I'm using Phalcon to building just a REST API and I wanted to know the advantages and disadvantages of using the Models. Is it just creating more overhead then I really need? Also if I need to write a bunch of custom queries to do joins, what is the best way to handle in Phalcon? I like the query builder, but is it just as easy to write out the queries out in phql instead?
Disadvantages of using models:
- If your domain is not complex enough It will not be worth adding a higher layer of abstraction
- More abstraction layers represent less control over the way in which you interact with databases
- Less freedom to use SQL extensions provided by the database engine
Advantages of using models:
- Tables are represented by classes and objects represent rows. This abstraction allows you to think the system in an OOP way
- Classes can be organized in namespaces allowing you to place models in logical units: Basic\Customers, Invocing\Invoices, etc.
- You can encapsulate logic and business rules in models, something that would be hard to do if you use plain PDO
- If you need to make joins or select specific columns you can use PHQL
- More security features available or built-in