The content API in PHP #

This page is for application creators who read content in PHP: in views, services, commands and cronjobs. The classes are the kernel's eZContentObject, eZContentObjectTreeNode and eZContentObjectAttribute in kernel/classes/.

Contents #

1. Objects, nodes and attributes
2. Fetching one item
3. Fetching lists
4. Reading attributes
5. Versions and languages
6. Permissions and context

Objects, nodes and attributes #

Fetching one item #

$object = eZContentObject::fetch( 57 );
$object = eZContentObject::fetchByRemoteID( 'expdemo-settings-page' );
$node   = eZContentObjectTreeNode::fetch( 2 );
$node   = eZContentObjectTreeNode::fetchByURLPath( 'about_us' );

Prefer remote IDs for content your application depends on: they are stable across installations, IDs are not.

Fetching lists #

$nodes = eZContentObjectTreeNode::subTreeByNodeID( array(
    'ClassFilterType'  => 'include',
    'ClassFilterArray' => array( 'event' ),
    'AttributeFilter'  => array( array( 'event/start_date', '>=', time() ) ),
    'SortBy'           => array( array( 'attribute', true, 'event/start_date' ) ),
    'Depth'            => 3,
    'Limit'            => 20,
    'Offset'           => 0 ), $parentNodeID );

$count = eZContentObjectTreeNode::subTreeCountByNodeID( array(
    'ClassFilterType' => 'include', 'ClassFilterArray' => array( 'event' ) ), $parentNodeID );

These are the PHP side of the template fetches (Fetch functions). Always set a Limit.

Reading attributes #

$dataMap = $object->dataMap();                     // identifier => eZContentObjectAttribute
if ( isset( $dataMap['title'] ) && $dataMap['title']->hasContent() )
    $title = $dataMap['title']->content();         // a string for ezstring
$image = $dataMap['image']->content();             // an eZImageAliasHandler for ezimage
$alias = $image->attribute( 'medium' );            // url, width, height, alternative_text
$text  = $dataMap['title']->toString();            // a plain string form for every datatype

content() returns what the datatype stores (a string, a number, an object); toString() a string you can store and pass to fromString() later (The datatype life cycle).

Versions and languages #

$version = $object->version( $object->attribute( 'current_version' ) );
$germanMap = $object->fetchDataMap( false, 'ger-DE' );
$languages = $object->availableLanguages();

The current version is the published one; drafts are other versions with their own status. Which language a page shows follows the siteaccess's SiteLanguageList (Content languages).

Permissions and context #

• subTreeByNodeID() applies the current user's content/read unless you pass 'Limitation' => array(); never pass it in code that shows results to users.
• $node->canRead(), $object->canEdit() check one item (Policy functions and limitations).
• In command line scripts the current user is anonymous until you log one in; scripts that need more must log in a dedicated user (eZUser::setCurrentlyLoggedInUser()), not the administrator.
• Large lists: fetch in pages and clear in-memory caches between them (eZContentObject::clearCache()) so a long script does not run out of memory.

Related pages #

• Creating and updating content in code
• Persistent objects and custom tables
• Active record pattern
• Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.