Lifecycle Callbacks

Hooks let an object run code at each step of its own insert, update, delete, and select. A PikaBean already implements them, so override only the ones you want. The classic use is timestamps:

public class Post extends PikaBean {
    String title;
    LocalDateTime createdAt;

    @Override
    public boolean beforeInsert() {
        createdAt = LocalDateTime.now();   // stamp the row on the way in
        return true;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean beforeUpdate(Map<String, Object> values) {
        values.put("updated_at", LocalDateTime.now());   // add a column to this UPDATE
        return true;
    }
}

(If you are not using PikaBean, implement PikaRecordLifecycle directly. It is the same interface.)

The hooks

Every method has a default, so you implement only what you need.

public interface PikaRecordLifecycle {
    // pre-operation: return false to abort
    default boolean validate() { return true; }
    default boolean beforeInsert() { return true; }
    default boolean beforeUpdate(Map<String, Object> values) { return true; }
    default boolean beforeDelete() { return true; }

    // post-operation
    default void afterInsert() {}
    default void afterSelect() {}
    default void afterUpdate() {}
    default void afterDelete() {}
}

Order

• Insert: validate then beforeInsert then the SQL then afterInsert (the generated primary key is set by the time afterInsert runs).
• Update: validate then beforeUpdate(values) then the SQL then afterUpdate. The values map is the exact column payload about to be sent; mutate it to add or drop columns.
• Delete: beforeDelete then the SQL then afterDelete.
• Select: the SQL then afterSelect, which runs once fields are mapped (this is where PikaBean snapshots state for dirty tracking).

Aborting

Return false from any pre-operation hook and Pika silently skips the operation: no SQL runs, and insert / update / delete report no rows affected. Nothing is thrown.

To actually stop the request or roll back a transaction, throw instead:

@Override
public boolean beforeDelete() {
    if (locked) throw new IllegalStateException("cannot delete a locked post");
    return true;
}

For plain field checks, use Validation & Forms. Reach for hooks when you need timestamps, cascades, or logic tied to one specific step.