Category: Symfony2

Doctrine createQueryBuilder() – EntityManager vs. EntityRepository

EntityRepository and EntityManager have slightly different versions of the createQueryBuilder() function. Whereas the EntityManager’s version takes no arguments, EntityRepository’s version expects an ‘$alias‘ parameter. What is going on?!

The EntityRepository class wraps the EntityManager’s call, as such:

From /lib/Doctrine/ORM/EntityRepository.php

The function’s phpdoc reveals the reasoning behind the parameter count differences, EntityRepository returns a version of createQueryBuilder() customised for itself. We no longer need to specify the primary table we’re selecting from. Instead we must supply an $alias parameter which would usually be later supplied to the from() function.

Also note the above means all columns are selected from the entity by default.

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Symfony2 custom exceptions

When using the Symfony2 Framework it is often better to create custom exceptions to handle unique circumstances rather than incorrectly utilising one of the many pre-existing Symfony exception types. Using an interface improves code cohesion, allows the adding of custom functionality as needed and is super easy to setup.

The first step is to create a custom exception interface.

namespace AppBundle\Exception;

interface AppBundleExceptionInterface
{
}

Then create a custom exception class (perhaps in an Exception directory if it suits your project’s structure):

namespace AppBundle\Exception;

class NewTypeOfException extends \Exception implements AppBundleExceptionInterface
{
}

This exception can now be thrown and caught as desired, just be sure to name your exceptions well. You may be throwing them long after they were originally created!