delete()

Signature

delete() — returns boolean

Available in: model Category: CRUD Functions

Description

Deletes the object, which means the row is deleted from the database (unless prevented by a beforeDelete callback). Returns true on successful deletion of the row, false otherwise.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
parameterize	any	no	true	Set to true to use cfqueryparam on all columns, or pass in a list of property names to use cfqueryparam on those only.
transaction	string	no	[runtime expression]	Set this to commit to update the database, rollback to run all the database queries but not commit them, or none to skip transaction handling altogether.
callbacks	boolean	no	true	Set to false to disable callbacks for this method.
includeSoftDeletes	boolean	no	false	Set to true to include soft-deleted records in the queries that this method runs.
softDelete	boolean	no	true	Set to false to permanently delete a record, even if it has a soft delete column.

Examples

Example 1: Delete a single object
<cfscript>
post = model("post").findByKey(33);
success = post.delete();
</cfscript>

Deletes the post with ID 33 from the database.

Returns true if deletion succeeds.

Example 2: Scoped delete via association
<cfscript>
post = model("post").findByKey(params.postId);
comment = model("comment").findByKey(params.commentId);

// Calls comment.delete() internally
post.deleteComment(comment);
</cfscript>

If post has a hasMany association to comment, this uses the association method to delete a related comment.

Example 3: Permanent deletion (bypass soft-delete)
<cfscript>
post = model("post").findByKey(33);
post.delete(softDelete=false);
</cfscript>

Forces a hard delete even if the model uses soft-delete columns.