I believe the submit() function includes a second array parameter that allows you to provide additional attributes (such as onclick, style, css class, etc.) much like other input functions within the FormHelper. The end() function does not provide this option, it simply creates a very basic submit button with the caption provided.

@Neil: Yes, $form->end() adds a hidden field if you use the Security component.

@MN: An addition to Tim’s explanation (@Tim: thanks!): If you have only one field to update, you could also use the following code:

$this->YourModel->id = $yourID;
$this->YourModel->saveField('fieldname', 'value');

@Jeff: Well, I think you miss the point. My point is that you should think twice before you add the second/third/… way for doing something you already implemented in your software. In principle it is about DRY (don’t repeat yourself) at the feature/documentation level.

It’s possible that the example I have chosen is not the best example, as the end() method does a bit more than the submit() method. But think about the scenario of finding all users with a certain name. How many different ways are there to accomplish this task?

@Beth: Yes, I agree with you that it is good to have debates in the community.

@ajmacaro: Cool to hear you learned something from this article :)

When you see things useless, then it is useless. Think positive,
what you just read doesnt waste any of your precious time.
If my boss ask me why there are two functions. Then i have some
answer for him. “Why dont you read cakebaker blog. and read the
comments.”

Sometimes i question myself. Why people have to use “this and that”, if he can use “this and that”? Then i realize, simple because some prefered to use “this” rather than “that”.

I look at it this way, everyone knows that $uses and $html->link are slow/resource hogs, yet it’s preached, tutorialized, blogged, documented like the gospel because of the “automagic”. Either you take the red pill or the blue, it’s up to you. But when you wake up to sheeit performance who’s fault is that? You!

I choose to use the form helper to display error messages because I want to be able to internationalize the messages even though the downside is displaying error message below a field is BAD usability. BTW, I have multiple rules per field and form->error doesn’t work without more work which I don’t have time to hack. I also don’t believe in hard coding messages in the model.

IMHO, debate is good within a community. Either everyone wants a good product or their egos stroked. Look at Rails if you think everything is so rosy – http://www.juixe.com/techknow/index.php/2008/01/04/ruby-on-rails-radioactive-fallout/

Daniel has at least stuck with Cake unlike a lot of others who have gone DOA. I won’t name names. Cake really needs a community leader such as Fabien from Symfony.

Can anyone name 10 cake blogs that are still providing relevant information/examples? And I’m not talking about regurgitating the same old stuff for every new release of cake, i.e. Blog Tutorial for Cake x.x.x.

Ah, I feel clean again ;)

For example, if you are trying to update the ‘name’ field from ‘George’ to ‘John’ the array you pass to model::save should contain a ‘name’ key with the value of John AND an ‘id’ key with the value that corresponds to the record you are trying to update.

PHP gives you all of the tools you need to build a web site. Why do you need a framework at all? SQL is far more flexible than Cake’s ORM layer in many cases, so why build one! Hell, why do you even need file_get_contents() when you can fopen() your way to fame and fortune. Why do you need high level languages at all if one can sit down with a hot cup of joe and crank out some ASM.

Technically, all these things don’t really do the same thing do they?

Some things are based on convenience and there’s hardly a price to pay to support the two methods of syntactical sugar you mention. The methods don’t do the same thing. Period.

Take a deep breath and talk about something more important.