CakePHP display custom fields from array - arrays

Question

I know the title doesn't describe the best what I want to achieve, but I couldn't think of anything else.
Let's say I have the following array:
[Sender] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[id] => 1
[username] => admin
[PrivateMessagesUser] => Array
(
[id] => 1
[private_message_id] => 1
[sender_id] => 1
[recipient_id] => 3
[sender_status] => 1
[recipient_status] => 0
[random_key] =>
)
)
[1] => Array
(
[id] => 1
[username] => admin
[PrivateMessagesUser] => Array
(
[id] => 3
[private_message_id] => 1
[sender_id] => 1
[recipient_id] => 2
[sender_status] => 1
[recipient_status] => 0
[random_key] =>
)
)
)
I am using the ContainableBehaviour to cut off extra data.
My problem is: how do I filter out the Senders after a key which is present in PrivateMessagesUser? Say I need only the Sender where PrivateMessagesUser.recipient_id = 3.
I tried with
'Sender' => array(
'PrivateMessagesUser' => array(
)
),
but it didn't work. Looks like I have to get over the [0], [1]... keys somehow and I don't know how.
Any help would be appreciated!
EDIT
Here's how I obtain the array posted above:
$this->paginate = array(
'conditions' => array(
'PrivateMessage.id' => $this->__getUserPrivateMessagesInbox()
),
'contain' => array(
'Sender' => array(
'fields' => array('id', 'username'),
'PrivateMessagesUser' => array(
'fields' => array('PrivateMessagesUser.id')
//'conditions' => array('PrivateMessagesUser.recipient_id' => $this->Auth->user('id'))
)
),
'Recipient' => array(
'fields' => array('id', 'username'),
'conditions' => array('Recipient.id' => $this->Auth->user('id'))
)
)
);
How can I edit these lines in order to achieve the desired result?
EDIT 2
I am calling the paginate() from the PrivateMessagesController.
Associations:
User Model:
var $hasAndBelongsToMany = array(
'PrivateMessageSent' => array(
'className' => 'PrivateMessage',
'joinTable' => 'private_messages_users',
'foreignKey' => 'sender_id',
'associationForeignKey' => 'private_message_id',
'unique' => true,
'conditions' => '',
'fields' => '',
'order' => '',
'limit' => '',
'offset' => '',
'finderQuery' => '',
'deleteQuery' => '',
'insertQuery' => ''
),
'PrivateMessageReceived' => array(
'className' => 'PrivateMessage',
'joinTable' => 'private_messages_users',
'foreignKey' => 'recipient_id',
'associationForeignKey' => 'private_message_id',
'unique' => true,
'conditions' => '',
'fields' => '',
'order' => '',
'limit' => '',
'offset' => '',
'finderQuery' => '',
'deleteQuery' => '',
'insertQuery' => ''
)
);
PrivateMessage Model:
var $hasAndBelongsToMany = array(
'Sender' => array(
'className' => 'User',
'joinTable' => 'private_messages_users',
'foreignKey' => 'private_message_id',
'associationForeignKey' => 'sender_id',
'unique' => true,
'conditions' => '',
'fields' => '',
'order' => '',
'limit' => '',
'offset' => '',
'finderQuery' => '',
'deleteQuery' => '',
'insertQuery' => ''
),
'Recipient' => array(
'className' => 'User',
'joinTable' => 'private_messages_users',
'foreignKey' => 'private_message_id',
'associationForeignKey' => 'recipient_id',
'unique' => true,
'conditions' => '',
'fields' => '',
'order' => '',
'limit' => '',
'offset' => '',
'finderQuery' => '',
'deleteQuery' => '',
'insertQuery' => ''
),
);
PrivateMessagesUser Model:
var $belongsTo = array(
'PrivateMessage' => array(
'className' => 'PrivateMessage',
'foreignKey' => 'private_message_id',
'conditions' => '',
'fields' => '',
'order' => ''
),
'Sender' => array(
'className' => 'User',
'foreignKey' => 'sender_id',
'conditions' => '',
'fields' => '',
'order' => ''
),
'Recipient' => array(
'className' => 'User',
'foreignKey' => 'recipient_id',
'conditions' => '',
'fields' => '',
'order' => ''
)
);
And the database tables look like:
users: id, username, ...
private_messages: id, subject, ...
private_messages_users: id, private_message_id, sender_id, recipient_id, status, ...

Answer 1

There are three ways to achieve this.
Looking at your returned data array, I'm guessing PrivateMessagesUser belongsTo Sender.
1. Querying the PrivateMessagesUser model
Sometimes, all it takes is querying the right model. You can apply the conditions directly to the model you want to apply your restrictions on.
$this->Sender->PrivateMessagesUser->find('all', array(
'conditions' => array('PrivateMessagesUser.recipient_id' => 3),
'contain' => array('Sender')
));
2. Applying conditions to related models
This doesn't work all the time, because CakePHP's SQL generation doesn't always work the way you want it to. But in simple cases like a hasMany relationship, you can use this:
$this->Sender->find('all', array(
'conditions' => array('PrivateMessagesUser.recipient_id' => 3),
'contain' => array('PrivateMessagesUser')
));
Again, this will work only if Cake executes a JOIN for the Containable parameters AND uses the conditions right.
3. Using joins
This method is foolproof but a little messy since it's highly customizable.
$this->Sender->find('all', array(
'joins' => array(
array(
'table' => 'private_messages_users',
'alias' => 'PrivateMessagesUser',
'type' => 'inner',
'conditions' => array(
'PrivateMessagesUser.sender_id = Sender.id',
'PrivateMessagesUser.recipient_id' => 3
)
)
)
));
My last piece of advice for you is to place this code into the Model. Follow the principle of "fat models, skinny controllers" whenever possible.
In the Sender model:
function fetchByRecipientId($recipientId) {
...
}
Good luck!
EDIT: In order to make this work for pagination, follow the methods above but use the following format:
$this->paginate = array(
'PrivateMessagesUser' => array(
'conditions' => array('PrivateMessagesUser.recipient_id' => 3),
'contain' => array('Sender'),
// 'order' => ... other keys if you wish
)
);
$this->set('senders', $this->paginate());

Answer 2

You can put conditions inside Containable, like so:
$this->Sender->find('all', array(
'contain' => array(
'PrivateMessagesUser' => array('conditions' => array('recipient_id' => 3))
)
));
EDIT:
Try modifying your $this->paginate as follow:
$this->paginate = array(
'conditions' => array(
'PrivateMessage.id' => $this->__getUserPrivateMessagesInbox()//array of message id's
),
'fields' => array('PrivateMessagesUser.id'),
'contain' => array(
'Sender' => array(
'fields' => array('id', 'username'),
),
'Recipient' => array(
'fields' => array('id', 'username'),
'conditions' => array('Recipient.id' => $this->Auth->user('id'))
)
)
)
Then call your paginate $this->paginate($this->PrivateMessage)