9.4 KiB
title: Relations between Records summary: Relate models together using the ORM using has_one, has_many, and many_many.
Relations between Records
In most situations you will likely see more than one [api:DataObject] and several classes in your data model may relate
to one another. An example of this is a Player object may have a relationship to one or more Team or Coach classes
and could take part in many Games. Relations are a key part of designing and building a good data model.
Relations are built through static array definitions on a class, in the format <relationship-name> => <classname>.
SilverStripe supports a number of relationship types and each relationship type can have any number of relations.
has_one
A 1-to-1 relation creates a database-column called "<relationship-name>ID", in the example below this would be
"TeamID" on the "Player"-table.
:::php
<?php
class Team extends DataObject {
private static $db = array(
'Title' => 'Varchar'
);
private static $has_many = array(
'Players' => 'Player'
);
}
class Player extends DataObject {
private static $has_one = array(
"Team" => "Team",
);
}
This defines a relationship called Team which links to a Team class. The ORM handles navigating the relationship
and provides a short syntax for accessing the related object.
At the database level, the has_one creates a TeamID field on Player. A has_many field does not impose any database changes. It merely injects a new method into the class to access the related records (in this case, Players())
:::php
$player = Player::get()->byId(1);
$team = $player->Team();
// returns a 'Team' instance.
echo $player->Team()->Title;
// returns the 'Title' column on the 'Team' or `getTitle` if it exists.
The relationship can also be navigated in templates.
:::ss
<% with $Player %>
<% if $Team %>
Plays for $Team.Title
<% end_if %>
<% end_with %>
Polymorphic has_one
A has_one can also be polymorphic, which allows any type of object to be associated. This is useful where there could be many use cases for a particular data structure.
An additional column is created called "<relationship-name>Class", which along
with the ID column identifies the object.
To specify that a has_one relation is polymorphic set the type to 'DataObject'. Ideally, the associated has_many (or belongs_to) should be specified with dot notation.
::php
class Player extends DataObject {
private static $has_many = array(
"Fans" => "Fan.FanOf"
);
}
class Team extends DataObject {
private static $has_many = array(
"Fans" => "Fan.FanOf"
);
}
// Type of object returned by $fan->FanOf() will vary
class Fan extends DataObject {
// Generates columns FanOfID and FanOfClass
private static $has_one = array(
"FanOf" => "DataObject"
);
}
has_many
Defines 1-to-many joins. As you can see from the previous example, $has_many goes hand in hand with $has_one.
:::php
<?php
class Team extends DataObject {
private static $db = array(
'Title' => 'Varchar'
);
private static $has_many = array(
'Players' => 'Player'
);
}
class Player extends DataObject {
private static $has_one = array(
"Team" => "Team",
);
}
Much like the has_one relationship, has_many can be navigated through the ORM as well. The only difference being
you will get an instance of [api:HasManyList] rather than the object.
:::php
$team = Team::get()->first();
echo $team->Players();
// [HasManyList]
echo $team->Players()->Count();
// returns '14';
foreach($team->Players() as $player) {
echo $player->FirstName;
}
To specify multiple $has_manys to the same object you can use dot notation to distinguish them like below:
:::php
<?php
class Person extends DataObject {
private static $has_many = array(
"Managing" => "Company.Manager",
"Cleaning" => "Company.Cleaner",
);
}
class Company extends DataObject {
private static $has_one = array(
"Manager" => "Person",
"Cleaner" => "Person"
);
}
Multiple $has_one relationships are okay if they aren't linking to the same object type. Otherwise, they have to be
named.
belongs_to
Defines a 1-to-1 relationship with another object, which declares the other end of the relationship with a
corresponding $has_one. A single database column named <relationship-name>ID will be created in the object with the
$has_one, but the $belongs_to by itself will not create a database field. This field will hold the ID of the object
declaring the $belongs_to.
Similarly with $has_many, dot notation can be used to explicitly specify the $has_one which refers to this relation.
This is not mandatory unless the relationship would be otherwise ambiguous.
:::php
<?php
class Team extends DataObject {
private static $has_one = array(
'Coach' => 'Coach'
);
}
class Coach extends DataObject {
private static $belongs_to = array(
'Team' => 'Team.Coach'
);
}
many_many
Defines many-to-many joins. A new table, (this-class)_(relationship-name), will be created with a pair of ID fields.
:::php
<?php
class Team extends DataObject {
private static $many_many = array(
"Supporters" => "Supporter",
);
}
class Supporter extends DataObject {
private static $belongs_many_many = array(
"Supports" => "Team",
);
}
Much like the has_one relationship, many_many can be navigated through the ORM as well. The only difference being
you will get an instance of [api:ManyManyList] rather than the object.
:::php
$team = Team::get()->byId(1);
$supporters = $team->Supporters();
// returns a 'ManyManyList' instance.
The relationship can also be navigated in templates.
:::ss
<% with $Supporter %>
<% loop $Supports %>
Supports $Title
<% end_if %>
<% end_with %>
To specify multiple $many_manys between the same classes, use the dot notation to distinguish them like below:
:::php
<?php
class Category extends DataObject {
private static $many_many = array(
'Products' => 'Product',
'FeaturedProducts' => 'Product'
);
}
class Product extends DataObject {
private static $belongs_many_many = array(
'Categories' => 'Category.Products',
'FeaturedInCategories' => 'Category.FeaturedProducts'
);
}
many_many or belongs_many_many?
If you're unsure about whether an object should take on many_many or belongs_many_many, the best way to think about it is that the object where the relationship will be edited (i.e. via checkboxes) should contain the many_many. For instance, in a many_many of Product => Categories, the Product should contain the many_many, because it is much more likely that the user will select Categories for a Product than vice-versa.
Adding relations
Adding new items to a relations works the same, regardless if you're editing a has_many or a many_many. They are
encapsulated by [api:HasManyList] and [api:ManyManyList], both of which provide very similar APIs, e.g. an add()
and remove() method.
:::php
$team = Team::get()->byId(1);
// create a new supporter
$supporter = new Supporter();
$supporter->Name = "Foo";
$supporter->write();
// add the supporter.
$team->Supporters()->add($supporter);
Custom Relations
You can use the ORM to get a filtered result list without writing any SQL. For example, this snippet gets you the "Players"-relation on a team, but only containing active players.
See [api:DataObject::$has_many] for more info on the described relations.
:::php
<?php
class Team extends DataObject {
private static $has_many = array(
"Players" => "Player"
);
public function ActivePlayers() {
return $this->Players()->filter('Status', 'Active');
}
}
Relations on Unsaved Objects
You can also set has_many and many_many relations before the DataObject is saved. This behavior uses the
[api:UnsavedRelationList] and converts it into the correct RelationList when saving the DataObject for the first
time.
This unsaved lists will also recursively save any unsaved objects that they contain.
As these lists are not backed by the database, most of the filtering methods on DataList cannot be used on a list of
this type. As such, an UnsavedRelationList should only be used for setting a relation before saving an object, not
for displaying the objects contained in the relation.
Related Documentation
API Documentation
- [api:HasManyList]
- [api:ManyManyList]
- [api:DataObject]