Cloud Datastore Client - Class Key (1.29.1)

Reference documentation and code samples for the Cloud Datastore Client class Key.

Keys are unique identifiers for entities.

Keys may be considered either "named" or "incomplete". A named Key is one in which each element of the Key path specify a Kind and a Name or ID. An incomplete Key omits the Name or ID from the final path element.

Named Keys are required for any lookup, update, upsert or delete operations. They may also be used for inserting records, so long as you are certain that the identifier is available in Datastore.

Incomplete Keys may be used for inserting records into Datastore. When an incomplete Key is used, Datastore will allocate an ID before inserting.

Incomplete Keys are useful for guaranteeing the availability of an identifier without requiring an additional operation to check whether a given name or ID is available.

Key state can be checked by calling Key::state(). The return will be one of Key::STATE_NAMED or Key::STATE_INCOMPLETE.

Example:

use Google\Cloud\Datastore\DatastoreClient;

$datastore = new DatastoreClient();

$key = $datastore->key('Person', 'Bob');
// Keys with complex paths can be constructed with additional method calls.

$key = $datastore->key('Person', 'Bob');
$key->ancestor('Parents', 'Joe');
$key->ancestor('Grandparents', 'Barb');
// Path elements can also be appended, so long as the current last path
// element contains a kind and identifier.

$key = $datastore->key('Grandparents', 'Barb');
$key->pathElement('Parents', 'Joe');
$key->pathElement('Person');
$key->pathElement('Child', 'Dave'); // Error here.

Namespace

Google \ Cloud \ Datastore

Methods

__construct

Create a Key.

Parameters
Name Description
projectId string

The project ID.

options array

Configuration Options

↳ namespaceId string

Partitions data under a namespace. Useful for Multitenant Projects. Applications with no need for multitenancy should not set this value.

↳ databaseId string

ID of the database to which the entities belong.

↳ path array

The initial Key path.

pathElement

See also:

Parameters
Name Description
kind string

The kind.

identifier string|int

[optional] The name or ID of the object.

options array

Configuration Options

↳ identifierType string

If omitted, the type will be determined internally. Setting this to either Key::TYPE_ID or Key::TYPE_NAME will force the pathElement identifier type.

Returns
Type Description
Google\Cloud\Datastore\Key

ancestor

See also:

Parameters
Name Description
kind string

The kind.

identifier string|int

The name or ID of the object.

options array

Configuration Options

↳ identifierType string

If omitted, the type will be determined internally. Setting this to either Key::TYPE_ID or Key::TYPE_NAME will force the pathElement identifier type.

Returns
Type Description
Google\Cloud\Datastore\Key

ancestorKey

Use another Key's path as the current Key's ancestor

Given key path will be prepended to any path elements on the current key.

Example:

$parent = $datastore->key('Person', 'Dad');
$key->ancestorKey($parent);
Parameter
Name Description
key Google\Cloud\Datastore\Key

The ancestor Key.

Returns
Type Description
Google\Cloud\Datastore\Key

state

Check if the Key is considered Named or Incomplete.

Use Key::STATE_NAMED and Key::STATE_INCOMPLETE to check value.

Example:

// An incomplete key does not have an ID on its last path element.
$key = $datastore->key('parent', 1234)
    ->pathElement('child');

if ($key->state() === Key::STATE_INCOMPLETE) {
    echo 'Key is incomplete!';
}
// A named key has a kind and an identifier on each path element.
$key = $datastore->key('parent', 1234)
    ->pathElement('child', 4321);

if ($key->state() === Key::STATE_NAMED) {
    echo 'Key is named!';
}
Returns
Type Description
string

setLastElementIdentifier

Set the value of the last path element in a Key

This method is used internally when IDs are allocated to existing instances of a Key. It should not generally be used externally.

Example:

$key = $datastore->key('Person');
$key->setLastElementIdentifier('Bob', Key::TYPE_NAME);
Parameters
Name Description
value string

The value of the ID or Name.

type string

[optional] 'id' or 'name'. Defaults to "id".

Returns
Type Description
void

path

Get the key path

Example:

$path = $key->path();
Returns
Type Description
array

pathEnd

Get the last pathElement in the key

Example:

$lastPathElement = $key->pathEnd();
Returns
Type Description
array

pathEndIdentifier

Get the last pathElement identifier.

If the key is incomplete, returns null.

Example:

$lastPathElementIndentifier = $key->pathEndIdentifier();
Returns
Type Description
string|int|null

pathEndIdentifierType

Get the last pathElement identifier type.

If the key is incomplete, returns null.

Example:

$lastPathElementIdentifierType = $key->pathEndIdentifierType();
Returns
Type Description
string|null

keyObject

Get the key object formatted for the datastore service.

Returns
Type Description
array

jsonSerialize

__toString

Represent the path as a string.

Constants

TYPE_NAME

Value: 'name'

TYPE_ID

Value: 'id'

STATE_NAMED

Value: 'named'

STATE_INCOMPLETE

Value: 'incomplete'

STATE_COMPLETE

Value: self::STATE_NAMED