phalcon/cphalcon · error · CheckExpressionRequired

CHECK expression is required

Error message

CHECK expression is required

What it means

Phalcon\Db\Check models a CHECK constraint. Its constructor requires definition['expression'] - the raw SQL expression placed inside CHECK (...). Without that key the object cannot represent any constraint, so construction fails with CheckExpressionRequired before name or expression are assigned.

Solutions

1. Add 'expression' => 'price >= 0' (any valid SQL boolean expression) to the definition array.
2. Validate the key before constructing when definitions come from external config.
3. Use the exact lowercase key 'expression'.

Example fix

// before
$check = new Check('chk_price', ['type' => 'check']); // throws CheckExpressionRequired

// after
$check = new Check('chk_price', ['expression' => 'price >= 0']);

if (!isset($definition['expression'])) {
    throw new InvalidArgumentException('Check definition requires "expression"');
}
$check = new Check('chk_price', $definition);

function checkDefinitionIsValid(array $definition): bool
{
    return isset($definition['expression'])
        && is_string($definition['expression'])
        && $definition['expression'] !== '';
}

When it happens

Trigger: new Check('chk_price', []) or a definition carrying only unrelated keys; typo'd keys ('expr', 'sql', 'condition'); constraint arrays built dynamically from config where the expression entry was never set.

Common situations: Schema builders converting config/annotations into Check objects; hand-written migrations where the expression line was forgotten; refactors renaming keys inconsistently between producer and consumer code.

Related errors

• CHECK expression must be a non-empty string
• Column type does not support scale parameter
• Column type is required
• Dropping a CHECK constraint is not supported by SQLite
• Foreign key columns are required

AI-assisted analysis of phalcon/cphalcon@b7419de9cd (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cb7166be5b719707. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at phalcon/Db/Check.zep:72

    /**
     * The CHECK constraint name. An empty string indicates an unnamed
     * constraint - the dialect will emit the clause without a `CONSTRAINT`
     * prefix in that case.
     *
     * @var string
     */
    protected name;

    /**
     * Phalcon\Db\Check constructor
     */
    public function __construct( string name,  array definition)
    {
        var expression;

        if unlikely !fetch expression, definition["expression"] {
            throw new CheckExpressionRequired();
        }

        if unlikely typeof expression != "string" || expression === "" {
            throw new InvalidCheckExpression();
        }

        let this->name       = name;
        let this->expression = expression;
    }

    /**
     * Returns the CHECK expression
     */
    public function getExpression() -> string
    {
        return this->expression;
    }

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