[FIXED] How to contain unassociated entities in CakePHP?

Issue

Sample query:

TableRegistry::getTableLocator()
    ->get('Parents')
    ->find()
    ->contain([
        'Children' => function (Query $query) {
            return $query->where([
                'Children.code = Parent.code'
            ]);
        }
    ])

Parent and Children tables only have code as common field.

How do I define their association?

How do I contain unassociated entities?

Solution

You can customize the foreignKey and bindingKey in association configuration

In ParentsTable.php:

$this->hasMany('Children', [
    'bindingKey' => 'code',
    'foreignKey' => 'code'
]);

This config will set which fields to look for when associating entities.

Then you could associate entities on your controller like this:

// This query will contain children where Children.code === Parent.code
TableRegistry::getTableLocator()
    ->get('Parents')
    ->find()
    ->contain('Children');

Answered By - kgbph