To interact with our data, we need to create a model that once again references our new database table. Using the instructions outlined in Chapter 1, A Task-management Application, we enable the Gii module and create a new model called Location to interact with the locations table in our database.

Once created, we add a beforeSave() method to the generated file (protected/modules/Location.php) to automatically set the created and updated time:

public function beforeSave()
{
   if ($this->isNewRecord)
      $this->created = time();

   $this->updated = time();

   return parent::beforeSave();
}

Then, we modify the rules() method:

public function rules()
{
    return array(
        array('created, updated', 'numerical', 'integerOnly'=>true),
        array('name, lat, long, city, state', 'required'),
        array('title, data', 'safe'),
        array('name, lat, long, city, state, created, updated', 'safe', 'on'=>'search'),
    );
}