In python::Pylons i'm able to issue a setup-app command and it will look at my Models and issue the appropriate CREATE TABLE or CREATE INDEX ddl for my particular database.
it seems like this would be a feature in CakePHP, but i'm having trouble finding it.
in fact i see this in the manual: "You can create your database tables as you normally would. When you create your Model classes, they'll automatically map to the tables that you've created."
which leads me to believe it doesn't exist?