property()

Signature

property() — returns void

Available in: model Category: Miscellaneous Functions

Description

Lets you customize how model properties map to database columns or SQL expressions. By default, Wheels automatically maps a model’s property name to the column with the same name in the table. However, when your database uses non-standard column names, calculated values, or requires custom behavior, you can use property() to override the default mapping.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
name	string	yes	—	The name that you want to use for the column or SQL function result in the CFML code.
column	string	no	—	The name of the column in the database table to map the property to.
sql	string	no	—	An SQL expression to use to calculate the property value.
label	string	no	—	A custom label for this property to be referenced in the interface and error messages.
defaultValue	string	no	—	A default value for this property.
select	boolean	no	true	Whether to include this property by default in SELECT statements
dataType	string	no	char	Specify the column dataType for this property
automaticValidations	boolean	no	—	Enable / disable automatic validations for this property.

Examples

1. Tell Wheels that when we are referring to `firstName` in the CFML code, it should translate to the `STR_USERS_FNAME` column when interacting with the database instead of the default (which would be the `firstname` column)
property(name="firstName", column="STR_USERS_FNAME");

2. Tell Wheels that when we are referring to `fullName` in the CFML code, it should concatenate the `STR_USERS_FNAME` and `STR_USERS_LNAME` columns
property(name="fullName", sql="STR_USERS_FNAME + ' ' + STR_USERS_LNAME");

3. Tell Wheels that when displaying error messages or labels for form fields, we want to use `First name(s)` as the label for the `STR_USERS_FNAME` column
property(name="firstName", label="First name(s)");

4. Tell Wheels that when creating new objects, we want them to be auto-populated with a `firstName` property of value `Dave`
property(name="firstName", defaultValue="Dave");

5. Exclude property from SELECT queries
// Useful for virtual/computed properties you don’t want fetched from the DB
property(name="tempValue", select=false);

6. Override data type explicitly
property(name="isActive", dataType="boolean");