letThemCodeCake

clipped from cake-php.blogspot.com

Unless you delve in to the API, there are some very useful model functions at your disposal you might not know exist. I highly recommend reading over the Model Class Reference at least once. Here’s a few key functions I wasn’t aware of that I found to be very useful:

• generateList() - I use this function primarily to populate select boxes with data from associated tables
• findBySql() - Sometimes you just need to write your own SQL
• findCount() - Returns number of rows matching given SQL condition
• hasAny() - Returns true if a record that meets the given conditions exists.

Again, I highly recommend reading over the entire model class reference, you’ll be surprised at what you learn.

Advanced model functions