Question

how can I access any table from database in my model?

For example, I have Indexcontroller and code inside it:

$results = $this->Index->query("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM my_own_table");


Error: Database table indices for model Index was not found.

So, as I understand, I can access only table with naming related to model/controller name. But what to do if I can’t modify the table naming and I want to access it’s data?

Answer 1

You’re not limited to using a model that’s directly associated with your controller (this is just default behaviour); you can use any model.

To achieve what you want, create a new model for this table, eg. MyOwnTable, and in your controller, you can add this property to the class:

public $uses = array('Index', 'MyOwnTable');

Now you can access MyOwnTable using CakePHP’s built in ActiveRecord functionality:

$results = $this->MyOwnTable->find('count');

If you have other tables you want to access, simply create models for those and add them to the $uses property. (You can also use $this->loadModel('Model') inside the action if you prefer).

If you have a table name that isn’t very readable (eg. my_tb_own_1_x or some such), you can call the model class something human readable (eg. MyTable), and add the $useTable property to the model:

public $useTable = 'my_tb_own_1_x';
/* and change the default primary key if you have an unusual one */
public $primaryKey = 'my_tb_own_1_x_idx_pk';

See the CakePHP manual for more info on how to change default model and controller behaviour:

1.3 – Model Attributes

2.0 – Model Attributes

1.3 – Controller Attributes

2.0 – Controller Attributes