🧩 Models

Models in Cardikit represent data structures that are persisted to the database. They provide a way to map data from the database to objects and vice versa.

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🏗️ Base Model

All models inherit from:

abstract class Model

This base class provides shared functionality such as database connection and record lookup.

🔌 Key Properties

Property	Type	Description
$db	PDO	The database connection instance
$table	string	The table name this model interacts with

🔍 findBy()

public function findBy(string $column, mixed $value): ?array

Finds the first record where $column = $value. Returns null if no record is found.

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👤 Example: User Model

namespace App\Models;

use App\Core\Database;
use PDO;

class User extends Model
{
    protected string $table = 'users';

    public static function create(array $data): bool
    {
        $pdo = Database::connect();
        $stmt = $pdo->prepare("
            INSERT INTO users (name, email, password)
            VALUES (:name, :email, :password)
        ");

        return $stmt->execute([
            'name' => $data['name'],
            'email' => $data['email'],
            'password' => password_hash($data['password'], PASSWORD_DEFAULT),
        ]);
    }

    public static function findByEmail(string $email): ?array
    {
        return (new static())->findBy('email', $email);
    }

    public static function findById(int $id): ?array
    {
        return (new static())->findBy('id', $id);
    }

    public static function findLoggedInUser(): ?array
    {
        $user = (new static())->findBy('id', $_SESSION['user_id']);

        return [
            'id' => $user['id'],
            'name' => $user['name'],
            'email' => $user['email'],
            'created_at' => $user['created_at'],
            'updated_at' => $user['updated_at'],
        ];
    }
}

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📋 Common Patterns

• create(array $data): Insert a new row into the database.
• findByEmail($email): Find a user by email.
• findById($id): Find a user by ID.
• findLoggedInUser(): Utility for session-based access.

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🧠 Notes

• Each model defines its $table string
• Model methods can encapsulate business logic and data transformation
• You can expand the base model with more shared utilities later (e.g. all(), update(), delete())

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📚 Related

• 📦 Migrations
• 🚀 Controllers
• 🔧 Config

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