XoopsObjectHandler Class

The XoopsObjectHandler class and its extension XoopsPersistableObjectHandler provide a standardized interface for performing CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations on XoopsObject instances. This implements the Data Mapper pattern, separating domain logic from database access.

Class Overview

namespace Xoops\Core;

abstract class XoopsObjectHandler
{
    protected XoopsDatabase $db;

    public function __construct(XoopsDatabase $db);
    abstract public function create(bool $isNew = true);
    abstract public function get(int $id);
    abstract public function insert(XoopsObject $obj, bool $force = false): bool;
    abstract public function delete(XoopsObject $obj, bool $force = false): bool;
}

Class Hierarchy

XoopsObjectHandler (Abstract Base)
└── XoopsPersistableObjectHandler (Extended Implementation)
    ├── XoopsUserHandler
    ├── XoopsGroupHandler
    ├── XoopsModuleHandler
    ├── XoopsBlockHandler
    ├── XoopsConfigHandler
    └── [Custom Module Handlers]

XoopsObjectHandler

Constructor

public function __construct(XoopsDatabase $db)

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`$db`	XoopsDatabase	Database connection instance

Example:

$db = XoopsDatabaseFactory::getDatabaseConnection();
$handler = new MyObjectHandler($db);

create

Creates a new object instance.

abstract public function create(bool $isNew = true): ?XoopsObject

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`$isNew`	bool	Whether object is new (default: true)

Returns: XoopsObject|null - New object instance

Example:

$handler = xoops_getHandler('user');
$user = $handler->create();
$user->setVar('uname', 'newuser');

get

Retrieves an object by its primary key.

abstract public function get(int $id): ?XoopsObject

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`$id`	int	Primary key value

Returns: XoopsObject|null - Object instance or null if not found

Example:

$handler = xoops_getHandler('user');
$user = $handler->get(1);
if ($user) {
    echo $user->getVar('uname');
}

insert

Saves an object to the database (insert or update).

abstract public function insert(
    XoopsObject $obj,
    bool $force = false
): bool

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`$obj`	XoopsObject	Object to save
`$force`	bool	Force operation even if object unchanged

Returns: bool - True on success

Example:

$handler = xoops_getHandler('user');
$user = $handler->create();
$user->setVar('uname', 'testuser');
$user->setVar('email', 'test@example.com');

if ($handler->insert($user)) {
    echo "User saved with ID: " . $user->getVar('uid');
} else {
    echo "Save failed: " . implode(', ', $user->getErrors());
}

delete

Deletes an object from the database.

abstract public function delete(
    XoopsObject $obj,
    bool $force = false
): bool

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`$obj`	XoopsObject	Object to delete
`$force`	bool	Force deletion

Returns: bool - True on success

Example:

$handler = xoops_getHandler('user');
$user = $handler->get(5);

if ($user && $handler->delete($user)) {
    echo "User deleted";
}

XoopsPersistableObjectHandler

The XoopsPersistableObjectHandler extends XoopsObjectHandler with additional methods for querying and bulk operations.

Constructor

public function __construct(
    XoopsDatabase $db,
    string $table,
    string $className,
    string $keyName,
    string $identifierName = ''
)

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`$db`	XoopsDatabase	Database connection
`$table`	string	Table name (without prefix)
`$className`	string	Full class name of the object
`$keyName`	string	Primary key field name
`$identifierName`	string	Human-readable identifier field

Example:

class ArticleHandler extends XoopsPersistableObjectHandler
{
    public function __construct(XoopsDatabase $db)
    {
        parent::__construct(
            $db,
            'mymodule_articles',    // Table name
            'Article',               // Class name
            'article_id',            // Primary key
            'title'                  // Identifier field
        );
    }
}

getObjects

Retrieves multiple objects matching criteria.

public function getObjects(
    CriteriaElement $criteria = null,
    bool $idAsKey = false,
    bool $asObject = true
): array

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`$criteria`	CriteriaElement	Query criteria (optional)
`$idAsKey`	bool	Use primary key as array key
`$asObject`	bool	Return objects (true) or arrays (false)

Returns: array - Array of objects or associative arrays

Example:

$handler = xoops_getHandler('user');

// Get all active users
$criteria = new Criteria('level', 0, '>');
$users = $handler->getObjects($criteria);

// Get users with ID as key
$users = $handler->getObjects($criteria, true);
echo $users[1]->getVar('uname'); // Access by ID

// Get as arrays instead of objects
$usersArray = $handler->getObjects($criteria, false, false);
foreach ($usersArray as $userData) {
    echo $userData['uname'];
}

getCount

Counts objects matching criteria.

public function getCount(CriteriaElement $criteria = null): int

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`$criteria`	CriteriaElement	Query criteria (optional)

Returns: int - Count of matching objects

Example:

$handler = xoops_getHandler('user');

// Count all users
$totalUsers = $handler->getCount();

// Count active users
$criteria = new Criteria('level', 0, '>');
$activeUsers = $handler->getCount($criteria);

echo "Total: $totalUsers, Active: $activeUsers";

getAll

Retrieves all objects (alias for getObjects with no criteria).

public function getAll(
    CriteriaElement $criteria = null,
    array $fields = null,
    bool $asObject = true,
    bool $idAsKey = true
): array

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`$criteria`	CriteriaElement	Query criteria
`$fields`	array	Specific fields to retrieve
`$asObject`	bool	Return as objects
`$idAsKey`	bool	Use ID as array key

Example:

$handler = xoops_getHandler('module');

// Get all modules
$modules = $handler->getAll();

// Get only specific fields
$modules = $handler->getAll(null, ['mid', 'name', 'dirname'], false);

getIds

Retrieves only the primary keys of matching objects.

public function getIds(CriteriaElement $criteria = null): array

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`$criteria`	CriteriaElement	Query criteria

Returns: array - Array of primary key values

Example:

$handler = xoops_getHandler('user');
$criteria = new Criteria('level', 1);
$adminIds = $handler->getIds($criteria);
// [1, 5, 12, ...] - Array of admin user IDs

getList

Retrieves a key-value list for dropdowns.

public function getList(CriteriaElement $criteria = null): array

Returns: array - Associative array [id => identifier]

Example:

$handler = xoops_getHandler('group');
$groups = $handler->getList();
// [1 => 'Administrators', 2 => 'Registered Users', ...]

// For a select dropdown
$form->addElement(new XoopsFormSelect('Group', 'group_id', $default, 1, false));
$form->getElement('group_id')->addOptionArray($groups);

deleteAll

Deletes all objects matching criteria.

public function deleteAll(
    CriteriaElement $criteria = null,
    bool $force = true,
    bool $asObject = false
): bool

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`$criteria`	CriteriaElement	Criteria for objects to delete
`$force`	bool	Force deletion
`$asObject`	bool	Load objects before deleting (triggers events)

Returns: bool - True on success

Example:

$handler = xoops_getModuleHandler('comment', 'mymodule');

// Delete all comments for a specific article
$criteria = new Criteria('article_id', $articleId);
$handler->deleteAll($criteria);

// Delete with object loading (triggers delete events)
$handler->deleteAll($criteria, true, true);

updateAll

Updates a field value for all matching objects.

public function updateAll(
    string $fieldname,
    mixed $fieldvalue,
    CriteriaElement $criteria = null,
    bool $force = false
): bool

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`$fieldname`	string	Field to update
`$fieldvalue`	mixed	New value
`$criteria`	CriteriaElement	Criteria for objects to update
`$force`	bool	Force update

Returns: bool - True on success

Example:

$handler = xoops_getModuleHandler('article', 'mymodule');

// Mark all articles by an author as draft
$criteria = new Criteria('author_id', $authorId);
$handler->updateAll('published', 0, $criteria);

// Update view count
$criteria = new Criteria('article_id', $id);
$handler->updateAll('views', $views + 1, $criteria);

insert (Extended)

The extended insert method with additional functionality.

public function insert(
    XoopsObject $obj,
    bool $force = false
): bool

Behavior:

If object is new (isNew() === true): INSERT
If object exists (isNew() === false): UPDATE
Calls cleanVars() automatically
Sets auto-increment ID on new objects

Example:

$handler = xoops_getModuleHandler('article', 'mymodule');

// Create new article
$article = $handler->create();
$article->setVar('title', 'New Article');
$article->setVar('content', 'Content here');
$handler->insert($article);
echo "Created with ID: " . $article->getVar('article_id');

// Update existing article
$article = $handler->get(5);
$article->setVar('title', 'Updated Title');
$handler->insert($article);

Helper Functions

xoops_getHandler

Global function to retrieve a core handler.

function xoops_getHandler(string $name, bool $optional = false): ?XoopsObjectHandler

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`$name`	string	Handler name (user, module, group, etc.)
`$optional`	bool	Return null instead of triggering error

Example:

$userHandler = xoops_getHandler('user');
$moduleHandler = xoops_getHandler('module');
$groupHandler = xoops_getHandler('group');
$blockHandler = xoops_getHandler('block');
$configHandler = xoops_getHandler('config');

xoops_getModuleHandler

Retrieves a module-specific handler.

function xoops_getModuleHandler(
    string $name,
    string $dirname = null,
    bool $optional = false
): ?XoopsObjectHandler

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`$name`	string	Handler name
`$dirname`	string	Module directory name
`$optional`	bool	Return null on failure

Example:

// Get handler from current module
$articleHandler = xoops_getModuleHandler('article');

// Get handler from specific module
$articleHandler = xoops_getModuleHandler('article', 'news');
$storyHandler = xoops_getModuleHandler('story', 'news');

Creating Custom Handlers

Basic Handler Implementation

<?php
namespace XoopsModules\MyModule;

use XoopsPersistableObjectHandler;
use XoopsDatabase;
use CriteriaElement;
use Criteria;
use CriteriaCompo;

/**
 * Handler for Article objects
 */
class ArticleHandler extends XoopsPersistableObjectHandler
{
    /**
     * Constructor
     */
    public function __construct(XoopsDatabase $db = null)
    {
        parent::__construct(
            $db,
            'mymodule_articles',
            Article::class,
            'article_id',
            'title'
        );
    }

    /**
     * Get published articles
     */
    public function getPublished(int $limit = 10, int $start = 0): array
    {
        $criteria = new CriteriaCompo();
        $criteria->add(new Criteria('published', 1));
        $criteria->add(new Criteria('publish_date', time(), '<='));
        $criteria->setSort('publish_date');
        $criteria->setOrder('DESC');
        $criteria->setLimit($limit);
        $criteria->setStart($start);

        return $this->getObjects($criteria);
    }

    /**
     * Get articles by author
     */
    public function getByAuthor(int $authorId, bool $publishedOnly = true): array
    {
        $criteria = new CriteriaCompo();
        $criteria->add(new Criteria('author_id', $authorId));

        if ($publishedOnly) {
            $criteria->add(new Criteria('published', 1));
        }

        $criteria->setSort('created');
        $criteria->setOrder('DESC');

        return $this->getObjects($criteria);
    }

    /**
     * Get articles by category
     */
    public function getByCategory(int $categoryId, int $limit = 0): array
    {
        $criteria = new CriteriaCompo();
        $criteria->add(new Criteria('category_id', $categoryId));
        $criteria->add(new Criteria('published', 1));
        $criteria->setSort('publish_date');
        $criteria->setOrder('DESC');

        if ($limit > 0) {
            $criteria->setLimit($limit);
        }

        return $this->getObjects($criteria);
    }

    /**
     * Search articles
     */
    public function search(string $query, array $fields = ['title', 'content']): array
    {
        $criteria = new CriteriaCompo();
        $searchCriteria = new CriteriaCompo();

        foreach ($fields as $field) {
            $searchCriteria->add(
                new Criteria($field, '%' . $query . '%', 'LIKE'),
                'OR'
            );
        }

        $criteria->add($searchCriteria);
        $criteria->add(new Criteria('published', 1));
        $criteria->setSort('publish_date');
        $criteria->setOrder('DESC');

        return $this->getObjects($criteria);
    }

    /**
     * Get popular articles by view count
     */
    public function getPopular(int $limit = 5): array
    {
        $criteria = new CriteriaCompo();
        $criteria->add(new Criteria('published', 1));
        $criteria->setSort('views');
        $criteria->setOrder('DESC');
        $criteria->setLimit($limit);

        return $this->getObjects($criteria);
    }

    /**
     * Increment view count
     */
    public function incrementViews(int $articleId): bool
    {
        $sql = sprintf(
            "UPDATE %s SET views = views + 1 WHERE article_id = %d",
            $this->db->prefix($this->table),
            $articleId
        );

        return $this->db->queryF($sql) !== false;
    }

    /**
     * Override insert for custom behavior
     */
    public function insert(\XoopsObject $obj, bool $force = false): bool
    {
        // Set updated timestamp
        $obj->setVar('updated', time());

        // If new, set created timestamp
        if ($obj->isNew()) {
            $obj->setVar('created', time());
        }

        return parent::insert($obj, $force);
    }

    /**
     * Override delete for cascade operations
     */
    public function delete(\XoopsObject $obj, bool $force = false): bool
    {
        // Delete associated comments
        $commentHandler = xoops_getModuleHandler('comment', 'mymodule');
        $criteria = new Criteria('article_id', $obj->getVar('article_id'));
        $commentHandler->deleteAll($criteria);

        return parent::delete($obj, $force);
    }
}

Using the Custom Handler

// Get the handler
$articleHandler = xoops_getModuleHandler('article', 'mymodule');

// Create a new article
$article = $articleHandler->create();
$article->setVars([
    'title' => 'My New Article',
    'content' => 'Article content here...',
    'author_id' => $xoopsUser->getVar('uid'),
    'category_id' => 1,
    'published' => 1,
    'publish_date' => time()
]);

if ($articleHandler->insert($article)) {
    redirect_header('article.php?id=' . $article->getVar('article_id'), 2, 'Article created');
}

// Get published articles
$articles = $articleHandler->getPublished(10);

// Search articles
$results = $articleHandler->search('xoops');

// Get popular articles
$popular = $articleHandler->getPopular(5);

// Update view count
$articleHandler->incrementViews($articleId);

Best Practices

Use Criteria for Queries: Always use Criteria objects for type-safe queries
Extend for Custom Methods: Add domain-specific query methods to handlers
Override insert/delete: Add cascade operations and timestamps in overrides
Use Transaction Where Needed: Wrap complex operations in transactions
Leverage getList: Use getList() for select dropdowns to reduce queries
Index Keys: Ensure database fields used in criteria are indexed
Limit Results: Always use setLimit() for potentially large result sets

XoopsObject - Base object class
../Database/Criteria - Building query criteria
../Database/XoopsDatabase - Database operations

See also: XOOPS Source Code

XoopsObjectHandler Class

Class Overview

Class Hierarchy

XoopsObjectHandler

Constructor

create

get

insert

delete

XoopsPersistableObjectHandler

Constructor

getObjects

getCount

getAll

getIds

getList

deleteAll

updateAll

insert (Extended)

Helper Functions

xoops_getHandler

xoops_getModuleHandler

Creating Custom Handlers

Basic Handler Implementation

Using the Custom Handler

Best Practices

Related Documentation