Introduction

The PersistentObjectDatabaseSchemaTiein component allows you to generate template PersistentObject definition files for a database structure from a DatabaseSchema schema file. Most likely you have to adjust the PersistentObject definitions afterwards.

Synopsis

$ php rungenerator.php -s <string> -f <string> [-h] [--] <target_directory>

The component contains an executable script, which can be called using the PHP command line interpreter (CLI). You have to provide two options:

-s / --source <string>

This option determines the source DatabaseSchema file to generate the PersistentObject definitions from.

-f / --format <string>

This option determines the format of the provided source schema file. Examples are 'xml' and 'array'. For a full list of valid formats, please refer to the PersistentObject API documentation.

There is also a help option available that can be accessed with -h or --help.

The 'target_directory' argument specifies the directory where the PersistentObject definitions are stored. Make sure that script can write to this target directory.

Usage

Run the script from the main eZ components source directory using the following command:

$ php PersistentObjectDatabaseSchemaTiein/rungenerator.php

By default, you will see a short help description on how to use this tool.

You need a valid DatabaseSchema file for your database structure to generate PersistentObject definitions. You can generate a DatabaseSchema file from your database with the DatabaseSchema component. For detailed information, please refer to the PersistentObject API documentation.

Once you have a valid DatabaseSchema file, you should create a directory where your PersistentObject definitions will be stored. Then you can use the rungenerator.php script to create the template definition files. Use the following command:

$ php PersistentObjectDatabaseSchemaTiein/rungenerator.php \
    -s path/to/schema.file -f array path/to/persistentobject/definition/dir/

You have to replace the paths according to the example. The -s parameter defines where the DatabaseSchema definition file can be found. The -f option indicates the format of the schema file. In this case, it is a PHP array definition, another common format is XML. The last part of the command line call specifies the target directory to store the generated PersistentObject definitions in.

Customizing Definitions

The generator script assumes that the names of your PersistentObject classes and their properties map exactly to the same table and column names of your database structure. For example, a table called ez_persistent_objects with the column persistent_object_id results in a class ez_persistent_objects and the property persistent_object_id.

If you want a different mapping then you can edit the generated PersistentObject files manually. The class to table name mapping is done through the properties of the main ezcPersistentObjectDefinition object. The "table" property should be correct as it is taken from the database definition. Adjust the "class" property according to your needs.

Note: If you change the class name of a PersistentObject definition, you have to rename the file name accordingly. The file name for a PersistentObject definition must be the same as the class name, completely written in lower case.

The same procedure applies to the property definition of your PersistentObjects. The column name to object property mapping is defined by the ezcPersistentObjectProperty class. The "columnName" property of the definition objects should be correct as it is taken from your database schema file. You can adjust the "propertyName" properties according to your needs.

The generator script guesses the PHP types of your PersistentObject properties. It uses the following mapping:

If the mappings are incorrect, you can adjust the "propertyType" properties of your ezcPersistentObjectProperty definitions.

More Information

For more information, see the API documentation of ezcPersistentObjectDefinition, ezcPersistentObjectProperty, ezcDbSchema and ezcDbSchemaPersistentWriter.