ORM for PHP: Comparison of Doctrine, Eloquent, and Cycle — Code Examples

ORM for PHP: Comparison and Examples

ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) is a layer between PHP code and a relational database. It turns table rows into objects and SQL queries into methods. There are several mature ORM solutions for PHP. In this article, we will cover the three most popular ones: Doctrine, Eloquent (from Laravel), and Cycle. You will learn their philosophy, syntax, and get ready-to-use code examples.

1. Doctrine ORM — Data Mapper

Doctrine is the most powerful and mature ORM for PHP. It uses the Data Mapper pattern: entities are unaware of the database, and all database operations are performed through repositories and the entity manager EntityManager.

// Example entity in Doctrineuse Doctrine\\ORM\\Mapping as ORM;

/** * @ORM\\Entity * @ORM\\Table(name="users") */class User{    /** @ORM\\Id @ORM\\Column(type="integer") @ORM\\GeneratedValue */    private int $id;

    /** @ORM\\Column(type="string", length=100) */    private string $name;

    public function getName(): string    {        return $this->name;    }

    public function setName(string $name): void    {        $this->name = $name;    }}

// Saving and retrieving$user = new User();$user->setName('Alexey');$entityManager->persist($user);$entityManager->flush();

$users = $entityManager->getRepository(User::class)->findAll();

2. Eloquent ORM — Active Record

Eloquent is the ORM from the Laravel framework. It uses the Active Record pattern: each object knows how to save itself to the database. The code is compact and intuitive, ideal for rapid development.

// Eloquent Modeluse Illuminate\\Database\\Eloquent\\Model;

class User extends Model{    protected $table = 'users';    protected $fillable = ['name'];}

// Creating a record$user = User::create(['name' => 'Maria']);

// Reading$users = User::where('name', 'like', '%Ma%')->get();

foreach ($users as $user) {    echo $user->name;}

// Updating$user = User::find(1);$user->name = 'Olga';$user->save();

3. Cycle ORM — Hybrid Approach

Cycle is a modern ORM from the creators of the Spiral framework. It combines the best features of Data Mapper and Active Record. It works faster than Doctrine due to schema caching and the absence of magic. It supports strict typing.

// Cycle Entityuse Cycle\\Annotated\\Annotation as Cycle;

/** * @Cycle\\Entity * @Cycle\\Table(name="users") */class User{    /** @Cycle\\Column(type="primary") */    public int $id;

    /** @Cycle\\Column(type="string") */    public string $name;}

// Saving$user = new User();$user->name = 'Ivan';$orm->persist($user);$orm->run();

// Searching$users = $orm->getRepository(User::class)->select()->fetchAll();

Comparison of ORMs for PHP

Characteristic	Doctrine	Eloquent	Cycle
Pattern	Data Mapper	Active Record	Hybrid
Performance	Average	High (with cache)	High
Framework Dependency	Independent	Laravel	Spiral / Independent
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