ORM

PointArt's ORM maps PHP classes to database tables using attributes. Extend Model, annotate your class, and get find(), save(), and delete() with no SQL. For more complex queries — dynamic finders, custom SQL, and count/exists operations — see Repositories.

Namespaces PointStart\ORM — Model
PointStart\Attributes — Entity, Column, Id

Defining a Model

Place model classes in app/models/. Annotate with #[Entity], mark columns with #[Column], and the primary key with #[Id]:

#[Entity('users')]
class User extends Model {
    #[Id]
    public ?int $id = null;

    #[Column('name', 'varchar')]
    public string $name;

    #[Column('email', 'varchar', nullable: true)]
    public ?string $email = null;
}

#[Entity]

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`tableName`	`string`	Yes	The database table this class maps to

#[Id]

No parameters. Marks the primary key property — must be ?int, initialised to null. The value is set automatically after save() on insert.

#[Column]

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`columnName`	`string`	Yes	The database column name
`type`	`string`	Yes	Column type hint (e.g. `'varchar'`, `'int'`, `'real'`)
`nullable`	`bool`	No	Whether the column accepts `NULL`. Default: `false`

Static Query Methods

Method	SQL Equivalent
`User::find($id)`	`SELECT * WHERE pk = ? LIMIT 1`
`User::findAll()`	`SELECT *`
`User::findBy(['col' => $val], $order, $limit)`	`SELECT * WHERE col = ? [ORDER/LIMIT]`
`User::findOne(['col' => $val])`	`SELECT * WHERE col = ? LIMIT 1`

Instance Methods

// Create and save
$user = new User();
$user->name  = 'Alice';
$user->email = '[email protected]';
$user->save();    // INSERT (id is null) → id set from lastInsertId

// Update
$user->name = 'Alice B.';
$user->save();    // UPDATE (id is not null)

// Delete
$user->delete();  // DELETE WHERE id = ?

Method	Behaviour
`$entity->save()`	INSERT if primary key is `null`, UPDATE otherwise
`$entity->delete()`	DELETE WHERE pk = ?

Database Connection

The PDO connection is created lazily on the first query. The driver is selected from config.php:

Driver	DSN Format
`sqlite`	`sqlite:/path/to/database.sqlite`
`mysql`	`mysql:host=…;port=…;dbname=…;charset=…`
`pgsql`	`pgsql:host=…;port=…;dbname=…`

Testing For unit tests, set Model::$pdo directly to inject an in-memory SQLite instance: Model::$pdo = new PDO('sqlite::memory:');

Next: Repositories →