Merge branch 'develop' of github.com:EllisLab/CodeIgniter into develop

1 files changed, 117 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/user_guide_src/source/general/models.rst b/user_guide_src/source/general/models.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e26207cc2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/user_guide_src/source/general/models.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+######
+Models
+######
+
+Models are **optionally** available for those who want to use a more
+traditional MVC approach.
+
+-  `What is a Model? <#what>`_
+-  `Anatomy of a Model <#anatomy>`_
+-  `Loading a Model <#loading>`_
+-  `Auto-Loading a Model <#auto_load_model>`_
+-  `Connecting to your Database <#conn>`_
+
+What is a Model?
+================
+
+Models are PHP classes that are designed to work with information in
+your database. For example, let's say you use CodeIgniter to manage a
+blog. You might have a model class that contains functions to insert,
+update, and retrieve your blog data. Here is an example of what such a
+model class might look like::
+
+	 class Blogmodel extends CI_Model {      var $title   = '';     var $content = '';     var $date    = '';      function __construct()     {         // Call the Model constructor         parent::__construct();     }          function get_last_ten_entries()     {         $query = $this->db->get('entries', 10);         return $query->result();     }      function insert_entry()     {         $this->title   = $_POST['title']; // please read the below note         $this->content = $_POST['content'];         $this->date    = time();          $this->db->insert('entries', $this);     }      function update_entry()     {         $this->title   = $_POST['title'];         $this->content = $_POST['content'];         $this->date    = time();          $this->db->update('entries', $this, array('id' => $_POST['id']));     }  }
+
+Note: The functions in the above example use the :doc:`Active
+Record <../database/active_record>` database functions.
+
+.. note:: For the sake of simplicity in this example we're using $_POST
+	directly. This is generally bad practice, and a more common approach
+	would be to use the :doc:`Input Class <../libraries/input>`
+	$this->input->post('title')
+
+Anatomy of a Model
+==================
+
+Model classes are stored in your application/models/ folder. They can be
+nested within sub-folders if you want this type of organization.
+
+The basic prototype for a model class is this::
+
+	 class Model_name extends CI_Model {      function __construct()     {         parent::__construct();     } }
+
+Where Model_name is the name of your class. Class names **must** have
+the first letter capitalized with the rest of the name lowercase. Make
+sure your class extends the base Model class.
+
+The file name will be a lower case version of your class name. For
+example, if your class is this::
+
+	 class User_model extends CI_Model {      function __construct()     {         parent::__construct();     } }
+
+Your file will be this::
+
+	application/models/user_model.php
+
+Loading a Model
+===============
+
+Your models will typically be loaded and called from within your
+:doc:`controller <controllers>` functions. To load a model you will use
+the following function::
+
+	$this->load->model('Model_name');
+
+If your model is located in a sub-folder, include the relative path from
+your models folder. For example, if you have a model located at
+application/models/blog/queries.php you'll load it using::
+
+	$this->load->model('blog/queries');
+
+Once loaded, you will access your model functions using an object with
+the same name as your class::
+
+	 $this->load->model('Model_name');  $this->Model_name->function();
+
+If you would like your model assigned to a different object name you can
+specify it via the second parameter of the loading function::
+
+	 $this->load->model('Model_name', 'fubar');  $this->fubar->function();
+
+Here is an example of a controller, that loads a model, then serves a
+view::
+
+	 class Blog_controller extends CI_Controller {      function blog()     {         $this->load->model('Blog');          $data['query'] = $this->Blog->get_last_ten_entries();         $this->load->view('blog', $data);     } }
+
+Auto-loading Models
+===================
+
+If you find that you need a particular model globally throughout your
+application, you can tell CodeIgniter to auto-load it during system
+initialization. This is done by opening the
+application/config/autoload.php file and adding the model to the
+autoload array.
+
+Connecting to your Database
+===========================
+
+When a model is loaded it does **NOT** connect automatically to your
+database. The following options for connecting are available to you:
+
+-  You can connect using the standard database methods :doc:`described
+   here <../database/connecting>`, either from within your
+   Controller class or your Model class.
+-  You can tell the model loading function to auto-connect by passing
+   TRUE (boolean) via the third parameter, and connectivity settings, as
+   defined in your database config file will be used:
+   ::
+
+	$this->load->model('Model_name', '', TRUE);
+
+-  You can manually pass database connectivity settings via the third
+   parameter:
+   ::
+
+	$config['hostname'] = "localhost";         $config['username'] = "myusername";         $config['password'] = "mypassword";         $config['database'] = "mydatabase";         $config['dbdriver'] = "mysql";         $config['dbprefix'] = "";         $config['pconnect'] = FALSE;         $config['db_debug'] = TRUE;                  $this->load->model('Model_name', '', $config);
+
+