title: What is the difference between $this->Cake->findById(7); and read(
body: <p>What is the difference between these 2 commands in Cakephp?</p>
  
  <pre><code>$this-&gt;Model-&gt;findbyId(7);
  $this-&gt;Model-&gt;read(null, 7);
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I am trying to improve my Cakephp code and wonder what the best way is to request individual items from the database, e.g. for /view/$id.</p>
  
  <p>Should I use findbyId or read()? I have even seen people use find('first') with an id=$id condition.</p>