CakePHP - Associate item status code to status txt - php

Question

I usually save itens status within a code (let's save I have the table: students, to save studentes status, I use the field (students.status)).
But, Everytime I list Users I will not shown the status code (1 or 0 for example). I need show: Registered or Cancelled.
I can simply check it when I list, but, let's say I need do it a lot of times.
Is there anything than can help me doing it? would save a lot of work, every page I'll list the user, or even when I add/edit him or a drop-down menu that should come with those items.
I've checked the models associations, but the solution that I've found works if I have another table with user status saved for example (I honestly don't wanna create it).
Thanks.

Answer 1

This describes how to do what you want: http://www.dereuromark.de/2010/06/24/static-enums-or-semihardcoded-attributes/

Answer 2

If the status can be registered or cancelled then you can use enum data type in your table schema.
You can get the list of status from enum data type for populating drop down like this.
$status = $this->Model->getEnumValues('status');
Before this you need to add following code in your appModel.php
function getEnumValues($columnName=null)
{
if ($columnName==null) { return array(); } //no field specified
//Get the name of the table
$db =& ConnectionManager::getDataSource($this->useDbConfig);
$tableName = $db->fullTableName($this, false);
//Get the values for the specified column (database and version specific, needs testing)
$result = $this->query("SHOW COLUMNS FROM {$tableName} LIKE '{$columnName}'");
//figure out where in the result our Types are (this varies between mysql versions)
$types = null;
if ( isset( $result[0]['COLUMNS']['Type'] ) ) { $types = $result[0]['COLUMNS']['Type']; } //MySQL 5
elseif ( isset( $result[0][0]['Type'] ) ) { $types = $result[0][0]['Type']; } //MySQL 4
else { return array(); } //types return not accounted for
//Get the values
$values = explode("','", preg_replace("/(enum)\('(.+?)'\)/","\\2", $types) );
//explode doesn't do assoc arrays, but cake needs an assoc to assign values
$assoc_values = array();
foreach ( $values as $value ) {
//leave the call to humanize if you want it to look pretty
$assoc_values[$value] = Inflector::humanize($value);
}
return $assoc_values;
}
I hope this will work for you. Thanks

Answer 3

I ended up creating a Helper function for that (not sure if the best way, it's been working fine)
MyHelper.php
class MyHelper extends AppHelper {
public $helpers = array();
public $list = array(0 => 'Cancelled', 1 => 'Registered');
public function __construct(View $View, $settings = array()) {
parent::__construct($View, $settings);
}
public function beforeRender($viewFile) {
}
public function afterRender($viewFile) {
}
public function beforeLayout($viewLayout) {
}
public function afterLayout($viewLayout) {
}
public function translate($id){
return $this->list[$id];
}
}
In view.ctp, intestead of showing the item ID, I just call the translate function, returning the proper name.
To create drop-down menus, it's just call the array list in select options.
<?php
echo "User Status: " . $this->My->translate($this->User->status);
echo $this->Form->input('tipo', array('type' => 'select', 'options' => $this->My->list));
?>
I think I should have used enum too, and using the functions specified, I would have success too.
Thanks for the helps.

Answer 4

You might want to look at model associations. In your case, I would have a students table and a student_statuses table that contains an ID and a status name. Then, when finding students, you can also include their corresponding StudentStatus row.
This relationship would look as follows:
<?php
class Student extends AppModel {
public $belongsTo = array('StudentStatus');
}
<?php
class StudentStatus extends AppModel {
public $hasMany = array('Student');
}
Then when finding students…
<?php
class StudentsController extends AppController {
public function index() {
$this->set('students', $this->Student->find('all'));
}
}
You will get a result like this:
Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[Student] => Array
(
[id] => 1
[name] => Martin Bean
[student_status_id] => 1
[created] => 2013-09-29 21:12:42
[modified] => 2013-09-29 21:12:42
)
[StudentStatus] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[id] => 1
[name] => Approved
[created] => 2013-09-23 18:26:06
[modified] => 2013-10-01 18:53:16
)
)
)
)
So you can just print the students’ status in your view as follows:
<?php foreach ($students as $student): ?>
<p>
<?php echo h($student['Student']['name']); ?>
(<?php echo h($student['StudentStatus']['name']); ?>)
</p>
<?php endforeach; ?>
You say you don’t want to create a table for statuses, but the reason you’re having issues is because it’s how relational databases work and also the convention. You’ll save yourself a lot of headaches by doing so, and it’s also extensible if you decide you need to add additional statuses in the future. You may not think you do now, but believe me: one day you will.