kohana columns introspection

Question

I would like to know which is the functionality of the $_table_columns array on a KOHANA model.

I ask this since the table's columns are loaded by introspection, what is the use of this array, is it for default values to the properties?

Answer 1

$_table_columns reflects your table column structure. So if your table has 3 columns (id, name, desc), $_table_columns will be setup to array('id' => '', 'name' => '', 'desc' => '').

By default $_table_columns is an empty array. When you extend ORM with your class and don't override $_table_columns, it will be automatically filled by ORM by calling SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM table_name command. If you want to avoid this additional DB call, you can initialize $_table_columns on your own:

class Model_User extends ORM {
   protected $_table_columns = array('id' => '', 'name' => '', 'desc' => '');
}

Check here for more details.