$modelo = $this-> loadModel('modelo');

ROOT_COM.DS.'models' *

(*) ROOT_COM refers to the component's path.

To load a model belonging to another component from the controller:

$modelo = $this-> loadModelFromOtherComponent('modelo','componente');

The database connection is not loaded by default, since not every model needs data access. To give a model access to the database, put the following code in its constructor:

public function__construct() {
                      parent::__construct();
                      $this->cargaBD();
               }

The database could be loaded in any other controller method; it need not be in the constructor. It all depends on the requirements.

Example of a method using PDO:

public function getSecciones(){
                   try {
                       $secciones = $this->_db->query("SELECT * FROM secciones")

return $secciones->fetchAll();
                   }
                   catch (PDOException $e) {
                           echo $e->getMessage();
                           return false;
                   }
               }