Class yii\behaviors\TimestampBehavior

Inheritanceyii\behaviors\TimestampBehavior » yii\behaviors\AttributeBehavior » yii\base\Behavior » yii\base\BaseObject
Implementsyii\base\Configurable
Available since version2.0
Source Code https://github.com/yiisoft/yii2/blob/master/framework/behaviors/TimestampBehavior.php

TimestampBehavior automatically fills the specified attributes with the current timestamp.

To use TimestampBehavior, insert the following code to your ActiveRecord class:

use yii\behaviors\TimestampBehavior;

public function behaviors()
{
    return [
        TimestampBehavior::class,
    ];
}

By default, TimestampBehavior will fill the created_at and updated_at attributes with the current timestamp when the associated AR object is being inserted; it will fill the updated_at attribute with the timestamp when the AR object is being updated. The timestamp value is obtained by time().

Because attribute values will be set automatically by this behavior, they are usually not user input and should therefore not be validated, i.e. created_at and updated_at should not appear in the rules() method of the model.

For the above implementation to work with MySQL database, please declare the columns(created_at, updated_at) as int(11) for being UNIX timestamp.

If your attribute names are different or you want to use a different way of calculating the timestamp, you may configure the $createdAtAttribute, $updatedAtAttribute and $value properties like the following:

use yii\db\Expression;

public function behaviors()
{
    return [
        [
            'class' => TimestampBehavior::class,
            'createdAtAttribute' => 'create_time',
            'updatedAtAttribute' => 'update_time',
            'value' => new Expression('NOW()'),
        ],
    ];
}

In case you use an yii\db\Expression object as in the example above, the attribute will not hold the timestamp value, but the Expression object itself after the record has been saved. If you need the value from DB afterwards you should call the refresh() method of the record.

TimestampBehavior also provides a method named touch() that allows you to assign the current timestamp to the specified attribute(s) and save them to the database. For example,

$model->touch('creation_time');

Public Properties

Hide inherited properties

Property Type Description Defined By
$attributes array List of attributes that are to be automatically filled with the value specified via $value. yii\behaviors\AttributeBehavior
$createdAtAttribute string The attribute that will receive timestamp value Set this property to false if you do not want to record the creation time. yii\behaviors\TimestampBehavior
$owner yii\base\Component|null The owner of this behavior yii\base\Behavior
$preserveNonEmptyValues boolean Whether to preserve non-empty attribute values. yii\behaviors\AttributeBehavior
$skipUpdateOnClean boolean Whether to skip this behavior when the $owner has not been modified yii\behaviors\AttributeBehavior
$updatedAtAttribute string The attribute that will receive timestamp value. yii\behaviors\TimestampBehavior
$value mixed The value that will be assigned to the current attributes. yii\behaviors\TimestampBehavior

Public Methods

Hide inherited methods

Method Description Defined By
__call() Calls the named method which is not a class method. yii\base\BaseObject
__construct() Constructor. yii\base\BaseObject
__get() Returns the value of an object property. yii\base\BaseObject
__isset() Checks if a property is set, i.e. defined and not null. yii\base\BaseObject
__set() Sets value of an object property. yii\base\BaseObject
__unset() Sets an object property to null. yii\base\BaseObject
attach() Attaches the behavior object to the component. yii\base\Behavior
canGetProperty() Returns a value indicating whether a property can be read. yii\base\BaseObject
canSetProperty() Returns a value indicating whether a property can be set. yii\base\BaseObject
className() Returns the fully qualified name of this class. yii\base\BaseObject
detach() Detaches the behavior object from the component. yii\base\Behavior
evaluateAttributes() Evaluates the attribute value and assigns it to the current attributes. yii\behaviors\AttributeBehavior
events() Declares event handlers for the $owner's events. yii\behaviors\AttributeBehavior
hasMethod() Returns a value indicating whether a method is defined. yii\base\BaseObject
hasProperty() Returns a value indicating whether a property is defined. yii\base\BaseObject
init() Initializes the object. yii\behaviors\TimestampBehavior
touch() Updates a timestamp attribute to the current timestamp. yii\behaviors\TimestampBehavior

Protected Methods

Hide inherited methods

Method Description Defined By
getValue() Returns the value for the current attributes. yii\behaviors\TimestampBehavior

Property Details

Hide inherited properties

$createdAtAttribute public property

The attribute that will receive timestamp value Set this property to false if you do not want to record the creation time.

public string $createdAtAttribute 'created_at'
$updatedAtAttribute public property

The attribute that will receive timestamp value. Set this property to false if you do not want to record the update time.

public string $updatedAtAttribute 'updated_at'
$value public property

In case, when the value is null, the result of the PHP function time() will be used as value.

The value that will be assigned to the current attributes. This can be an anonymous function, callable in array format (e.g. [$this, 'methodName']), an Expression object representing a DB expression (e.g. new Expression('NOW()')), scalar, string or an arbitrary value. If the former, the return value of the function will be assigned to the attributes. The signature of the function should be as follows,

function ($event)
{
    // return value will be assigned to the attribute
}
public mixed $value null

Method Details

Hide inherited methods

__call() public method

Defined in: yii\base\BaseObject::__call()

Calls the named method which is not a class method.

Do not call this method directly as it is a PHP magic method that will be implicitly called when an unknown method is being invoked.

public mixed __call ( $name, $params )
$name string

The method name

$params array

Method parameters

return mixed

The method return value

throws yii\base\UnknownMethodException

when calling unknown method

                public function __call($name, $params)
{
    throw new UnknownMethodException('Calling unknown method: ' . get_class($this) . "::$name()");
}

            
__construct() public method

Defined in: yii\base\BaseObject::__construct()

Constructor.

The default implementation does two things:

  • Initializes the object with the given configuration $config.
  • Call init().

If this method is overridden in a child class, it is recommended that

  • the last parameter of the constructor is a configuration array, like $config here.
  • call the parent implementation at the end of the constructor.
public void __construct ( $config = [] )
$config array

Name-value pairs that will be used to initialize the object properties

                public function __construct($config = [])
{
    if (!empty($config)) {
        Yii::configure($this, $config);
    }
    $this->init();
}

            
__get() public method

Defined in: yii\base\BaseObject::__get()

Returns the value of an object property.

Do not call this method directly as it is a PHP magic method that will be implicitly called when executing $value = $object->property;.

See also __set().

public mixed __get ( $name )
$name string

The property name

return mixed

The property value

throws yii\base\UnknownPropertyException

if the property is not defined

throws yii\base\InvalidCallException

if the property is write-only

                public function __get($name)
{
    $getter = 'get' . $name;
    if (method_exists($this, $getter)) {
        return $this->$getter();
    } elseif (method_exists($this, 'set' . $name)) {
        throw new InvalidCallException('Getting write-only property: ' . get_class($this) . '::' . $name);
    }
    throw new UnknownPropertyException('Getting unknown property: ' . get_class($this) . '::' . $name);
}

            
__isset() public method

Defined in: yii\base\BaseObject::__isset()

Checks if a property is set, i.e. defined and not null.

Do not call this method directly as it is a PHP magic method that will be implicitly called when executing isset($object->property).

Note that if the property is not defined, false will be returned.

See also https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.isset.php.

public boolean __isset ( $name )
$name string

The property name or the event name

return boolean

Whether the named property is set (not null).

                public function __isset($name)
{
    $getter = 'get' . $name;
    if (method_exists($this, $getter)) {
        return $this->$getter() !== null;
    }
    return false;
}

            
__set() public method

Defined in: yii\base\BaseObject::__set()

Sets value of an object property.

Do not call this method directly as it is a PHP magic method that will be implicitly called when executing $object->property = $value;.

See also __get().

public void __set ( $name, $value )
$name string

The property name or the event name

$value mixed

The property value

throws yii\base\UnknownPropertyException

if the property is not defined

throws yii\base\InvalidCallException

if the property is read-only

                public function __set($name, $value)
{
    $setter = 'set' . $name;
    if (method_exists($this, $setter)) {
        $this->$setter($value);
    } elseif (method_exists($this, 'get' . $name)) {
        throw new InvalidCallException('Setting read-only property: ' . get_class($this) . '::' . $name);
    } else {
        throw new UnknownPropertyException('Setting unknown property: ' . get_class($this) . '::' . $name);
    }
}

            
__unset() public method

Defined in: yii\base\BaseObject::__unset()

Sets an object property to null.

Do not call this method directly as it is a PHP magic method that will be implicitly called when executing unset($object->property).

Note that if the property is not defined, this method will do nothing. If the property is read-only, it will throw an exception.

See also https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.unset.php.

public void __unset ( $name )
$name string

The property name

throws yii\base\InvalidCallException

if the property is read only.

                public function __unset($name)
{
    $setter = 'set' . $name;
    if (method_exists($this, $setter)) {
        $this->$setter(null);
    } elseif (method_exists($this, 'get' . $name)) {
        throw new InvalidCallException('Unsetting read-only property: ' . get_class($this) . '::' . $name);
    }
}

            
attach() public method

Defined in: yii\base\Behavior::attach()

Attaches the behavior object to the component.

The default implementation will set the $owner property and attach event handlers as declared in events(). Make sure you call the parent implementation if you override this method.

public void attach ( $owner )
$owner yii\base\Component

The component that this behavior is to be attached to.

                public function attach($owner)
{
    $this->owner = $owner;
    foreach ($this->events() as $event => $handler) {
        $this->_attachedEvents[$event] = $handler;
        $owner->on($event, is_string($handler) ? [$this, $handler] : $handler);
    }
}

            
canGetProperty() public method

Defined in: yii\base\BaseObject::canGetProperty()

Returns a value indicating whether a property can be read.

A property is readable if:

  • the class has a getter method associated with the specified name (in this case, property name is case-insensitive);
  • the class has a member variable with the specified name (when $checkVars is true);

See also canSetProperty().

public boolean canGetProperty ( $name, $checkVars true )
$name string

The property name

$checkVars boolean

Whether to treat member variables as properties

return boolean

Whether the property can be read

                public function canGetProperty($name, $checkVars = true)
{
    return method_exists($this, 'get' . $name) || $checkVars && property_exists($this, $name);
}

            
canSetProperty() public method

Defined in: yii\base\BaseObject::canSetProperty()

Returns a value indicating whether a property can be set.

A property is writable if:

  • the class has a setter method associated with the specified name (in this case, property name is case-insensitive);
  • the class has a member variable with the specified name (when $checkVars is true);

See also canGetProperty().

public boolean canSetProperty ( $name, $checkVars true )
$name string

The property name

$checkVars boolean

Whether to treat member variables as properties

return boolean

Whether the property can be written

                public function canSetProperty($name, $checkVars = true)
{
    return method_exists($this, 'set' . $name) || $checkVars && property_exists($this, $name);
}

            
className() public static method
Deprecated since 2.0.14. On PHP >=5.5, use ::class instead.

Defined in: yii\base\BaseObject::className()

Returns the fully qualified name of this class.

public static string className ( )
return string

The fully qualified name of this class.

                public static function className()
{
    return get_called_class();
}

            
detach() public method

Defined in: yii\base\Behavior::detach()

Detaches the behavior object from the component.

The default implementation will unset the $owner property and detach event handlers declared in events(). Make sure you call the parent implementation if you override this method.

public void detach ( )

                public function detach()
{
    if ($this->owner) {
        foreach ($this->_attachedEvents as $event => $handler) {
            $this->owner->off($event, is_string($handler) ? [$this, $handler] : $handler);
        }
        $this->_attachedEvents = [];
        $this->owner = null;
    }
}

            
evaluateAttributes() public method

Defined in: yii\behaviors\AttributeBehavior::evaluateAttributes()

Evaluates the attribute value and assigns it to the current attributes.

public void evaluateAttributes ( $event )
$event yii\base\Event

                public function evaluateAttributes($event)
{
    if ($this->skipUpdateOnClean
        && $event->name == ActiveRecord::EVENT_BEFORE_UPDATE
        && empty($this->owner->dirtyAttributes)
    ) {
        return;
    }
    if (!empty($this->attributes[$event->name])) {
        $attributes = (array) $this->attributes[$event->name];
        $value = $this->getValue($event);
        foreach ($attributes as $attribute) {
            // ignore attribute names which are not string (e.g. when set by TimestampBehavior::updatedAtAttribute)
            if (is_string($attribute)) {
                if ($this->preserveNonEmptyValues && !empty($this->owner->$attribute)) {
                    continue;
                }
                $this->owner->$attribute = $value;
            }
        }
    }
}

            
events() public method

Defined in: yii\behaviors\AttributeBehavior::events()

Declares event handlers for the $owner's events.

Child classes may override this method to declare what PHP callbacks should be attached to the events of the $owner component.

The callbacks will be attached to the $owner's events when the behavior is attached to the owner; and they will be detached from the events when the behavior is detached from the component.

The callbacks can be any of the following:

  • method in this behavior: 'handleClick', equivalent to [$this, 'handleClick']
  • object method: [$object, 'handleClick']
  • static method: ['Page', 'handleClick']
  • anonymous function: function ($event) { ... }

The following is an example:

[
    Model::EVENT_BEFORE_VALIDATE => 'myBeforeValidate',
    Model::EVENT_AFTER_VALIDATE => 'myAfterValidate',
]
public array events ( )
return array

Events (array keys) and the corresponding event handler methods (array values).

                public function events()
{
    return array_fill_keys(
        array_keys($this->attributes),
        'evaluateAttributes'
    );
}

            
getValue() protected method

Returns the value for the current attributes.

In case, when the $value is null, the result of the PHP function time() will be used as value.

This method is called by evaluateAttributes(). Its return value will be assigned to the attributes corresponding to the triggering event.

protected mixed getValue ( $event )
$event yii\base\Event

The event that triggers the current attribute updating.

return mixed

The attribute value

                protected function getValue($event)
{
    if ($this->value === null) {
        return time();
    }
    return parent::getValue($event);
}

            
hasMethod() public method

Defined in: yii\base\BaseObject::hasMethod()

Returns a value indicating whether a method is defined.

The default implementation is a call to php function method_exists(). You may override this method when you implemented the php magic method __call().

public boolean hasMethod ( $name )
$name string

The method name

return boolean

Whether the method is defined

                public function hasMethod($name)
{
    return method_exists($this, $name);
}

            
hasProperty() public method

Defined in: yii\base\BaseObject::hasProperty()

Returns a value indicating whether a property is defined.

A property is defined if:

  • the class has a getter or setter method associated with the specified name (in this case, property name is case-insensitive);
  • the class has a member variable with the specified name (when $checkVars is true);

See also:

public boolean hasProperty ( $name, $checkVars true )
$name string

The property name

$checkVars boolean

Whether to treat member variables as properties

return boolean

Whether the property is defined

                public function hasProperty($name, $checkVars = true)
{
    return $this->canGetProperty($name, $checkVars) || $this->canSetProperty($name, false);
}

            
init() public method

Initializes the object.

This method is invoked at the end of the constructor after the object is initialized with the given configuration.

public void init ( )

                public function init()
{
    parent::init();
    if (empty($this->attributes)) {
        $this->attributes = [
            BaseActiveRecord::EVENT_BEFORE_INSERT => [$this->createdAtAttribute, $this->updatedAtAttribute],
            BaseActiveRecord::EVENT_BEFORE_UPDATE => $this->updatedAtAttribute,
        ];
    }
}

            
touch() public method

Updates a timestamp attribute to the current timestamp.

$model->touch('lastVisit');
public void touch ( $attribute )
$attribute string

The name of the attribute to update.

throws yii\base\InvalidCallException

if owner is a new record (since version 2.0.6).

                public function touch($attribute)
{
    /* @var $owner BaseActiveRecord */
    $owner = $this->owner;
    if ($owner->getIsNewRecord()) {
        throw new InvalidCallException('Updating the timestamp is not possible on a new record.');
    }
    $owner->updateAttributes(array_fill_keys((array) $attribute, $this->getValue(null)));
}