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Tables

Tables is a small PHP ORM-like library that maps simple .tbl files to PDO rows. It is designed for quick projects where table definitions live beside the code and the library can create or repair the schema when a table or column is missing.

Install

Or, inside this repository:

Configuration

Connections are read from $_ENV. The default connection uses the DB_ prefix:

MySQL is also supported:

Named connections use DB_<FLAG>_, for example DB_LITLE_TYPE and DB_LITLE_PATH, then pass the flag to TablesManager or Row methods.

Table Definitions

Create .tbl files in a folder, one file per table:

Supported syntax:

• field[type]
• field[type](default)
• field[type]:null:unique:unsigned:zero:binary:increment
• field[type]$OtherTable.id for a foreign key stored on the current table
• [email protected]_id for a virtual one-to-one lookup
• [email protected]_id for a virtual one-to-many lookup
• legacy_id=OtherTable.id for older relation definitions

Every table gets an auto-increment id column automatically.

Usage

Rows expose dynamic getters and setters. CamelCase method names are converted to snake_case database columns:

Schema Repair

persist() and get() recover from missing tables by creating the table from its .tbl definition. persist() can also add missing columns and retry the operation. This auto-repair behavior is enabled by default because it is the core workflow of the library.

You can disable it for stricter environments:

For explicit setup, call:

Rollback

Rows changed through persist() or delete() are tracked. Calling:

restores updated/deleted rows or removes rows inserted during the current process.

History Logs

Tables keeps a small in-memory history. It stores SQL parameters as they are provided. This keeps the library small and predictable, but it also means you should not print or export history in production unless you are comfortable with the values it contains.

You can route logs wherever you want with an optional callback:

Database exceptions are logged as sanitized error events with the exception class and code, not the raw database error message.

Security and Operational Notes

Tables is a lightweight library, not a full application security layer. Keep these points in mind when using it:

• Treat .tbl files as trusted code. They drive table names, column names, column types, defaults and relations. Do not load table definition folders that can be edited by end users.
• Auto-repair is enabled by default and may run CREATE TABLE or ALTER TABLE during normal reads/writes. This is useful for KISS-style development, but it means the database user needs DDL permissions. In stricter deployments, run TablesManager::ensureSchema() during deploy and then call TablesManager::setAutoRepair(false).
• History stores SQL parameters as provided. Do not call History::printAll() or export History::getAll() in production unless your application has already removed or filtered sensitive values.
• If you use History::callback(), the callback belongs to your application: redact sensitive data there, send logs to your preferred logger, and avoid throwing from the callback unless you intentionally want logging failures to interrupt database operations.
• TablesManager::rollback() is an in-memory convenience helper, not a database transaction. It is useful for simple undo flows in the current PHP process, but it does not provide ACID guarantees or protect concurrent writes.
• Database credentials should come from environment/configuration management. Do not hardcode real credentials in examples, scripts or committed files.

Smoke Test

Run the SQLite smoke test: