[FIXED] CakePHP syntax to retrieve associated fields from $Auth

Issue

CakePHP 3.7. Here my 'Users' table:

<?php
namespace App\Model\Table;

use Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface;
use Cake\ORM\Association\BelongsTo;
use Cake\ORM\RulesChecker;
use Cake\ORM\Table;
use Cake\Validation\Validator;

class UsersTable extends Table
{
    public function initialize(array $config)
    {
        parent::initialize($config);

        $this->setTable('users');
        $this->setDisplayField('id');
        $this->setPrimaryKey('id');

        $this->belongsTo('Customers', [
            'foreignKey' => 'customer_id',
            'joinType' => 'LEFT'
        ]);
    }

    public function validationDefault(Validator $validator)
    {
        ... 
    }

    public function buildRules(RulesChecker $rules)
    {
        $rules->add($rules->isUnique(['email']));
        $rules->add($rules->existsIn(['customer_id'], 'Customers'));

        return $rules;
    }
}

and 'Customers' table:

<?php
namespace App\Model\Table;

use App\Model\Entity\Customer;
use Cake\Datasource\EntityInterface;
use Cake\ORM\Association\HasMany;
use Cake\ORM\Table;
use Cake\Validation\Validator;

class CustomersTable extends Table
{
    public function initialize(array $config)
    {
        parent::initialize($config);

        $this->setTable('customers');
        $this->setDisplayField('company_name');
        $this->setPrimaryKey('id');

        $this->hasMany('Users', [
            'foreignKey' => 'customer_id'
        ]);
    }

    public function validationDefault(Validator $validator)
    {
        ...
    }
}

Here the 'login' method in UsersController:

public function login()
{
    if ($this->request->is('post')) {
        $user = $this->Auth->identify();
        if ($user) {
            $this->Auth->setUser($user);
            return $this->redirect(['controller' => 'Products', 'action' => 'index']);
        }
        $this->Flash->error(__('Username or password is incorrect.'));
    }
}

Well, now I want to retrieve in both controllers and templates the associated fields through customer_id, example:

$this->Auth->user('customer_id')); // <--- WORKS
$this->Auth->user('Customers.company_name')); // <--- ???

I don't understand what syntax I have to use to "navigate" via foreign key (customer_id) in order to read the other fields in the Customers table.

Of course I can use a workaround:

1. retrieve the 'customer_id' value (like above)
2. create a query on 'Customers' filtering for that id
3. read the other fields

But I guess this isn't the best approach.

Solution

You will need to customize your Auth finder query to include containing the customer record.

Beware, though, that the entire Auth component is deprecated, and will be replaced in version 4 with the separate authentication and authorization middleware plugins.

Answered By - Greg Schmidt