Using the following code, a table can be created on Windows Azure production table storage.

$storageClient = new Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_Table(
    'table.core.windows.net', 'myaccount', 'myauthkey'
);
$result = $storageClient->createTable('testtable');

echo 'New table name is: ' . $result->Name;

Using the following code, a list of all tables in Windows Azure production table storage can be queried.

$storageClient = new Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_Table(
    'table.core.windows.net', 'myaccount', 'myauthkey'
);
$result = $storageClient->listTables();
foreach ($result as $table) {
    echo 'Table name is: ' . $table->Name . "\r\n";
}

To enforce a schema on the client side using the Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_Table class, you can create a class which inherits Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_TableEntity. This class provides some basic functionality for the Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_Table class to work with a client-side schema.

Base properties provided by Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_TableEntity are:

Here's a sample class inheriting Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_TableEntity:

class SampleEntity extends Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_TableEntity
{
    /**
     * @azure Name
     */
    public $Name;

    /**
     * @azure Age Edm.Int64
     */
    public $Age;

    /**
     * @azure Visible Edm.Boolean
     */
    public $Visible = false;
}

The Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_Table class will map any class inherited from Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_TableEntity to Windows Azure table storage entities with the correct data type and property name. All there is to storing a property in Windows Azure is adding a docblock comment to a public property or public getter/setter, in the following format:

/**
 * @azure <property name in Windows Azure> <optional property type>
 */
public $<property name in PHP>;

Let's see how to define a propety "Age" as an integer on Windows Azure table storage:

/**
 * @azure Age Edm.Int64
 */
public $Age;

Note that a property does not necessarily have to be named the same on Windows Azure table storage. The Windows Azure table storage property name can be defined as well as the type.

The following data types are supported:

To use the Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_Table class without defining a schema, you can make use of the Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_DynamicTableEntity class. This class inherits Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_TableEntity like an enforced schema class does, but contains additional logic to make it dynamic and not bound to a schema.

Base properties provided by Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_DynamicTableEntity are:

Other properties can be added on the fly. Their Windows Azure table storage type will be determined on-the-fly:

$target = new Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_DynamicTableEntity(
    'partition1', '000001'
);
$target->Name = 'Name'; // Will add property "Name" of type "Edm.String"
$target->Age  = 25;     // Will add property "Age" of type "Edm.Int32"

Optionally, a property type can be enforced:

$target = new Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_DynamicTableEntity(
    'partition1', '000001'
);
$target->Name = 'Name'; // Will add property "Name" of type "Edm.String"
$target->Age  = 25;     // Will add property "Age" of type "Edm.Int32"

// Change type of property "Age" to "Edm.Int32":
$target->setAzurePropertyType('Age', 'Edm.Int64');

The Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_Table class automatically works with Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_TableEntity if no specific class is passed into Table Storage methods.

Queries in Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_Table table storage can be performed in two ways:

Using the following code, a table can be queried using a filter condition. Note that the table and entities have already been created before.

$storageClient = new Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_Table(
    'table.core.windows.net', 'myaccount', 'myauthkey'
);
$entities = $storageClient->storageClient->retrieveEntities(
    'testtable',
    'Name eq \'Maarten\' and PartitionKey eq \'partition1\'',
    'SampleEntity'
);

foreach ($entities as $entity) {
    echo 'Name: ' . $entity->Name . "\n";
}

Using the following code, a table can be queried using a fluent interface. Note that the table and entities have already been created before.

$storageClient = new Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_Table(
    'table.core.windows.net', 'myaccount', 'myauthkey'
);
$entities = $storageClient->storageClient->retrieveEntities(
    'testtable',
    $storageClient->select()
                  ->from($tableName)
                  ->where('Name eq ?', 'Maarten')
                  ->andWhere('PartitionKey eq ?', 'partition1'),
    'SampleEntity'
);

foreach ($entities as $entity) {
    echo 'Name: ' . $entity->Name . "\n";
}

This topic demonstrates how to use the table entity group transaction features provided by Windows Azure table storage. Windows Azure table storage supports batch transactions on entities that are in the same table and belong to the same partition group. A transaction can include at most 100 entities.

The following example uses a batch operation (transaction) to insert a set of entities into the "testtable" table. Note that the table has already been created before.

$storageClient = new Zend_Service_WindowsAzure_Storage_Table(
    'table.core.windows.net', 'myaccount', 'myauthkey'
);

// Start batch
$batch = $storageClient->startBatch();

// Insert entities in batch
$entities = generateEntities();
foreach ($entities as $entity) {
    $storageClient->insertEntity($tableName, $entity);
}

// Commit
$batch->commit();