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Table Module Pattern

quality Intermediate

Also Known As

table module

TL;DR

One class per database table handling all logic — a pragmatic middle ground between Transaction Script and full Domain Model.

Explanation

Table Module (Martin Fowler, PoEAA): all business logic for a table's rows in one class, operating on collections not individual objects. Good for: moderate business logic that outgrows Transaction Script but does not justify full Domain Model.

Common Misconception

✗ Table Module is the same as Repository — Repository returns domain objects one at a time; Table Module works on the table as a unit.

Why It Matters

Table Module fits database-centric applications where the domain logic is thin and SQL is the natural expression of business rules. It avoids the object-relational impedance mismatch of Active Record for read-heavy reporting use cases. The limitation is that it becomes awkward when business logic complexity grows — the module accumulates methods that would be better distributed across domain objects. It works well as an intermediate step when migrating from procedural database code toward a richer domain model.

Common Mistakes

Growing into a God Class
Mixing data access with presentation
One per every table regardless of need

Code Examples

✗ Vulnerable

// Logic scattered across files:
// file1.php: $pdo->query('SELECT * FROM orders WHERE...');
// file2.php: $pdo->query('UPDATE orders SET...');

✓ Fixed

class OrderTable {
    public function findPendingOverdue(): array { return $this->db->query(...)->fetchAll(); }
    public function markAsProcessing(int $id): void { $this->validateTransition($id); $this->db->execute(...); }
}

References

↗ https://www.martinfowler.com/eaaCatalog/tableModule.html

Tags

patterns database architecture

Added 16 Mar 2026

Edited 23 Mar 2026

Curated in Warsaw under one editorial standard. 1,445 terms, single voice. About this reference →

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Also referenced

Transaction Script Pattern 72 Active Record Pattern 28 Domain Model Pattern 19

How they use it

crawler 15 crawler_json 3

Related categories

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⚡ DEV INTEL Tools & Severity

🔵 Info ⚙ Fix effort: Medium

⚡ Quick Fix

Use the Table Module pattern for simple domain logic where an Active Record is overkill but a full Domain Model is unnecessary — one class handles all business logic for a database table

📦 Applies To

any web cli

🔗 Prerequisites

Data Mapper vs Active Record Database Indexing Single Responsibility Principle

🔍 Detection Hints

Large Eloquent model with 50+ methods; Active Record with complex business logic mixed with persistence; needed separation between domain logic and database

Auto-detectable: ✗ No phpstan deptrac

⚠ Related Problems

Data Mapper vs Active Record Active Record Pattern Domain-Driven Design (DDD)

🤖 AI Agent

Confidence: Low False Positives: High ✗ Manual fix Fix: Medium Context: Class Tests: Update