Question

I started using CakePHP 3 days ago and I’m in middle of a spike solution right now. I’m learning it pretty quickly, but some of the functionality isn’t clear in my head yet.

I was looking for some advice on how to proceed next.

I’m writing a search, where a user can enter data in numerous fields (10+) for a faculty member. They could enter relevant information, such as first name, last name, or departments / divisions, and these are all properly associated in the Model.

I’m looking to write a query that uses LIKE statements and perform the search. I was thinking about hacking away in the Faculty Model to start writing or extending off of a find function that can perform the search?

Is this the right approach? Should I be writing a custom function for a search? Is there another way to do this?

I’ve intentionally left out a lot of details about my project because I’m still learning the framework now, and want to hear the best options — I don’t want to be restricted by design. But basically, I have a form with several fields such as name, date of birth, memberships for faculty and I need a user to be able to enter information and search through my faculty.

If anyone could point me in right direction, it’d be greatly appreciated. I’ve been doing a lot of reading and I’m not sure how to proceed.

Thanks.

Answer 1

What I was trying to do is really simple. It’s not an architectural question at all, I just needed to read up on Models and I answered my own question.

Specifically, I needed help with complex find conditions, and the CakePHP book has a section on that:

http://book.cakephp.org/view/1030/Complex-Find-Conditions#!/view/1030/Complex-Find-Conditions