Added Model::load(). Added Controller::refresh() and redirect().

apps/advanced/backend/controllers/SiteController.php

@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ class SiteController extends Controller
 	public function actionLogin()
 	{
 		$model = new LoginForm();
-		if ($this->populate($_POST, $model) && $model->login()) {
+		if ($model->load($_POST) && $model->login()) {
-			return Yii::$app->response->redirect(array('site/index'));
+			return $this->redirect(array('site/index'));
 		} else {
 			return $this->render('login', array(
 				'model' => $model,
@@ -28,6 +28,6 @@ class SiteController extends Controller
 	public function actionLogout()
 	{
 		Yii::$app->user->logout();
-		return Yii::$app->response->redirect(array('site/index'));
+		return $this->redirect(array('site/index'));
 	}
 }

apps/advanced/frontend/controllers/SiteController.php

@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@ class SiteController extends Controller
 	public function actionLogin()
 	{
 		$model = new LoginForm();
-		if ($this->populate($_POST, $model) && $model->login()) {
+		if ($model->load($_POST) && $model->login()) {
-			return Yii::$app->response->redirect(array('site/index'));
+			return $this->redirect(array('site/index'));
 		} else {
 			return $this->render('login', array(
 				'model' => $model,
@@ -38,15 +38,15 @@ class SiteController extends Controller
 	public function actionLogout()
 	{
 		Yii::$app->user->logout();
-		return Yii::$app->response->redirect(array('site/index'));
+		return $this->redirect(array('site/index'));
 	}
 
 	public function actionContact()
 	{
 		$model = new ContactForm;
-		if ($this->populate($_POST, $model) && $model->contact(Yii::$app->params['adminEmail'])) {
+		if ($model->load($_POST) && $model->contact(Yii::$app->params['adminEmail'])) {
 			Yii::$app->session->setFlash('contactFormSubmitted');
-			return Yii::$app->response->refresh();
+			return $this->refresh();
 		} else {
 			return $this->render('contact', array(
 				'model' => $model,

apps/basic/controllers/SiteController.php

@@ -27,8 +27,8 @@ class SiteController extends Controller
 	public function actionLogin()
 	{
 		$model = new LoginForm();
-		if ($this->populate($_POST, $model) && $model->login()) {
+		if ($model->load($_POST) && $model->login()) {
-			return Yii::$app->response->redirect(array('site/index'));
+			return $this->redirect(array('site/index'));
 		} else {
 			return $this->render('login', array(
 				'model' => $model,
@@ -39,15 +39,15 @@ class SiteController extends Controller
 	public function actionLogout()
 	{
 		Yii::$app->user->logout();
-		return Yii::$app->response->redirect(array('site/index'));
+		return $this->redirect(array('site/index'));
 	}
 
 	public function actionContact()
 	{
 		$model = new ContactForm;
-		if ($this->populate($_POST, $model) && $model->contact(Yii::$app->params['adminEmail'])) {
+		if ($model->load($_POST) && $model->contact(Yii::$app->params['adminEmail'])) {
 			Yii::$app->session->setFlash('contactFormSubmitted');
-			return Yii::$app->response->refresh();
+			return $this->refresh();
 		} else {
 			return $this->render('contact', array(
 				'model' => $model,

docs/guide/upgrade-from-v1.md

@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ to a model. For example,
 
 ```php
 $model = new Post;
-if ($this->populate($_POST, $model)) {...}
+if ($model->load($_POST)) {...}
 // which is equivalent to:
 if (isset($_POST['Post'])) {
     $model->attributes = $_POST['Post'];

framework/yii/base/Model.php

@@ -638,6 +638,28 @@ class Model extends Component implements \IteratorAggregate, \ArrayAccess
 	}
 
 	/**
+	 * Populates the model with the data from end user.
+	 * The data is subject to the safety check by [[setAttributes()]]. If [[formName()]] is not empty,
+	 * the data indexed by [[formName()]] in `$data` will be used to populate the model.
+	 * @param array $data the data array. This is usually `$_POST` or `$_GET`, but can also be any valid array
+	 * supplied by end user.
+	 * @return boolean whether the model is successfully populated with some data.
+	 */
+	public function load($data)
+	{
+		$scope = $this->formName();
+		if ($scope == '') {
+			$this->setAttributes($data);
+			return true;
+		} elseif (isset($data[$scope])) {
+			$this->setAttributes($data[$scope]);
+			return true;
+		} else {
+			return false;
+		}
+	}
+
+	/**
 	 * Converts the object into an array.
 	 * The default implementation will return [[attributes]].
 	 * @return array the array representation of the object

framework/yii/web/Controller.php

@@ -83,4 +83,34 @@ class Controller extends \yii\base\Controller
 		}
 		return Yii::$app->getUrlManager()->createUrl($route, $params);
 	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Redirects the browser to the specified URL.
+	 * This method is a shortcut to [[Response::redirect()]].
+	 *
+	 * @param array|string $url the URL to be redirected to. [[\yii\helpers\Html::url()]]
+	 * will be used to normalize the URL. If the resulting URL is still a relative URL
+	 * (one without host info), the current request host info will be used.
+	 * @param integer $statusCode the HTTP status code. If null, it will use 302
+	 * for normal requests, and [[ajaxRedirectCode]] for AJAX requests.
+	 * See [[http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html]]
+	 * for details about HTTP status code
+	 * @return Response the response object itself
+	 */
+	public function redirect($url, $statusCode = null)
+	{
+		return Yii::$app->getResponse()->redirect($url, $statusCode);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Refreshes the current page.
+	 * This method is a shortcut to [[Response::refresh()]].
+	 * @param string $anchor the anchor that should be appended to the redirection URL.
+	 * Defaults to empty. Make sure the anchor starts with '#' if you want to specify it.
+	 * @return Response the response object itself
+	 */
+	public function refresh($anchor = '')
+	{
+		return Yii::$app->getResponse()->redirect(Yii::$app->getRequest()->getUrl() . $anchor);
+	}
 }