Let’s say I have a model “Payment” and it has a one-to-many relationship with “Person” (i.e. one person has many payments, or the payment table has a foreign key “person_id”). I want the list of payments sortable by “last_name”.

In generator.yml:

 config:
  fields:
   last_name: { is_real: true }
...
  list:
    display:  [id, date, amount, last_name]

Let’s update our Payment.class.php file with methods to fetch the person’s last name.

class Payment extends BasePayment
{
...
  public function getLastName()
  {
    return $this->Person->last_name;
  }

Now, if you reload your generated list view, you’ll see the column heading for last_name has been converted to a link. Now, we’ll have to add this foreign column (last_name) to our query and also add some logic to sort by the proper column when necessary.

Let’s add a custom table method to our list query, adding another line to generator.yml:

...
config:
  list:
  ...
    table_method: doSelectJoinPerson

Let’s add the new method to our PaymentTable.class.php:

class PaymentTable extends Doctrine_Table
{
  ...  
  public static function doSelectJoinPerson($query)
  {
    $rootAlias = $query->getRootAlias();
 
    return $query->select($rootAlias . '.*, p.last_name')
      ->leftJoin($rootAlias . '.Person p');
  }
}

The table_method parameter in our list configuration is used to define which method should be executed on our model’s table when it fetches results from the database. Our main model will always have an alias “r” as defined in the symfony/doctrine source code (check out sfFormFilterDoctrine::doBuildQuery()).

We now need to pass the table alias for our foreign table (in this case, we used ‘p’ for Person) into our sort query if ‘last_name’ is given as our sort parameter. Let’s override the addSortQuery($query) in our actions class:

class paymentActions extends autoPaymentActions
{
...
  protected function addSortQuery($query)
  {
    if (array(null, null) == ($sort = $this->getSort()))
    {
      return;
    }
 
    if (!in_array(strtolower($sort[1]), array('asc', 'desc')))
    {
      $sort[1] = 'asc';
    }
 
    switch ($sort[0]) {
      case 'last_name':
        $sort[0] = 'p.last_name';
        break;
    }
 
    $query->addOrderBy($sort[0] . ' ' . $sort[1]);
  }
...

Update:A few comments below pointed out for the default admin generator theme you’ll also need to add the following method to your controller (actions.class.php):

protected function isValidSortColumn($column)
{
  return Doctrine_Core::getTable(‘Payment’)->hasColumn($column) || $column == ‘last_name’;
}

Once you get used to this process, it’s really not too hard to implement for all of your admin-generated modules. No plugins necessary.

Update 2: Updated doSelect query to use root alias defined in the query per the comments below.

The first way, and the easiest, is to simply unset the fields in your form class:

class SampleForm extends BaseSampleForm
{   
  public function configure()
  {
    unset(
      $this['created_at'],
      $this['updated_at']
    );
  }
}

If you want the values to display in your form as read-only:

class SampleForm extends BaseSampleForm
{   
  public function configure()
  {
    $this->widgetSchema['created_at']    = new sfWidgetFormInput(array(), array('readonly'=>'readonly'));
    $this->widgetSchema['updated_at']    = new sfWidgetFormInput(array(), array('readonly'=>'readonly'));
  }
}

class NewsletterForm extends BaseNewsletterForm
{
  public function configure()
  {
    $this->widgetSchema['file'] = new sfWidgetFormInputFileEditable(array(
      'file_src' => '/uploads/'.$this->getObject()->getfile(),
      'is_image'  => true,
      'edit_mode' => !$this->isNew(),
      //'template'  => '<div>%file%<br />%input%<br />%delete% %delete_label%</div>',
    ));
 
    $this->validatorSchema['file'] = new sfValidatorFile(array(
      'required' => false,
      'path' => sfConfig::get('sf_upload_dir')
    ));
 
    $this->validatorSchema['file_delete'] = new sfValidatorPass();
  }
}

If you want to override the file name generated for your uploaded file, add a ‘generateXXXFileName()’ method to your model’s class where XXX is the column name that contains the file name (in this example, our column is “file”, so the method name is ‘generateFileFilename’. It takes a single parameter, which is an instance of sfValidatedFile.

class Newsletter extends BaseNewsletter
{
  public function generateFileFileName($file)
  {
    return $file->getOriginalName();
  }
}

I wanted to ignore timestamp and permissions differences, which wasn’t possible using the default configuration due to the -a (which stands for ‘archive’ mode) parameter added to the rsync command. If you want to override the default settings, all you have to do is add a ‘parameters’ key to your properties.ini file. Here is an example:

  [staging]
    host=yourhostname
    port=22
    user=yourusername
    dir=your/path/to/your/app
    parameters='-rlDzC --force --delete --exclude-from=config/rsync_exclude.txt'

Keep in mind if you set your own custom parameters you won’t benefit from any of the default settings so you should include them yourself (like –force, –delete, and your rsycn_exclude file).

With the help of the sfPropelMigrationsLightPlugin plugin, one of my favorites, I have been rapidly making changes to my plugin schema and adding new data to the database over and over again while I mock things up.

Here is the workflow:

1. make changes to the plugin’s schema.yml file, in plugins/myPlugin/config/schema.yml
2. make changes to the plugin’s fixtures file, in plugins/myPlugin/data/fixtures/fixtures.yml
3. rebuild the model
4. rebuild the sql
5. copy the plugin’s sql to the migration sql source file
6. run the migration
7. load the fixtures

This gives me my new schema and populates it with whatever data I have in the fixtures.

Optionally, if I want to go back and make another change, I migrate down a version first, then run through the process above.

The trick is to make your migration run an external SQL file, and to use the plugin’s generated SQL as the source for that migration.

Here is my migration (remember this uses the sfMigrationsLightPlugin):

<?php
 
/**
 * Migrations between versions 033 and 034.
 */
class Migration034 extends sfMigration
{
  /**
   * Migrate up to version 034.
   */
  public function up()
  {
    $this->loadSql(dirname(__FILE__).'/034_stDataflow.sql');
  }
 
  /**
   * Migrate down to version 033.
   */
  public function down()
  {
    $this->executeSQL("SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS = 0;");
    $this->executeSQL("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS `dataflow_import_map`;");
    $this->executeSQL("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS `dataflow_profile_history`;");
    $this->executeSQL("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS `dataflow_batch_import`;");
    $this->executeSQL("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS `dataflow_batch`;");
    $this->executeSQL("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS `dataflow_profile`;");
    $this->executeSQL("SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS = 1;");
  }
}

Here’s how I run it, once I have completed my new schema.yml and fixtures.yml changes.

# if this is not the first time I'm going through this process, 
# I need to migrate back a step to remove my old plugin tables
./symfony migrate myapp:dev 33  #33 is my previous migration number
>> migrations migrated 1 step(s)
>> migrations current database version: 33
$ ./symfony propel-build-model
cp data/sql/plugins.stDataflowPlugin.lib.model.schema.sql data/migrations/034_stDataflow.sql
./symfony migrate npas:dev 34
>> migrations migrated 1 step(s)
>> migrations current database version: 34
./symfony propel-load-data npas dev plugins/stDataflowPlugin/data/fixtures/fixtures.yml
>> propel    load data from "plugins/stDataf...gin/data/fixtures/fixtures.yml"

It’s nothing novel, but a good example of using the tools to improve the workflow.

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Symfony Experts.

The site is very well designed and will prove to be a valuable resource for developers of all skill levels — experts can make some extra money sharing their expertise, and beginners (or experts encountering a new problem) can get quick and succinct answers to their questions.

From the about page:

Symfony Experts is problem-solving community for Symfony, ideal for users seeking quick, succinct answers they can’t find in any Symfony forums. Symfony Experts is also great for established Symfony developers who want to help problem-solve and be paid fairly for their efforts.

I highly recommend it.

>> doctrine Could not create database for c...o use near '-sb-test' at line 1

Turns out the issue is with the “-” in my test database name. Replacing the hyphens with underscores fixed the problem.

500 | Internal Server Error | Doctrine_Validator_Exception
 1 field had validation error:
 * 1 validator failed on file (type)

The short solution: when using a doctrine form class and $form->save(), set the path option in your sfValidatorFile validator and do not attempt to save/set the file column yourself. If you are curious why this is, continue reading.

What was particularly strange about this error is that the “file” column in my model was defined as a string, and I was certain I was setting this column by hand to the file name (a string) of the uploaded file. Hmm… this shouldn’t trigger an error, should it? This following is what did not work. I used the documentation for sfValidatorFile() found in the symfony Forms book.

// my form
class ArtistForm extends BaseArtistForm
{
  public function configure()
  {
    $this->widgetSchema['file'] = new sfWidgetFormInputFile();
    $this->validatorSchema['file'] = new sfValidatorFile(array(
      'required' => false, 'mime_types' => 'web_images'
    ));
  }
}
 
// my action ***did not work***
public function executeForm(sfWebRequest $request)
  {
    $this->form = new ArtistForm();
    if ($request->isMethod('post')) {
      $this->form->bind($request->getParameter('artist'), $request->getFiles('artist'));
      if ($this->form->isValid())
      {
        $file = $this->form->getValue('file');
        if ($file) {
          $filename = sha1($file->getOriginalName());
          $extension = $file->getExtension($file->getOriginalExtension());
          $file->save(sfConfig::get('sf_upload_dir').'/'.$filename.$extension);          
          $this->form->getObject()->setFile($filename.$extension);
        }
 
        $this->form->save();
      }
    }    
  }

Anytime I’d try to upload a file, I’d get the dreaded “Doctrine_Validator_Exception”, “validator failed on file (type)” message. After some serious googling, I came up with a few links (listed at the bottom of this post) that eventually led me to the solution. The issues boils down to this:

• When using the sfValidatorFile widget in your form, retrieving that value from your form returns an sfValidatedFile object
• Doctrine forms will automatically try to process and save uploaded files, so you do not need to do this manually in your action if you call $form->save() and your form contains an instance of sfValidatorFile
• The automatic save mechanism in your doctrine form will fail if you do not define a path in your sfValidatorFile validator. This is because if no path is defined in your validator, the validator returns an instance of sfValidatedFile and calling $form->save() will result in trying to update your doctrine object with this sfValidatorFile instance, resulting in an error.
• If a path is defined in your sfValidatorFile validator, the bound form value for your file input field is set to the full path to saved file rather than an sfValidatedFile instance, allowing your doctrine object to be saved.

Now, with a deeper understanding of how this is all put together, we can update our action:

// doctrine form class
class ArtistForm extends BaseArtistForm
{
  public function configure()
  {
    $this->widgetSchema['photo'] = new sfWidgetFormInputFile();
    $this->validatorSchema['photo'] = new sfValidatorFile(array(
      'required' => false, 'mime_types' => 'web_images',
      'path' => sfConfig::get('sf_upload_dir')
    ));
  }
}
 
// the action
  public function executeForm(sfWebRequest $request)
  {
    $this->form = new ArtistForm();
    if ($request->isMethod('post')) {
      $this->form->bind($request->getParameter('artist'), $request->getFiles('artist'));
      if ($this->form->isValid())
      {
        $this->form->save();
      }
    }    
  }

More about this issue in the forums and mailing list:

• http://forum.symfony-project.org/index.php/m/74831/
• http://groups.google.com/group/symfony-users/browse_thread/thread/668a44a52a775938/3d55c8bb40290dbe?show_docid=3d55c8bb40290dbe

Haven’t tried this but hope to, soon!