Dynamic Default Values#

The DataObject::$defaults array allows you to specify simple static values to be the default values when a record is created, but in many situations default values need to be dynamically calculated. In order to do this, the DataObject::populateDefaults() method will need to be overloaded.

This method is called whenever a new record is instantiated, and you must be sure to call the method on the parent object!

A simple example is to set a field to the current date and time:

Copy	/**
	 * Sets the Date field to the current date.
	 */
	public function populateDefaults() {
		$this->Date = date('Y-m-d');
		parent::populateDefaults();
	}

methods. For example: