Recovery Model

class UserRecoveryForm extends CFormModel {
    public $login_or_email, $user_id;

    /**
     * Declares the validation rules.
     * The rules state that username and password are required,
     * and password needs to be authenticated.
     */
    public function rules()
    {
        return array(
            // username and password are required
            array('login_or_email', 'required'),
            array('login_or_email', 'match', 'pattern' => '/^[[email protected]\s,]+$/u','message' => UserModule::t("Incorrect symbols (A-z0-9).")),
            // password needs to be authenticated
            array('login_or_email', 'checkexists'),
        );
    }
    /**
     * Declares attribute labels.
     */
    public function attributeLabels()
    {
        return array(
            'login_or_email'=>UserModule::t("username or email"),
        );
    }

    public function checkexists($attribute,$params) {
        if(!$this->hasErrors())  // we only want to authenticate when no input errors
        {
            if (strpos($this->login_or_email,"@")) {
                $user=User::model()->findByAttributes(array('email'=>$this->login_or_email));
                if ($user)
                    $this->user_id=$user->id;
            } else {
                $user=User::model()->findByAttributes(array('username'=>$this->login_or_email));
                if ($user)
                    $this->user_id=$user->id;
            }

            if($user===null)
                if (strpos($this->login_or_email,"@")) {
                    $this->addError("login_or_email",UserModule::t("Email is incorrect."));
                } else {
                    $this->addError("login_or_email",UserModule::t("Username is incorrect."));
                }
        }
    }

}