact('name', 'url');
}
?>

Then my controller code becomes:

<?php
$this->_addBreadcrumb('Create Lunch Date');
?>

Handling Form Cancellation

<?php
if (!empty($this->request->data['cancel'])) {
  $this->Session->info(__('Lunch canceled'));
  return $this->redirect(array('action' => 'index'));
}
?>

My forms commonly have some sort of cancel button on them. If pressed, the user will be brought back to the index action.

Instead, I use some generic code in my AppController::beforeFilter():

<?php
protected function _addBreadcrumb($name, $url = array()) {
  $this->_breadcrumbs[] = compact('name', 'url');
}
?>

Now I do not need to worry about having this logic in any of my actions.

Generic Form Handling

<?php
if (!empty($this->request->data['cancel'])) {
  $this->Session->info(__('Lunch canceled'));
  return $this->redirect(array('action' => 'index'));
}
?>

The trick to generic form handling is doing it in such a way to allow developers to override the functionality. Note that this means all your forms should be handled similarly. If not, there is no gain from creating a generic form handling method. The following is what I used in this application:

<?php
$this->_addBreadcrumb('Create Lunch Date');
?>

The above bit of code handles:

  • Existing records being passed in
  • Models that are not the default model associated to the controller
  • Both creation and updating records
  • Session flash messages
  • Updating post data on failure
  • Retrieving data for the view

Using the above helper method would simplify our action code to:

<?php
return $this->_form();
?>

All Together

Our previous codeblock of 49 lines is now the following, beautiful 10 line method:

<?php
public function add($restaurant_id = null) {
  $this->redirectUnless($restaurant_id);
  $lunchDate = $this->Lunch->find('lunchDate');
  $this->redirectUnless($lunchDate, array('action' => 'update', $restaurant_id));
  $this->_addBreadcrumb('Create Lunch Date');
  $this->set(compact('restaurant_id'));
  return $this->_form();
}
?>

What we gain from the new code:

  • Simpler design
  • Easier to understand for new developers
  • Unit tests for the parts can be created as opposed for the whole
  • Reusable methods have been created for other places across the codebase

Refactoring code is easy to get carried away with - as we did above - but also serves to freshen up a codebase and allow you to get more stuff done in less time.