oracular (3) Rose::DB::Object.3pm.gz
NAME
Rose::DB::Object - Extensible, high performance object-relational mapper (ORM).
SYNOPSIS
## For an informal overview of Rose::DB::Object, please
## see the Rose::DB::Object::Tutorial documentation. The
## reference documentation follows.
## First, set up your Rose::DB data sources, otherwise you
## won't be able to connect to the database at all. See
## the Rose::DB documentation for more information. For
## a quick start, see the Rose::DB::Tutorial documentation.
##
## Create classes - two possible approaches:
##
#
# 1. Automatic configuration
#
package Category;
use base qw(Rose::DB::Object);
__PACKAGE__->meta->setup
(
table => 'categories',
auto => 1,
);
...
package Price;
use base qw(Rose::DB::Object);
__PACKAGE__->meta->setup
(
table => 'prices',
auto => 1,
);
...
package Product;
use base qw(Rose::DB::Object);
__PACKAGE__->meta->setup
(
table => 'products',
auto => 1,
);
#
# 2. Manual configuration
#
package Category;
use base qw(Rose::DB::Object);
__PACKAGE__->meta->setup
(
table => 'categories',
columns =>
[
id => { type => 'int', primary_key => 1 },
name => { type => 'varchar', length => 255 },
description => { type => 'text' },
],
unique_key => 'name',
);
...
package Price;
use base qw(Rose::DB::Object);
__PACKAGE__->meta->setup
(
table => 'prices',
columns =>
[
id => { type => 'int', primary_key => 1 },
price => { type => 'decimal' },
region => { type => 'char', length => 3 },
product_id => { type => 'int' }
],
unique_key => [ 'product_id', 'region' ],
);
...
package Product;
use base qw(Rose::DB::Object);
__PACKAGE__->meta->setup
(
table => 'products',
columns =>
[
id => { type => 'int', primary_key => 1 },
name => { type => 'varchar', length => 255 },
description => { type => 'text' },
category_id => { type => 'int' },
status =>
{
type => 'varchar',
check_in => [ 'active', 'inactive' ],
default => 'inactive',
},
start_date => { type => 'datetime' },
end_date => { type => 'datetime' },
date_created => { type => 'timestamp', default => 'now' },
last_modified => { type => 'timestamp', default => 'now' },
],
unique_key => 'name',
foreign_keys =>
[
category =>
{
class => 'Category',
key_columns => { category_id => 'id' },
},
],
relationships =>
[
prices =>
{
type => 'one to many',
class => 'Price',
column_map => { id => 'product_id' },
},
],
);
...
#
# Example usage
#
$product = Product->new(id => 123,
name => 'GameCube',
status => 'active',
start_date => '11/5/2001',
end_date => '12/1/2007',
category_id => 5);
$product->save;
...
$product = Product->new(id => 123);
$product->load;
# Load foreign object via "one to one" relationship
print $product->category->name;
$product->end_date->add(days => 45);
$product->save;
...
$product = Product->new(id => 456);
$product->load;
# Load foreign objects via "one to many" relationship
print join ' ', $product->prices;
...
DESCRIPTION
Rose::DB::Object is a base class for objects that encapsulate a single row in a database table.
Rose::DB::Object-derived objects are sometimes simply called "Rose::DB::Object objects" in this
documentation for the sake of brevity, but be assured that derivation is the only reasonable way to use
this class.
Rose::DB::Object inherits from, and follows the conventions of, Rose::Object. See the Rose::Object
documentation for more information.
For an informal overview of this module distribution, consult the Rose::DB::Object::Tutorial.
Restrictions
Rose::DB::Object objects can represent rows in almost any database table, subject to the following
constraints.
• The database server must be supported by Rose::DB.
• The database table must have a primary key.
• The primary key must not allow null values in any of its columns.
Although the list above contains the only hard and fast rules, there may be other realities that you'll
need to work around.
The most common example is the existence of a column name in the database table that conflicts with the
name of a method in the Rose::DB::Object API. There are two possible workarounds: either explicitly
alias the column, or define a mapping function. See the alias_column and
column_name_to_method_name_mapper methods in the Rose::DB::Object::Metadata documentation for more
details.
There are also varying degrees of support for data types in each database server supported by Rose::DB.
If you have a table that uses a data type not supported by an existing
Rose::DB::Object::Metadata::Column-derived class, you will have to write your own column class and then
map it to a type name using Rose::DB::Object::Metadata's column_type_class method, yada yada. (Or, of
course, you can map the new type to an existing column class.)
The entire framework is extensible. This module distribution contains straight-forward implementations
of the most common column types, but there's certainly more that can be done. Submissions are welcome.
Features
Rose::DB::Object provides the following functions:
• Create a row in the database by saving a newly constructed object.
• Initialize an object by loading a row from the database.
• Update a row by saving a modified object back to the database.
• Delete a row from the database.
• Fetch an object referred to by a foreign key in the current object. (i.e., "one to one" and "many to
one" relationships.)
• Fetch multiple objects that refer to the current object, either directly through foreign keys or
indirectly through a mapping table. (i.e., "one to many" and "many to many" relationships.)
• Load an object along with "foreign objects" that are related through any of the supported
relationship types.
Objects can be loaded based on either a primary key or a unique key. Since all tables fronted by
Rose::DB::Objects must have non-null primary keys, insert, update, and delete operations are done based
on the primary key.
In addition, its sibling class, Rose::DB::Object::Manager, can do the following:
• Fetch multiple objects from the database using arbitrary query conditions, limits, and offsets.
• Iterate over a list of objects, fetching from the database in response to each step of the iterator.
• Fetch objects along with "foreign objects" (related through any of the supported relationship types)
in a single query by automatically generating the appropriate SQL join(s).
• Count the number of objects that match a complex query.
• Update objects that match a complex query.
• Delete objects that match a complex query.
Rose::DB::Object::Manager can be subclassed and used separately (the recommended approach), or it can
create object manager methods within a Rose::DB::Object subclass. See the Rose::DB::Object::Manager
documentation for more information.
Rose::DB::Object can parse, coerce, inflate, and deflate column values on your behalf, providing the most
convenient possible data representations on the Perl side of the fence, while allowing the programmer to
completely forget about the ugly details of the data formats required by the database. Default
implementations are included for most common column types, and the framework is completely extensible.
Finally, the Rose::DB::Object::Loader can be used to automatically create a suite of Rose::DB::Object and
Rose::DB::Object::Manager subclasses based on the contents of the database.
Configuration
Before Rose::DB::Object can do any useful work, you must register at least one Rose::DB data source. By
default, Rose::DB::Object instantiates a Rose::DB object by passing no arguments to its constructor.
(See the db method.) If you register a Rose::DB data source using the default type and domain, this will
work fine. Otherwise, you must override the meta method in your Rose::DB::Object subclass and have it
return the appropriate Rose::DB-derived object.
To define your own Rose::DB::Object-derived class, you must describe the table that your class will act
as a front-end for. This is done through the Rose::DB::Object::Metadata object associated with each
Rose::DB::Object-derived class. The metadata object is accessible via Rose::DB::Object's meta method.
Metadata objects can be populated manually or automatically. Both techniques are shown in the synopsis
above. The automatic mode works by asking the database itself for the information. There are some
caveats to this approach. See the auto-initialization section of the Rose::DB::Object::Metadata
documentation for more information.
Serial and Auto-Incremented Columns
Most databases provide a way to use a series of arbitrary integers as primary key column values. Some
support a native "SERIAL" column data type. Others use a special auto-increment column attribute.
Rose::DB::Object supports at least one such serial or auto-incremented column type in each supported
database. In all cases, the Rose::DB::Object-derived class setup is the same:
package My::DB::Object;
...
__PACKAGE__->meta->setup
(
columns =>
[
id => { type => 'serial', primary_key => 1, not_null => 1 },
...
],
...
);
(Note that the column doesn't have to be named "id"; it can be named anything.)
If the database column uses big integers, use "bigserial" column "type" instead.
Given the column metadata definition above, Rose::DB::Object will automatically generate and/or retrieve
the primary key column value when an object is save()d. Example:
$o = My::DB::Object->new(name => 'bud'); # no id specified
$o->save; # new id value generated here
print "Generated new id value: ", $o->id;
This will only work, however, if the corresponding column definition in the database is set up correctly.
The exact technique varies from vendor to vendor. Below are examples of primary key column definitions
that provide auto-generated values. There's one example for each of the databases supported by Rose::DB.
• PostgreSQL
CREATE TABLE mytable
(
id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
...
);
• MySQL
CREATE TABLE mytable
(
id INT UNSIGNED AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
...
);
• SQLite
CREATE TABLE mytable
(
id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
...
);
• Informix
CREATE TABLE mytable
(
id SERIAL NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
...
);
• Oracle
Since Oracle does not natively support a serial or auto-incremented column data type, an explicit
sequence and trigger must be created to simulate the behavior. The sequence should be named
according to this convention: "<table>_<column>_seq". For example, if the table is named "mytable"
and the column is named "id", then the sequence should be named "mytable_id_seq". Here's an example
database setup.
CREATE TABLE mytable
(
id INT NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
...
);
CREATE SEQUENCE mytable_id_seq;
CREATE TRIGGER mytable_insert BEFORE INSERT ON mytable
FOR EACH ROW
BEGIN
IF :new.id IS NULL THEN
:new.id := mytable_id_seq.nextval;
END IF;
END;
Note the conditional that checks if ":new.id" is null, which allows the value of the "id" column to
be set explicitly. If a non-NULL value for the "id" column is provided, then a new value is not
pulled from the sequence.
If the sequence is not named according to the "<table>_<column>_seq" convention, you can specify the
sequence name explicitly in the column metadata. Example:
columns =>
[
id => { type => 'serial', primary_key => 1, not_null => 1,
sequence => 'some_other_seq' },
...
If the table has a multi-column primary key or does not use a column type that supports auto-generated
values, you can define a custom primary key generator function using the primary_key_generator method of
the Rose::DB::Object::Metadata-derived object that contains the metadata for this class. Example:
package MyDBObject;
use base qw(Rose::DB::Object);
__PACKAGE__->meta->setup
(
table => 'mytable',
columns =>
[
k1 => { type => 'int', not_null => 1 },
k2 => { type => 'int', not_null => 1 },
name => { type => 'varchar', length => 255 },
...
],
primary_key_columns => [ 'k1', 'k2' ],
primary_key_generator => sub
{
my($meta, $db) = @_;
# Generate primary key values somehow
my $k1 = ...;
my $k2 = ...;
return $k1, $k2;
},
);
See the Rose::DB::Object::Metadata documentation for more information on custom primary key generators.
Inheritance
Simple, single inheritance between Rose::DB::Object-derived classes is supported. (Multiple inheritance
is not currently supported.) The first time the metadata object for a given class is accessed, it is
created by making a one-time "deep copy" of the base class's metadata object (as long that the base class
has one or more columns set). This includes all columns, relationships, foreign keys, and other metadata
from the base class. From that point on, the subclass may add to or modify its metadata without
affecting any other class.
Tip: When using perl 5.8.0 or later, the Scalar::Util::Clone module is highly recommended. If it's
installed, it will be used to more efficiently clone base-class metadata objects.
If the base class has already been initialized, the subclass must explicitly specify whether it wants to
create a new set of column and relationship methods, or merely inherit the methods from the base class.
If the subclass contains any metadata modifications that affect method creation, then it must create a
new set of methods to reflect those changes.
Finally, note that column types cannot be changed "in-place." To change a column type, delete the old
column and add a new one with the same name. This can be done in one step with the replace_column
method.
Example:
package BaseClass;
use base 'Rose::DB::Object';
__PACKAGE__->meta->setup
(
table => 'objects',
columns =>
[
id => { type => 'int', primary_key => 1 },
start => { type => 'scalar' },
],
);
...
package SubClass;
use base 'BaseClass';
# Set a default value for this column.
__PACKAGE__->meta->column('id')->default(123);
# Change the "start" column into a datetime column.
__PACKAGE__->meta->replace_column(start => { type => 'datetime' });
# Initialize, replacing any inherited methods with newly created ones
__PACKAGE__->meta->initialize(replace_existing => 1);
...
$b = BaseClass->new;
$id = $b->id; # undef
$b->start('1/2/2003');
print $b->start; # '1/2/2003' (plain string)
$s = SubClass->new;
$id = $s->id; # 123
$b->start('1/2/2003'); # Value is converted to a DateTime object
print $b->start->strftime('%B'); # 'January'
To preserve all inherited methods in a subclass, do this instead:
package SubClass;
use base 'BaseClass';
__PACKAGE__->meta->initialize(preserve_existing => 1);
Error Handling
Error handling for Rose::DB::Object-derived objects is controlled by the error_mode method of the
Rose::DB::Object::Metadata object associated with the class (accessible via the meta method). The
default setting is "fatal", which means that Rose::DB::Object methods will croak if they encounter an
error.
PLEASE NOTE: The error return values described in the object method documentation are only relevant when
the error mode is set to something "non-fatal." In other words, if an error occurs, you'll never see any
of those return values if the selected error mode dies or croaks or otherwise throws an exception when an
error occurs.
CONSTRUCTOR
new PARAMS
Returns a new Rose::DB::Object constructed according to PARAMS, where PARAMS are name/value pairs.
Any object method is a valid parameter name.
CLASS METHODS
init_db
Returns the Rose::DB-derived object used to access the database in the absence of an explicit db
value. The default implementation simply calls Rose::DB->new() with no arguments.
Override this method in your subclass in order to use a different default data source. Note: This
method must be callable as both an object method and a class method.
meta
Returns the Rose::DB::Object::Metadata-derived object associated with this class. This object
describes the database table whose rows are fronted by this class: the name of the table, its
columns, unique keys, foreign keys, etc.
See the Rose::DB::Object::Metadata documentation for more information.
meta_class
Return the name of the Rose::DB::Object::Metadata-derived class used to store this object's metadata.
Subclasses should override this method if they want to use a custom Rose::DB::Object::Metadata
subclass. (See the source code for Rose::DB::Object::Std for an example of this.)
OBJECT METHODS
db [DB]
Get or set the Rose::DB object used to access the database that contains the table whose rows are
fronted by the Rose::DB::Object-derived class.
If it does not already exist, this object is created with a simple, argument-less call to
"Rose::DB->new()". To override this default in a subclass, override the init_db method and return
the Rose::DB to be used as the new default.
init_db
Returns the Rose::DB-derived object used to access the database in the absence of an explicit db
value. The default implementation simply calls Rose::DB->new() with no arguments.
Override this method in your subclass in order to use a different default data source. Note: This
method must be callable as both an object method and a class method.
dbh [DBH]
Get or set the DBI database handle contained in db.
delete [PARAMS]
Delete the row represented by the current object. The object must have been previously loaded from
the database (or must otherwise have a defined primary key value) in order to be deleted. Returns
true if the row was deleted or did not exist, false otherwise.
PARAMS are optional name/value pairs. Valid PARAMS are:
cascade TYPE
Also process related rows. TYPE must be "delete", "null", or "1". The value "1" is an alias for
"delete". Passing an illegal TYPE value will cause a fatal error.
For each "one to many" relationship, all of the rows in the foreign ("many") table that reference
the current object ("one") will be deleted in "delete" mode, or will have the column(s) that
reference the current object set to NULL in "null" mode.
For each "many to many" relationship, all of the rows in the "mapping table" that reference the
current object will deleted in "delete" mode, or will have the columns that reference the two
tables that the mapping table maps between set to NULL in "null" mode.
For each "one to one" relationship or foreign key with a "one to one" relationship type, all of
the rows in the foreign table that reference the current object will deleted in "delete" mode, or
will have the column(s) that reference the current object set to NULL in "null" mode.
In all modes, if the db is not currently in a transaction, a new transaction is started. If any
part of the cascaded delete fails, the transaction is rolled back.
prepare_cached BOOL
If true, then DBI's prepare_cached method will be used (instead of the prepare method) when
preparing the SQL statement that will delete the object. If omitted, the default value is
determined by the metadata object's dbi_prepare_cached class method.
The cascaded delete feature described above plays it safe by only deleting rows that are not
referenced by any other rows (according to the metadata provided by each Rose::DB::Object-derived
class). I strongly recommend that you implement "cascaded delete" in the database itself, rather
than using this feature. It will undoubtedly be faster and more robust than doing it "client-side."
You may also want to cascade only to certain tables, or otherwise deviate from the "safe" plan. If
your database supports automatic cascaded delete and/or triggers, please consider using these
features.
error
Returns the text message associated with the last error that occurred.
insert [PARAMS]
Insert the current object to the database table. This method should only be used when you're
absolutely sure that you want to force the current object to be inserted, rather than updated. It is
recommended that you use the save method instead of this one in most circumstances. The save method
will "do the right thing," executing an insert or update as appropriate for the current situation.
PARAMS are optional name/value pairs. Valid PARAMS are:
changes_only BOOL
If true, then only the columns whose values have been modified will be included in the insert
query. Otherwise, all columns will be included. Note that any column that has a default value
set in its column metadata is considered "modified" during an insert operation.
If omitted, the default value of this parameter is determined by the metadata object's
default_insert_changes_only class method, which returns false by default.
prepare_cached BOOL
If true, then DBI's prepare_cached method will be used (instead of the prepare method) when
preparing the SQL statement that will insert the object. If omitted, the default value is
determined by the metadata object's dbi_prepare_cached class method.
Returns true if the row was inserted successfully, false otherwise. The true value returned on
success will be the object itself. If the object overloads its boolean value such that it is not
true, then a true value will be returned instead of the object itself.
load [PARAMS]
Load a row from the database table, initializing the object with the values from that row. An object
can be loaded based on either a primary key or a unique key.
Returns true if the row was loaded successfully, undef if the row could not be loaded due to an
error, or zero (0) if the row does not exist. The true value returned on success will be the object
itself. If the object overloads its boolean value such that it is not true, then a true value will
be returned instead of the object itself.
When loading based on a unique key, unique keys are considered in the order in which they were
defined in the metadata for this class. If the object has defined values for every column in a
unique key, then that key is used. If no such key is found, then the first key for which the object
has at least one defined value is used.
PARAMS are optional name/value pairs. Valid PARAMS are:
for_update BOOL
If true, this parameter is translated to be the equivalent of passing the lock parameter and
setting the "type" to "for update". For example, these are both equivalent:
$object->load(for_update => 1);
$object->load(lock => { type => 'for update' });
See the lock parameter below for more information.
lock [ TYPE | HASHREF ]
Load the object using some form of locking. These lock directives have database-specific
behavior and not all directives are supported by all databases. The value should be a reference
to a hash or a TYPE string, which is equivalent to setting the value of the "type" key in the
hash reference form. For example, these are both equivalent:
$object->load(lock => 'for update');
$object->load(lock => { type => 'for update' });
Valid hash keys are:
columns ARRAYREF
A reference to an array of column names to lock. References to scalars will be de-referenced
and used as-is, included literally in the SQL locking clause.
"nowait BOOL"
If true, do not wait to acquire the lock. If supported, this is usually by adding a
"NOWAIT" directive to the SQL.
"type TYPE"
The lock type. Valid values for TYPE are "for update" and "shared". This parameter is
required unless the for_update parameter was passed with a true value.
"wait TIME"
Wait for the specified TIME (generally seconds) before giving up acquiring the lock. If
supported, this is usually by adding a "WAIT ..." clause to the SQL.
nonlazy BOOL
If true, then all columns will be fetched from the database, even lazy columns. If omitted, the
default is false.
prepare_cached BOOL
If true, then DBI's prepare_cached method will be used (instead of the prepare method) when
preparing the SQL query that will load the object. If omitted, the default value is determined
by the metadata object's dbi_prepare_cached class method.
speculative BOOL
If this parameter is passed with a true value, and if the load failed because the row was not
found, then the error_mode setting is ignored and zero (0) is returned. In the absence of an
explicitly set value, this parameter defaults to the value returned my the metadata object's
default_load_speculative method.
use_key KEY
Use the unique key named KEY to load the object. This overrides the unique key selection process
described above. The key must have a defined value in at least one of its columns.
with OBJECTS
Load the object and the specified "foreign objects" simultaneously. OBJECTS should be a
reference to an array of foreign key or relationship names.
SUBCLASS NOTE: If you are going to override the load method in your subclass, you must pass an alias
to the actual object as the first argument to the method, rather than passing a copy of the object
reference. Example:
# This is the CORRECT way to override load() while still
# calling the base class version of the method.
sub load
{
my $self = $_[0]; # Copy, not shift
... # Do your stuff
shift->SUPER::load(@_); # Call superclass
}
Now here's the wrong way:
# This is the WRONG way to override load() while still
# calling the base class version of the method.
sub load
{
my $self = shift; # WRONG! The alias to the object is now lost!
... # Do your stuff
$self->SUPER::load(@_); # This won't work right!
}
This requirement exists in order to preserve some sneaky object-replacement optimizations in the base
class implementation of load. At some point, those optimizations may change or go away. But if you
follow these guidelines, your code will continue to work no matter what.
not_found
Returns true if the previous call to load failed because a row in the database table with the
specified primary or unique key did not exist, false otherwise.
meta
Returns the Rose::DB::Object::Metadata object associated with this class. This object describes the
database table whose rows are fronted by this class: the name of the table, its columns, unique keys,
foreign keys, etc.
See the Rose::DB::Object::Metadata documentation for more information.
save [PARAMS]
Save the current object to the database table. In the absence of PARAMS, if the object was
previously loaded from the database, the row will be updated. Otherwise, a new row will be inserted.
PARAMS are name/value pairs. Valid PARAMS are listed below.
Actions associated with sub-objects that were added or deleted using one of the "*_on_save"
relationship or foreign key method types are also performed when this method is called. If there are
any such actions to perform, a new transaction is started if the db is not already in one, and
rollback() is called if any of the actions fail during the save(). Example:
$product = Product->new(name => 'Sled');
$vendor = Vendor->new(name => 'Acme');
$product->vendor($vendor);
# Product and vendor records created and linked together,
# all within a single transaction.
$product->save;
See the "making methods" sections of the Rose::DB::Object::Metadata::Relationship and
Rose::DB::Object::Metadata::ForeignKey documentation for a description of the "method map" associated
with each relationship and foreign key. Only the actions initiated through one of the "*_on_save"
method types are handled when save() is called. See the documentation for each individual
"*_on_save" method type for more specific information.
Valid parameters to save() are:
cascade BOOL
If true, then sub-objects related to this object through a foreign key or relationship that have
been previously loaded using methods called on this object and that contain unsaved changes will
be saved after the parent object is saved. This proceeds recursively through all sub-objects.
(All other parameters to the original call to save are also passed on when saving sub-objects.)
All database operations are done within a single transaction. If the db is not currently in a
transaction, a new transaction is started. If any part of the cascaded save fails, the
transaction is rolled back.
If omitted, the default value of this parameter is determined by the metadata object's
default_cascade_save class method, which returns false by default.
Example:
$p = Product->new(id => 123)->load;
print join(', ', $p->colors); # related Color objects loaded
$p->colors->[0]->code('zzz'); # one Color object is modified
# The Product object and the modified Color object are saved
$p->save(cascade => 1);
changes_only BOOL
If true, then only the columns whose values have been modified will be included in the insert or
update query. Otherwise, all eligible columns will be included. Note that any column that has a
default value set in its column metadata is considered "modified" during an insert operation.
If omitted, the default value of this parameter is determined by the metadata object's
default_update_changes_only class method on update, and the default_insert_changes_only class
method on insert, both of which return false by default.
insert BOOL
If set to a true value, then an insert is attempted, regardless of whether or not the object was
previously loaded from the database.
prepare_cached BOOL
If true, then DBI's prepare_cached method will be used (instead of the prepare method) when
preparing the SQL statement that will save the object. If omitted, the default value is
determined by the metadata object's dbi_prepare_cached class method.
update BOOL
If set to a true value, then an update is attempted, regardless of whether or not the object was
previously loaded from the database.
It is an error to pass both the "insert" and "update" parameters in a single call.
Returns true if the row was inserted or updated successfully, false otherwise. The true value
returned on success will be the object itself. If the object overloads its boolean value such that
it is not true, then a true value will be returned instead of the object itself.
If an insert was performed and the primary key is a single column that supports auto-generated
values, then the object accessor for the primary key column will contain the auto-generated value.
See the Serial and Auto-Incremented Columns section for more information.
update [PARAMS]
Update the current object in the database table. This method should only be used when you're
absolutely sure that you want to force the current object to be updated, rather than inserted. It is
recommended that you use the save method instead of this one in most circumstances. The save method
will "do the right thing," executing an insert or update as appropriate for the current situation.
PARAMS are optional name/value pairs. Valid PARAMS are:
changes_only BOOL
If true, then only the columns whose values have been modified will be updated. Otherwise, all
columns whose values have been loaded from the database will be updated. If omitted, the default
value of this parameter is determined by the metadata object's default_update_changes_only class
method, which returns false by default.
prepare_cached BOOL
If true, then DBI's prepare_cached method will be used (instead of the prepare method) when
preparing the SQL statement that will insert the object. If omitted, the default value of this
parameter is determined by the metadata object's dbi_prepare_cached class method.
Returns true if the row was updated successfully, false otherwise. The true value returned on
success will be the object itself. If the object overloads its boolean value such that it is not
true, then a true value will be returned instead of the object itself.
RESERVED METHODS
As described in the Rose::DB::Object::Metadata documentation, each column in the database table has an
associated get/set accessor method in the Rose::DB::Object. Since the Rose::DB::Object API already
defines many methods (load, save, meta, etc.), accessor methods for columns that share the name of an
existing method pose a problem. The solution is to alias such columns using Rose::DB::Object::Metadata's
alias_column method.
Here is a list of method names reserved by the Rose::DB::Object API. If you have a column with one of
these names, you must alias it.
db
dbh
delete
DESTROY
error
init_db
_init_db
insert
load
meta
meta_class
not_found
save
update
Note that not all of these methods are public. These methods do not suddenly become public just because
you now know their names! Remember the stated policy of the Rose web application framework: if a method
is not documented, it does not exist. (And no, the list of method names above does not constitute
"documentation.")
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
The Rose development policy applies to this, and all "Rose::*" modules. Please install Rose from CPAN
and then run ""perldoc Rose"" for more information.
SUPPORT
For an informal overview of Rose::DB::Object, consult the Rose::DB::Object::Tutorial.
perldoc Rose::DB::Object::Tutorial
Any Rose::DB::Object questions or problems can be posted to the Rose::DB::Object mailing list. To
subscribe to the list or view the archives, go here:
<http://groups.google.com/group/rose-db-object>
Although the mailing list is the preferred support mechanism, you can also email the author (see below)
or file bugs using the CPAN bug tracking system:
<http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/Bugs.html?Dist=Rose-DB-Object>
There's also a wiki and other resources linked from the Rose project home page:
<http://rosecode.org>
CONTRIBUTORS
Bradley C Bailey, Graham Barr, Kostas Chatzikokolakis, David Christensen, Lucian Dragus, Justin Ellison,
Perrin Harkins, Cees Hek, Benjamin Hitz, Dave Howorth, Peter Karman, Ed Loehr, Adam Mackler, Michael
Reece, Thomas Whaples, Douglas Wilson, Teodor Zlatanov
AUTHOR
John C. Siracusa (siracusa@gmail.com)
LICENSE
Copyright (c) 2010 by John C. Siracusa. All rights reserved. This program is free software; you can
redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.