diff --git a/classes/generate.php b/classes/generate.php
index fcc50f5d..0c15cc26 100644
--- a/classes/generate.php
+++ b/classes/generate.php
@@ -29,12 +29,31 @@ class Generate
 
 	public static $scaffolding = false;
 
-	private static $_default_constraints = array(
-		'varchar' => 255,
-		'char' => 255,
-		'int' => 11,
+	protected static $_field_defaults = array(
+		'_default_' => array(
+			'null' => false,
+			'key' => NULL,
+		),
+		'varchar' => array(
+			'constraint' => '255',
+		),
+		'char' => array(
+			'constraint' => '255',
+		),
+		'int' => array(
+			'constraint' => '11',
+		),
+		'decimal' => array(
+			'constraint' => '10,2',
+		),
+		'float' => array(
+			'constraint' => '10,2',
+		),
 	);
 
+	/**
+	 *
+	 */
 	public static function config($args)
 	{
 		$file = strtolower(array_shift($args));
@@ -132,6 +151,9 @@ public static function config($args)
 		}
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 *
+	 */
 	public static function controller($args, $build = true)
 	{
 		if ( ! ($name = \Str::lower(array_shift($args))))
@@ -245,10 +267,15 @@ public function view()
 		$build and static::build();
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 *
+	 */
 	public static function model($args, $build = true)
 	{
 		$singular = \Inflector::singularize(\Str::lower(array_shift($args)));
 
+		$args = static::normalize_args($args);
+
 		if (empty($singular) or strpos($singular, ':'))
 		{
 			throw new Exception("Command is invalid.".PHP_EOL."\tphp oil g model <modelname> [<fieldname1>:<type1> |<fieldname2>:<type2> |..]");
@@ -279,43 +306,36 @@ public static function model($args, $build = true)
 		// Uppercase each part of the class name and remove hyphens
 		$class_name = \Inflector::classify(str_replace(array('\\', '/'), '_', $singular), false);
 
-		// Turn foo:string into "id", "foo",
-		$properties = implode(",\n\t\t", array_map(function($field) {
-
-			// Only take valid fields
-			if (($field = strstr($field, ':', true)))
-			{
-				return "'".$field."'";
-			}
-
-		}, $args));
-
-		// Add a comma to the end of the list
-		$properties = "\n\t\t" . $properties . ",";
-
-		$contents = '';
-
 		// Generate with test?
-		$with_test = \Cli::option('with-test');
-		if ($with_test) {
+		if ($with_test = \Cli::option('with-test'))
+		{
 			static::_create_test('Model', $class_name, $base_path);
 		}
 
+		// storage for the generated contents
+		$contents = '';
+
+		// deal with Model_Crud models first
 		if (\Cli::option('crud'))
 		{
-			// Make sure an id is present
-			strpos($properties, "'id'") === false and $properties = "'id',".$properties;
-
+			// model properties
 			if ( ! \Cli::option('no-properties'))
 			{
 				$contents = <<<CONTENTS
 	protected static \$_properties = array(
-		{$properties}
+CONTENTS;
+				foreach ($args as $arg)
+				{
+					$contents .= PHP_EOL."\t\t\"".$arg['name']."\",";
+				}
+				$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
+
 	);
 
 CONTENTS;
 			}
 
+			// created-at field
 			if($created_at = \Cli::option('created-at'))
 			{
 				is_string($created_at) or $created_at = 'created_at';
@@ -327,6 +347,7 @@ public static function model($args, $build = true)
 CONTENTS;
 			}
 
+			// updated-at field
 			if($updated_at = \Cli::option('updated-at'))
 			{
 				is_string($updated_at) or $updated_at = 'updated_at';
@@ -338,6 +359,7 @@ public static function model($args, $build = true)
 CONTENTS;
 			}
 
+			// mysql-timestamp field
 			if(\Cli::option('mysql-timestamp'))
 			{
 				$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
@@ -347,11 +369,14 @@ public static function model($args, $build = true)
 CONTENTS;
 			}
 
+			// table name used by this model
 			$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
 
 	protected static \$_table_name = '{$plural}';
 
 CONTENTS;
+
+			// namespace and class definition
 			if ($module)
 			{
 				$model = <<<MODEL
@@ -377,246 +402,155 @@ class Model_{$class_name} extends \Model_Crud
 MODEL;
 			}
 		}
+
+		// ORM models
 		else
 		{
-			$time_type = (\Cli::option('mysql-timestamp')) ? 'timestamp' : 'int';
-			$no_timestamp_default = false;
-
-			if ( \Cli::option('soft-delete'))
-			{
-				$deleted_at = \Cli::option('deleted-at', 'deleted_at');
-				is_string($deleted_at) or $deleted_at = 'deleted_at';
-				$properties .= "\n\t\t'".$deleted_at."',";
-
-				$args = array_merge($args, array($deleted_at.':'.$time_type.':null[1]'));
-			}
-			elseif (\Cli::option('temporal'))
-			{
-				$temporal_end = \Cli::option('temporal-end', 'temporal_end');
-				is_string($temporal_end) or $temporal_end = 'temporal_end';
-				$properties = "\n\t\t'".$temporal_end."'," . $properties;
-
-				$args = array_merge(array($temporal_end.':'.$time_type), $args);
-
-				$temporal_start = \Cli::option('temporal-start', 'temporal_start');
-				is_string($temporal_start) or $temporal_start = 'temporal_start';
-				$properties = "\n\t\t'".$temporal_start."'," . $properties;
 
-				$args = array_merge(array($temporal_start.':'.$time_type), $args);
-				$no_timestamp_default = true;
-			}
-			elseif (\Cli::option('nestedset'))
+			// model properties
+			if ( ! \Cli::option('no-properties'))
 			{
-				$title = \Cli::option('title', false);
-
-				if ($title)
-				{
-					is_string($title) or $title = 'title';
-					$properties = "\n\t\t'".$title."'," . $properties;
-
-					$args = array_merge(array($title.':varchar[50]'), $args);
-				}
-
-				$tree_id = \Cli::option('tree-id', false);
-
-				if ($tree_id)
+				$contents = <<<CONTENTS
+	protected static \$_properties = array(
+CONTENTS;
+				foreach ($args as $arg)
 				{
-					is_string($tree_id) or $tree_id = 'tree_id';
-					$properties = "\n\t\t'".$tree_id."'," . $properties;
+					$contents .= PHP_EOL."\t\t\"".$arg['name']."\" => array(";
+					$contents .= PHP_EOL."\t\t\t\"label\" => \"".\Inflector::humanize($arg['name'])."\",";
+					$contents .= PHP_EOL."\t\t\t\"data_type\" => \"".$arg['data_type']."\",";
+					if (isset($arg['default']))
+					{
+						$contents .= PHP_EOL."\t\t\t\"default\" => \"".$arg['default']."\",";
+					}
+					if ($arg['data_type'] == 'enum' and isset($arg['options']))
+					{
+						$contents .= PHP_EOL."\t\t\t\"options\" => array(".$arg['constraint']."),";
+					}
 
-					$args = array_merge(array($tree_id.':int:unsigned'), $args);
+					$contents .= PHP_EOL."\t\t),";
 				}
+				$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
 
-				$right_id = \Cli::option('right-id', 'right_id');
-				is_string($right_id) or $right_id = 'right_id';
-				$properties = "\n\t\t'".$right_id."'," . $properties;
-
-				$args = array_merge(array($right_id.':int:unsigned'), $args);
-
-				$left_id = \Cli::option('left-id', 'left_id');
-				is_string($left_id) or $left_id = 'left_id';
-				$properties = "\n\t\t'".$left_id."'," . $properties;
-
-				$args = array_merge(array($left_id.':int:unsigned'), $args);
-				$no_timestamp_default = true;
-			}
-
-			if ( ! \Cli::option('no-timestamp', $no_timestamp_default))
-			{
-				$created_at = \Cli::option('created-at', 'created_at');
-				is_string($created_at) or $created_at = 'created_at';
-				$properties .= "\n\t\t'".$created_at."',";
-
-				$updated_at = \Cli::option('updated-at', 'updated_at');
-				is_string($updated_at) or $updated_at = 'updated_at';
-				$properties .= "\n\t\t'".$updated_at."',";
-
-				$timestamp_properties = array($created_at.':'.$time_type.':null[1]', $updated_at.':'.$time_type.':null[1]');
-
-				$args = array_merge($args, $timestamp_properties);
-			}
-
-			// Make sure an id is present
-			strpos($properties, "'id'") === false and $properties = "'id',".$properties;
-
-			if ( ! \Cli::option('no-properties'))
-			{
-				$contents = <<<CONTENTS
-	protected static \$_properties = array(
-		{$properties}
 	);
 
 CONTENTS;
 			}
 
+			// determine the type of timestamp used
 			$mysql_timestamp = (\Cli::option('mysql-timestamp')) ? 'true' : 'false';
 
-			if ( ! \Cli::option('no-timestamp', $no_timestamp_default))
-			{
-
-				if(($created_at = \Cli::option('created-at')) and is_string($created_at))
-				{
-					$created_at = <<<CONTENTS
+			// add date observers if needed
+			$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
 
-			'property' => '$created_at',
+	protected static \$_observers = array(
 CONTENTS;
-				}
-				else
-				{
-					$created_at = '';
-				}
-
-				if(($updated_at = \Cli::option('updated-at')) and is_string($updated_at))
-				{
-					$updated_at = <<<CONTENTS
+			if ( ! \Cli::option('no-timestamp') and ! \Cli::option('no-standardisation'))
+			{
+				$created_at = \Cli::option('created-at', 'created_at');
+				is_string($created_at) or $created_at = 'created_at';
 
-			'property' => '$updated_at',
-CONTENTS;
-				}
-				else
-				{
-					$updated_at = '';
-				}
+				$updated_at = \Cli::option('updated-at', 'updated_at');
+				is_string($updated_at) or $updated_at = 'updated_at';
 
 				$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
 
-	protected static \$_observers = array(
 		'Orm\Observer_CreatedAt' => array(
 			'events' => array('before_insert'),
-			'mysql_timestamp' => $mysql_timestamp,$created_at
+			'property' => '$created_at',
+			'mysql_timestamp' => $mysql_timestamp,
 		),
 		'Orm\Observer_UpdatedAt' => array(
 			'events' => array('before_update'),
-			'mysql_timestamp' => $mysql_timestamp,$updated_at
+			'property' => '$updated_at',
+			'mysql_timestamp' => $mysql_timestamp,
 		),
-	);
 CONTENTS;
-
 			}
 
-			if (\Cli::option('soft-delete'))
-			{
-				if($deleted_at !== 'deleted_at')
-				{
-					$deleted_at = <<<CONTENTS
+			$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
+
+	);
 
-		'deleted_field' => '{$deleted_at}',
 CONTENTS;
-				}
-				else
-				{
-					$deleted_at = '';
-				}
 
-				$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
+			// add fields required for soft-delete models
+			if (\Cli::option('soft-delete'))
+			{
+				$deleted_at = \Cli::option('deleted_at', 'deleted_at');
+				is_string($deleted_at) or $deleted_at = 'deleted_at';
 
+				$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
 
 	protected static \$_soft_delete = array(
-		'mysql_timestamp' => $mysql_timestamp,$deleted_at
+		'mysql_timestamp' => $mysql_timestamp,
+		'deleted_field' => '{$deleted_at}',
 	);
+
 CONTENTS;
 			}
+
+			// add fields required for temporal models
 			elseif (\Cli::option('temporal'))
 			{
-				if($temporal_start !== 'temporal_start')
-				{
-					$start_column = <<<CONTENTS
-
-		'start_column' => '{$temporal_start}',
-CONTENTS;
-				}
-				else
-				{
-					$start_column = '';
-				}
-
-				if($temporal_end !== 'temporal_end')
-				{
-					$end_column = <<<CONTENTS
+				$temporal_start = \Cli::option('temporal-start', 'temporal_start');
+				is_string($temporal_start) or $temporal_start = 'temporal_start';
 
-		'end_column' => '{$temporal_end}',
-CONTENTS;
-				}
-				else
-				{
-					$end_column = '';
-				}
+				$temporal_end = \Cli::option('temporal-end', 'temporal_end');
+				is_string($temporal_end) or $temporal_end = 'temporal_end';
 
 				$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
 
 
 	protected static \$_temporal = array(
-		'mysql_timestamp' => $mysql_timestamp,$start_column$end_column
-	);
+		'mysql_timestamp' => $mysql_timestamp,
+		'start_column' => '{$temporal_start}',
+		'end_column' => '{$temporal_end}',
 
-	protected static \$_primary_key = array('id', '{$temporal_start}', '{$temporal_end}');
+	);
 CONTENTS;
 			}
+
+			// add fields required for nestedset models
 			elseif (\Cli::option('nestedset'))
 			{
-				if($left_id !== 'left_id')
-				{
-					$left_field = <<<CONTENTS
-		'left_field' => '{$left_id}',
+				$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
+
+	protected static \$_tree = array(
+
 CONTENTS;
-				}
-				else
-				{
-					$left_field = '';
-				}
 
-				if($right_id !== 'right_id')
+				if ($title = \Cli::option('title', false))
 				{
-					$right_field = <<<CONTENTS
-		'right_field' => '{$right_id}',
+					is_string($title) or $title = 'title';
+					$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
+		'title_field' => '{$title}',
+
 CONTENTS;
 				}
-				else
-				{
-					$right_field = '';
-				}
 
-				if($tree_id)
+				if ($tree_id = \Cli::option('tree-id', false))
 				{
-					$tree_field = <<<CONTENTS
+					is_string($tree_id) or $tree_id = 'tree_id';
+					$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
 		'tree_field' => '{$tree_id}',
+
 CONTENTS;
 				}
-				else
-				{
-					$tree_field = '';
-				}
 
-				if($title)
-				{
-					$title_field = <<<CONTENTS
-		'title_field' => '{$title}',
+				$left_id = \Cli::option('left-id', 'left_id');
+				is_string($left_id) or $left_id = 'left_id';
+				$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
+		'left_field' => '{$left_id}',
+
+CONTENTS;
+
+
+				$right_id = \Cli::option('right-id', 'right_id');
+				is_string($right_id) or $right_id = 'right_id';
+				$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
+		'right_field' => '{$right_id}',
+
 CONTENTS;
-				}
-				else
-				{
-					$title_field = '';
-				}
 
 				if($read_only = \Cli::option('read-only') and is_string($read_only))
 				{
@@ -624,37 +558,63 @@ class Model_{$class_name} extends \Model_Crud
 					$read_only = "'" . implode("', '", $read_only) . "'";
 					$read_only = <<<CONTENTS
 		'read_only' => array($read_only),
+
 CONTENTS;
 				}
-				else
-				{
-					$read_only = '';
-				}
 
-				if (! empty($left_field) or ! empty($right_field) or ! empty($tree_field) or ! empty($title_field))
-				{
-					$fields = array($left_field, $right_field, $tree_field, $title_field, $read_only);
-					$fields = array_filter($fields);
-					$fields = implode("\n", $fields);
+				$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
+	);
 
-					$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
+CONTENTS;
 
+			}
+
+			// database table name
+			$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
+
+	protected static \$_table_name = '{$plural}';
 
-	protected static \$_tree = array(
-$fields
-	);
 CONTENTS;
-				}
 
+			// primary keys
+			$keys = array();
+			foreach($args as $arg)
+			{
+				if (isset($arg['key']) and $arg['key'] == 'PRI')
+				{
+					$keys[] = $arg['name'];
+				}
 			}
 
+			// define the primary keys
+			$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
+
+	protected static \$_primary_key = array('
+CONTENTS;
+			$contents .= implode("', '", $keys);
 			$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
+');
 
+CONTENTS;
 
-	protected static \$_table_name = '{$plural}';
+			// add empty relation structures
+			$contents .= <<<CONTENTS
+
+	protected static \$_has_many = array(
+	);
+
+	protected static \$_many_many = array(
+	);
+
+	protected static \$_has_one = array(
+	);
+
+	protected static \$_belongs_to = array(
+	);
 
 CONTENTS;
 
+			// define the ORM class
 			$model = '';
 			if ( \Cli::option('soft-delete'))
 			{
@@ -756,6 +716,9 @@ class Model_{$class_name} extends \Orm\Model
 		$build and static::build();
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 *
+	 */
 	public static function module($args)
 	{
 		if ( ! ($module_name = strtolower(array_shift($args)) ) )
@@ -806,6 +769,9 @@ public static function module($args)
 		static::$create_folders && static::build();
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 *
+	 */
 	public static function views($args, $subfolder, $build = true)
 	{
 		$controller = strtolower(array_shift($args));
@@ -836,7 +802,7 @@ public static function views($args, $subfolder, $build = true)
 		$subnav = '';
 		foreach($args as $nav_item)
 		{
-			$subnav .= "\t<li class='<?php echo Arr::get(\$subnav, \"{$nav_item}\" ); ?>'><?php echo Html::anchor('{$controller}/{$nav_item}','".\Inflector::humanize($nav_item)."');?></li>\n";
+			$subnav .= "\t<li class='<?php echo Arr::get(\$subnav, \"{$nav_item}\" ); ?>'><?php echo Html::anchor('{$controller}/{$nav_item}','".\Inflector::humanize($nav_item)."');?></li>".PHP_EOL;
 		}
 
 		foreach ($args as $action)
@@ -863,11 +829,29 @@ public static function views($args, $subfolder, $build = true)
 		$build and static::build();
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 *
+	 */
 	public static function migration($args, $build = true)
 	{
 		// Get the migration name
 		$migration_name = \Str::lower(str_replace(array('-', '/'), '_', array_shift($args)));
 
+		// what type of migration do we have?
+		$type = explode('_', $migration_name);
+
+		// tell the generator not to standardize the fieldlist for these types
+		if (in_array($type[0], array('add', 'delete', 'rename', 'drop')))
+		{
+			\Cli::set_option('no-standardisation', true);
+		}
+
+		// normalize the arguments if needed
+		if ( ! empty($args))
+		{
+			$args = static::normalize_args($args);
+		}
+
 		if (empty($migration_name) or strpos($migration_name, ':'))
 		{
 			throw new Exception("Command is invalid.".PHP_EOL."\tphp oil g migration <migrationname> [<fieldname1>:<type1> |<fieldname2>:<type2> |..]");
@@ -911,6 +895,10 @@ public static function migration($args, $build = true)
 			throw new Exception("Unable to read existing migrations. Path does not exist, or you may have an 'open_basedir' defined");
 		}
 
+		// save the migration name, it's also used as table name
+		$table_name = $migration_name;
+
+		// deal with duplicates to make sure the migration name is unique
 		if (count($duplicates) > 0)
 		{
 			// Don't override a file
@@ -946,7 +934,7 @@ public static function migration($args, $build = true)
 		foreach ($methods as $method_name)
 		{
 			// If the miration name starts with the name of the action method
-			if (substr($migration_name, 0, strlen($method_name)) === $method_name)
+			if (substr($table_name, 0, strlen($method_name)) === $method_name)
 			{
 				/**
 				 *	Create an array of the subject the migration is about
@@ -961,7 +949,7 @@ public static function migration($args, $build = true)
 				 *
 				 */
 				$subjects = array(false, false);
-				$matches = explode('_', str_replace($method_name . '_', '', $migration_name));
+				$matches = explode('_', str_replace($method_name . '_', '', $table_name));
 
 				// create_{table}
 				if (count($matches) == 1)
@@ -985,9 +973,9 @@ public static function migration($args, $build = true)
 				elseif (count($matches) >= 5 && in_array('to', $matches) && in_array('in', $matches))
 				{
 					$subjects = array(
-					 implode('_', array_slice($matches, array_search('in', $matches)+1)),
 					 implode('_', array_slice($matches, 0, array_search('to', $matches))),
 					 implode('_', array_slice($matches, array_search('to', $matches)+1, array_search('in', $matches)-array_search('to', $matches)-1)),
+					 implode('_', array_slice($matches, array_search('in', $matches)+1)),
 				  );
 				}
 
@@ -1003,7 +991,7 @@ public static function migration($args, $build = true)
 				// create_{table} or drop_{table} (with underscores in table name)
 				elseif (count($matches) !== 0)
 				{
-					$name = str_replace(array('create_', 'add_', 'drop_', '_to_'), array('create-', 'add-', 'drop-', '-to-'), $migration_name);
+					$name = str_replace(array('create_', 'add_', 'drop_', '_to_'), array('create-', 'add-', 'drop-', '-to-'), $table_name);
 
     				if (preg_match('/^(create|drop|add)\-([a-z0-9\_]*)(\-to\-)?([a-z0-9\_]*)?$/i', $name, $deep_matches))
     				{
@@ -1027,124 +1015,13 @@ public static function migration($args, $build = true)
 					break;
 				}
 
-				// We always pass in fields to a migration, so lets sort them out here.
-				$fields = array();
-				foreach ($args as $field)
-				{
-					$field_array = array();
-
-					// Each paramater for a field is seperated by the : character
-					$parts = explode(":", $field);
-
-					// We must have the 'name:type' if nothing else!
-					if (count($parts) >= 2)
-					{
-						$field_array['name'] = array_shift($parts);
-						foreach ($parts as $part_i => $part)
-						{
-							preg_match('/([a-z0-9_-]+)(?:\[([0-9a-z_\-\,\s]+)\])?/i', $part, $part_matches);
-							array_shift($part_matches);
-
-							if (count($part_matches) < 1)
-							{
-								// Move onto the next part, something is wrong here...
-								continue;
-							}
-
-							$option_name = ''; // This is the name of the option to be passed to the action in a field
-							$option = $part_matches;
-
-							// The first option always has to be the field type
-							if ($part_i == 0)
-							{
-								$option_name = 'type';
-								$type = $option[0];
-								if ($type === 'string')
-								{
-									$type = 'varchar';
-								}
-								elseif ($type === 'integer')
-								{
-									$type = 'int';
-								}
-
-								if ( ! in_array($type, array('text', 'blob', 'datetime', 'date', 'timestamp', 'time')))
-								{
-									if ( ! isset($option[1]) || $option[1] == NULL)
-									{
-										if (isset(self::$_default_constraints[$type]))
-										{
-											$field_array['constraint'] = self::$_default_constraints[$type];
-										}
-									}
-									else
-									{
-										// should support field_name:enum[value1,value2]
-										if ($type === 'enum')
-										{
-											$values = explode(',', $option[1]);
-											$option[1] = '"'.implode('","', $values).'"';
-
-											$field_array['constraint'] = $option[1];
-										}
-										// should support field_name:decimal[10,2]
-										elseif (in_array($type, array('decimal', 'float')))
-										{
-											$field_array['constraint'] = $option[1];
-										}
-										else
-										{
-											$field_array['constraint'] = (int) $option[1];
-										}
-
-									}
-								}
-								$option = $type;
-							}
-							else
-							{
-								// This allows you to put any number of :option or :option[val] into your field and these will...
-								// ... always be passed through to the action making it really easy to add extra options for a field
-								$option_name = array_shift($option);
-								if (count($option) > 0)
-								{
-									$option = $option[0];
-								}
-								else
-								{
-									$option = true;
-								}
-							}
-
-							// deal with some special cases
-							switch ($option_name)
-							{
-								case 'auto_increment':
-								case 'null':
-								case 'unsigned':
-									$option = (bool) $option;
-									break;
-							}
-
-							$field_array[$option_name] = $option;
-
-						}
-						$fields[] = $field_array;
-					}
-					else
-					{
-						// Invalid field passed in
-						continue;
-					}
-				}
-
 				// Call the magic action which returns an array($up, $down) for the migration
-				$migration = call_user_func(__NAMESPACE__ . "\Generate_Migration_Actions::{$method_name}", $subjects, $fields);
+				$migration = call_user_func(__NAMESPACE__ . "\Generate_Migration_Actions::{$method_name}", $subjects, $args);
 			}
 		}
 
 		// Build the migration
-		list($up, $down)=$migration;
+		list($up, $down) = $migration;
 
 		// If we don't have any, bail out
 		if (empty($up) and empty($down))
@@ -1182,6 +1059,9 @@ public function down()
 		$build and static::build();
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 *
+	 */
 	public static function task($args, $build = true)
 	{
 
@@ -1295,6 +1175,9 @@ class {$class_name}
 		$build and static::build();
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 *
+	 */
 	public static function help()
 	{
 		$output = <<<HELP
@@ -1332,6 +1215,9 @@ public static function help()
 		\Cli::write($output);
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 *
+	 */
 	public static function package($args, $build = true)
 	{
 		$name       = str_replace(array('/', '_', '-'), '', \Str::lower(array_shift($args)));
@@ -1544,7 +1430,7 @@ public function set_config(\$key, \$value)
 
 			static::create($path . 'classes' . DS . $name . DS . 'driver.php', $output);
 
-			$bootstrap =  "\n\t'{$class_name}\\\\{$class_name}_Driver' => __DIR__ . '/classes/{$name}/driver.php',";
+			$bootstrap =  PHP_EOL."\t'{$class_name}\\\\{$class_name}_Driver' => __DIR__ . '/classes/{$name}/driver.php',";
 			if (is_array($drivers))
 			{
 				foreach ($drivers as $driver)
@@ -1564,7 +1450,7 @@ class {$class_name}_{$driver_name}  extends {$class_name}_Driver
 }
 
 CLASS;
-					$bootstrap .= "\n\t'{$class_name}\\\\{$class_name}_{$driver_name}' => __DIR__ . '/classes/{$name}/{$driver}.php',";
+					$bootstrap .= PHP_EOL."\t'{$class_name}\\\\{$class_name}_{$driver_name}' => __DIR__ . '/classes/{$name}/{$driver}.php',";
 					static::create($path . 'classes' . DS . $name . DS . $driver . '.php', $output);
 				}
 			}
@@ -1687,6 +1573,9 @@ public function set_config(\$key, \$value)
 		$build and static::build();
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 *
+	 */
 	public static function create($filepath, $contents, $type = 'file')
 	{
 		$directory = dirname($filepath);
@@ -1717,6 +1606,9 @@ public static function create($filepath, $contents, $type = 'file')
 		);
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 *
+	 */
 	public static function build()
 	{
 		foreach (static::$create_folders as $folder)
@@ -1751,13 +1643,348 @@ public static function build()
 		return $result;
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 *
+	 */
 	public static function class_name($name)
 	{
 		return str_replace(array(' ', '-'), '_', ucwords(str_replace('_', ' ', $name)));
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 *
+	 */
+	public static function normalize_args(array $args)
+	{
+		// normalized result
+		$normalized = array('id' => null);
+
+		// loop over the field names passed
+		foreach ($args as $field)
+		{
+			// check what we got
+			if (is_array($field))
+			{
+				// make sure we have the correct format
+				if (isset($field['name']))
+				{
+					// deal with some generics
+					if ($field['data_type'] === 'string')
+					{
+						$field['data_type'] = 'varchar';
+					}
+					elseif ($field['data_type'] === 'integer')
+					{
+						$field['data_type'] = 'int';
+					}
+					elseif (strpos($field['data_type'], ' unsigned') !== false)
+					{
+						$field['data_type'] = explode(' ', $field['data_type']);
+						$field['data_type'] = $field['data_type'][0];
+						$field['unsigned'] = true;
+					}
+
+					// deal with some constraint quirks
+					if (empty($field['constraint']))
+					{
+						if (isset($field['display']))
+						{
+							$field['constraint'] = $field['display'];
+						}
+						elseif (isset($field['numeric_precision']))
+						{
+							$field['constraint'] = $field['numeric_precision'].','.$field['numeric_scale'];
+						}
+					}
+
+					// deal with the different constraint types
+					if ($field['data_type'] === 'enum' or $field['data_type'] === 'set' )
+					{
+						// avoid double quoting
+						if (strpos($field['constraint'], '"') !== 0)
+						{
+							$values = explode(',', $field['constraint']);
+							$field['constraint'] = '"'.implode('","', $values).'"';
+						}
+					}
+
+					// should support field_name:decimal[10,2]
+					elseif (in_array($field['data_type'], array('decimal', 'float', 'double')))
+					{
+						// leave as-is
+					}
+
+					// should support any other constraint
+					elseif (isset($field['constraint']))
+					{
+						$field['constraint'] = (int) $field['constraint'];
+					}
+
+					// output from list_columns, we're done here!
+					$normalized[$field['name']] = $field;
+				}
+			}
+			else
+			{
+				// we need to split a field string into components
+				$field_array = array();
+
+				// Each paramater for a field is seperated by the : character
+				$parts = explode(":", $field);
+
+				// We must have the 'name:type' if nothing else!
+				if (count($parts) >= 2)
+				{
+					// make sure we have default values
+					$field_array = static::$_field_defaults['_default_'];
+
+					// extract the field name
+					$field_array['name'] = array_shift($parts);
+
+					// process the remaining parts
+					foreach ($parts as $part_i => $part)
+					{
+						// split the part
+						preg_match('/([a-z0-9_-]+)(?:\[([0-9a-z_\-\,\s]+)\])?/i', $part, $part_matches);
+						array_shift($part_matches);
+
+						if ( ! count($part_matches))
+						{
+							// Move onto the next part, something is wrong here...
+							continue;
+						}
+
+						// The first option always has to be the field type
+						if (empty($field_array['data_type']))
+						{
+							// determine the field datatype
+							$type = $part_matches[0];
+							// deal with some generics
+							if ($type === 'string')
+							{
+								$type = 'varchar';
+							}
+							elseif ($type === 'integer')
+							{
+								$type = 'int';
+							}
+
+							// add the defaults for this datatype
+							if (isset(static::$_field_defaults[$type]))
+							{
+								$field_array = array_merge(static::$_field_defaults[$type], $field_array);
+							}
+
+							// deal with any field constraints
+							if (isset($part_matches[1]) and $part_matches[1])
+							{
+								// should support field_name:enum[value1,value2] and field_name:set[value1,value2]
+								if ($type === 'enum' or $type === 'set')
+								{
+									$values = explode(',', $part_matches[1]);
+									$part_matches[1] = '"'.implode('","', $values).'"';
+
+									$field_array['constraint'] = $part_matches[1];
+								}
+
+								// should support field_name:decimal[10,2]
+								elseif (in_array($type, array('decimal', 'float')))
+								{
+									$field_array['constraint'] = $part_matches[1];
+								}
+
+								// should support any other constraint
+								else
+								{
+									$field_array['constraint'] = (int) $part_matches[1];
+								}
+							}
+
+							// so we can add this next
+							$option = 'data_type';
+							$part_matches = $type;
+						}
+						else
+						{
+							// This allows you to put any number of :option or :option[val] into your field and these will...
+							// ... always be passed through to the action making it really easy to add extra options for a field
+							$option = array_shift($part_matches);
+							if (count($part_matches) > 0)
+							{
+								$option = $part_matches[0];
+							}
+							else
+							{
+								$part_matches = true;
+							}
+						}
+
+						// deal with some special cases
+						switch ($option)
+						{
+							case 'auto_increment':
+							case 'null':
+							case 'unsigned':
+								$part_matches = (bool) $part_matches;
+								break;
+						}
+
+						$field_array[$option] = $part_matches;
+					}
+
+					$normalized[$field_array['name']] = $field_array;
+				}
+				else
+				{
+					// Invalid field passed in
+					continue;
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		// Check if we have a primary key
+		$pk = false;
+		foreach ($args as $arg)
+		{
+			if (isset($arg['key']) and $arg['key'] == 'PRI')
+			{
+				$pk = true;
+			}
+		}
+
+		// add a PK if none are present
+		if ( ! $pk and ! \Cli::option('no-standardisation'))
+		{
+			$normalized['id'] = array('name' => 'id', 'data_type' => 'int', 'unsigned' => true, 'null' => false, 'auto_increment' => true, 'key' => 'PRI', 'constraint' => '11');;
+		}
+		elseif ($normalized['id'] === null)
+		{
+			// remove the dummy
+			unset($normalized['id']);
+		}
+
+		// some other optional columns in case of ORM
+		if ( ! \Cli::option('crud'))
+		{
+			$time_type = (\Cli::option('mysql-timestamp')) ? 'timestamp' : 'int';
+			$no_timestamp_default = false;
+
+			// closure used to add a new field
+			$add_field = function($args, $name, $type, $options = array()) {
+
+				// create the field
+				$field = static::$_field_defaults['_default_'];
+
+				// add the defaults for this datatype
+				if (isset(static::$_field_defaults[$type]))
+				{
+					$field = array_merge(static::$_field_defaults[$type], $field);
+				}
+
+				// add the data
+				$field['name'] = $name;
+				$field['type'] = $type;
+				$field['data_type'] = $type;
+
+				// return the result
+				return array_merge($args, array($name => array_merge($field, $options)));
+			};
+
+
+			// additional column for soft-delete models
+			if ( \Cli::option('soft-delete'))
+			{
+				$deleted_at = \Cli::option('deleted-at', 'deleted_at');
+				is_string($deleted_at) or $deleted_at = 'deleted_at';
+				if ( ! isset($normalized[$deleted_at]))
+				{
+					$normalized = $add_field($normalized, $deleted_at, $time_type, array('null' => true, 'unsigned' => true));
+				}
+			}
+
+			// additional column for temporal models
+			elseif (\Cli::option('temporal'))
+			{
+				$temporal_start = \Cli::option('temporal-start', 'temporal_start');
+				is_string($temporal_start) or $temporal_start = 'temporal_start';
+				if ( ! isset($normalized[$temporal_start]))
+				{
+					$normalized = $add_field($normalized, $temporal_start, $time_type, array('key' => 'PRI', 'null' => true, 'unsigned' => true));
+				}
+
+				$temporal_end = \Cli::option('temporal-end', 'temporal_end');
+				is_string($temporal_end) or $temporal_end = 'temporal_end';
+				if ( ! isset($normalized[$temporal_end]))
+				{
+					$normalized = $add_field($normalized, $temporal_end, $time_type, array('key' => 'PRI', 'null' => true, 'unsigned' => true));
+				}
+
+				\Cli::set_option('no-timestamp', true);
+			}
+
+			// additional columns for nestedset models
+			elseif (\Cli::option('nestedset'))
+			{
+				if ($title = \Cli::option('title', false))
+				{
+					is_string($title) or $title = 'title';
+					if ( ! isset($normalized[$title]))
+					{
+						$normalized = $add_field($normalized, $title, 'varchar', array('null' => true, 'constraint' => '50'));
+					}
+				}
+
+				if ($tree_id = \Cli::option('tree-id', false))
+				{
+					is_string($tree_id) or $tree_id = 'tree_id';
+					if ( ! isset($normalized[$tree_id]))
+					{
+						$normalized = $add_field($normalized, $tree_id, 'int', array('constraint' => '11', 'unsigned' => true));
+					}
+				}
+
+				$left_id = \Cli::option('left-id', 'left_id');
+				is_string($left_id) or $left_id = 'left_id';
+				if ( ! isset($normalized[$left_id]))
+				{
+					$normalized = $add_field($normalized, $left_id, 'int', array('constraint' => '11', 'unsigned' => true));
+				}
+
+				$right_id = \Cli::option('right-id', 'right_id');
+				is_string($right_id) or $right_id = 'right_id';
+				if ( ! isset($normalized[$right_id]))
+				{
+					$normalized = $add_field($normalized, $right_id, 'int', array('constraint' => '11', 'unsigned' => true));
+				}
+			}
+
+			if ( ! \Cli::option('no-timestamp') and  ! \Cli::option('no-standardisation'))
+			{
+				$created_at = \Cli::option('created-at', 'created_at');
+				is_string($created_at) or $created_at = 'created_at';
+				if ( ! isset($normalized[$created_at]))
+				{
+					$normalized = $add_field($normalized, $created_at, $time_type, array('null' => true, 'unsigned' => true));
+				}
+
+				$updated_at = \Cli::option('updated-at', 'updated_at');
+				is_string($updated_at) or $updated_at = 'updated_at';
+				if ( ! isset($normalized[$updated_at]))
+				{
+					$normalized = $add_field($normalized, $updated_at, $time_type, array('null' => true, 'unsigned' => true));
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		// return the normalized result
+		return $normalized;
+	}
+
 	// Helper methods
 
+	/**
+	 *
+	 */
 	private static function _find_migration_number()
 	{
 		$base_path = APPPATH;
@@ -1796,6 +2023,9 @@ private static function _find_migration_number()
 		return str_pad($last + 1, 3, '0', STR_PAD_LEFT);
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 *
+	 */
 	private static function _update_current_version($version)
 	{
 		if (is_file($app_path = APPPATH.'config'.DS.'migrations.php'))
@@ -1817,6 +2047,9 @@ private static function _update_current_version($version)
 		static::create($app_path, $contents, 'config');
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 *
+	 */
 	private static function _create_test($type, $class_name, $base_path, $nav_item = '')
 	{
 		$filepath = $base_path.strtolower('tests'.DS.$type.DS.ucwords($class_name));
diff --git a/classes/generate/migration/actions.php b/classes/generate/migration/actions.php
index 6350d51c..333ffa5e 100644
--- a/classes/generate/migration/actions.php
+++ b/classes/generate/migration/actions.php
@@ -21,105 +21,147 @@
  * @package		Fuel
  * @subpackage	Oil
  * @category	Core
- * @author		Tom Arnfeld
+ * @author		Tom Arnfeld, Harro Verton
  */
 class Generate_Migration_Actions
 {
+	/*****************************************************************************************************
+	 * Each migration action should return an array with two items, 0 being the up and 1 the being down. *
+	 *****************************************************************************************************/
+
 	/**
-	 * Each migration action should return an array with two items, 0 being the up and 1 the being down.
+	 *	In the methods below, the subjects array contains two elements:
+	 *
+	 *	- In a migration named 'create_users' the subject is 'users' since thats what we want to create
+	 *		So it would be the second object in the array
+	 *			array(false, 'users')
+	 *
+	 *	- In a migration named 'add_name_to_users' the object is 'name' and the subject is 'users'.
+	 *		So again 'users' would be the second object, but 'name' would be the first
+	 *			array('name', 'users')
+	 *
+	 *	- In case there are multiple objects, the array can have more objects. The subject will always be
+	 *		last. So in a migration name 'rename_fullname_to_lastname_in_users, the array would contain
+	 * 			array('fullname', 'lastname', 'users')
 	 */
 
-	// create_{tablename}
+	/**
+	 * Generate the up and down migration code for table creation
+	 *
+	 * oil command: create_{tablename}
+	 *
+	 * @param  array
+	 * @param  array
+	 *
+	 * @return array(up, down)
+	 */
 	public static function create($subjects, $fields)
 	{
-		$field_str = '';
-		$defined_columns = array();
-		$have_id = false;
-
-		foreach($fields as $field)
+		if (count($subjects) != 2)
 		{
-			$name = array_shift($field);
-
-			$name === 'id' and $have_id = true;
+			throw new \FuelException('Incorrect number of arguments for "create"');
+		}
 
-			$field_opts = array();
-			foreach($field as $option => $val)
-			{
-				if($val === true)
-				{
-					$field_opts[] = "'$option' => true";
-				}
-				else
-				{
-					if(is_int($val))
-					{
-						$field_opts[] = "'$option' => $val";
-					}
-					else
-					{
-						$field_opts[] = "'$option' => '$val'";
-					}
-				}
-			}
-			$field_opts = implode(', ', $field_opts);
+		// temp storage
+		$table_prefix = '';
 
-			$field_str .= "\t\t\t'$name' => array({$field_opts}),".PHP_EOL;
-			$defined_columns[$name] = true;
+		// if we didn't get generated data, take the prefix into account
+		if ( ! \Cli::option('no-standardisation'))
+		{
+			$active_db = \Config::get('db.active');
+			$table_prefix = \Config::get('db.'.$active_db.'.table_prefix');
 		}
 
-		// ID Field
-		$have_id or $field_str = "\t\t\t'id' => array('constraint' => 11, 'type' => 'int', 'auto_increment' => true, 'unsigned' => true),".PHP_EOL . $field_str;
+		// generate the code for the fields
+		list($field_up_str, $not_used, $pks, $idx) = static::_generate_field_string($fields);
 
 		$up = <<<UP
-		\DBUtil::create_table('{$subjects[1]}', array(
-$field_str
-		), array('id'));
+		\DBUtil::create_table('{$table_prefix}{$subjects[1]}', array(
+$field_up_str
+		), array({$pks}));
 UP;
 
-		$down = <<<DOWN
-		\DBUtil::drop_table('{$subjects[1]}');
+		$down = '';
+		if ($idx)
+		{
+			$up .= PHP_EOL;
+			foreach ($idx as $field)
+			{
+				$up .= PHP_EOL."\t\t\\DB::query('CREATE INDEX {$field}_idx ON {$table_prefix}{$subjects[1]}(`{$field}`)')->execute();";
+				$down .= PHP_EOL."\t\t\\DB::query('DROP INDEX {$field}_idx ON {$table_prefix}{$subjects[1]}')->execute();";
+			}
+			$down = ltrim($down, PHP_EOL).PHP_EOL.PHP_EOL;
+		}
+
+		$down .= <<<DOWN
+		\DBUtil::drop_table('{$table_prefix}{$subjects[1]}');
 DOWN;
 
 		return array($up, $down);
 	}
 
-	// add_{thing}_to_{tablename}
-	public static function add($subjects, $fields, $reverse = false)
+	/**
+	 * Generate the up and down migration code for table deletion
+	 *
+	 * oil command: drop_{tablename}
+	 *
+	 * @param  array
+	 * @param  array
+	 *
+	 * @return array(up, down)
+	 */
+	public static function drop($subjects, $fields)
 	{
-		$field_up_str = '';
+		if (count($subjects) != 2)
+		{
+			throw new \FuelException('Incorrect number of arguments for "drop"');
+		}
 
-		foreach($fields as $field)
+		// make sure the table we're about to drop exists
+		if ( ! \DBUtil::table_exists($subjects[1]))
 		{
-			$name = array_shift($field);
+			throw new \FuelException('Can not generate the migration. The table "'.$subjects[1].'" does not exist');
+		}
 
-			$field_opts = array();
+		// in case of drop, we don't have field data, so fetch that first
+		$fields = Generate::normalize_args(\DB::list_columns($subjects[1]));
 
-			foreach($field as $option => $val)
-			{
-				if($val === true)
-				{
-					$field_opts[] = "'$option' => true";
-				}
-				else
-				{
-					if(is_int($val))
-					{
-						$field_opts[] = "'$option' => $val";
-					}
-					else
-					{
-						$field_opts[] = "'$option' => '$val'";
-					}
-				}
-			}
+		// same commands as for create
+		$result = static::create($subjects, $fields);
 
-			$field_opts = implode(', ', $field_opts);
+		// but then in reverse order
+		return array($result[1], $result[0]);
+	}
 
-			$field_up_str .= "\t\t\t'$name' => array({$field_opts}),".PHP_EOL;
-			$field_down[] = "\t\t\t'$name'".PHP_EOL;
+	/**
+	 * Generate the up and down migration code for adding a field to a table
+	 *
+	 * oil command: add_{thing}_to_{tablename}
+	 *
+	 * @param  array
+	 * @param  array
+	 *
+	 * @return array(up, down)
+	 */
+	public static function add($subjects, $fields)
+	{
+		if (count($subjects) != 2)
+		{
+			throw new \FuelException('Incorrect number of arguments for "add"');
 		}
 
-		$field_down_str = implode(',', $field_down);
+		// temp storage
+		$table_prefix = '';
+
+		// if we didn't get generated data, take the prefix into account
+		if ( ! \Cli::option('no-standardisation'))
+		{
+			$active_db = \Config::get('db.active');
+			$table_prefix = \Config::get('db.'.$active_db.'.table_prefix');
+		}
+
+		// generate the code for the fields
+		list($field_up_str, $field_down_str, $pks, $idx) = static::_generate_field_string($fields);
 
 		$up = <<<UP
 		\DBUtil::add_fields('{$subjects[1]}', array(
@@ -131,69 +173,110 @@ public static function add($subjects, $fields, $reverse = false)
 $field_down_str
 		));
 DOWN;
-		return $reverse ? array($down, $up) : array($up, $down);
+		return array($up, $down);
 	}
 
-	// delete_{thing}_from_{tablename}
-	public static function delete($subjects, $fields, $reverse = false)
+	/**
+	 * Generate the up and down migration code for deleting a field from a table
+	 *
+	 * oil command: delete_{thing}_from_{tablename}
+	 *
+	 * @param  array
+	 * @param  array
+	 *
+	 * @return array(up, down)
+	 */
+	public static function delete($subjects, $fields)
 	{
-		return static::add($subjects, $fields, true);
+		if (count($subjects) != 2)
+		{
+			throw new \FuelException('Incorrect number of arguments for "delete"');
+		}
+
+		// same commands as for add
+		$result = static::add($subjects, $fields);
+
+		// but then in reverse order
+		return array($result[1], $result[0]);
 	}
 
-	// rename_field_{fieldname}_to_{newfieldname}_in_{table}
+	/**
+	 * Generate the up and down migration code for deleting a field from a table
+	 *
+	 * oil command: rename_field_{fieldname}_to_{newfieldname}_in_{table}
+	 *
+	 * @param  array
+	 * @param  array
+	 *
+	 * @return array(up, down)
+	 */
 	public static function rename_field($subjects, $fields)
 	{
-		$column_list = \DB::list_columns($subjects[0], $subjects[1]);
-		$column = $column_list[$subjects[1]];
+		if (count($subjects) != 3)
+		{
+			throw new \FuelException('Incorrect number of arguments for "rename_field"');
+		}
 
-		switch ($column['type'])
+		// make sure the table we're about to rename a field in exists
+		$table = end($subjects);
+		if ( ! \DBUtil::table_exists($table))
 		{
-			case 'float':
-				$constraint = '\''.$column['numeric_precision'].', '.$column['numeric_scale'].'\'';
-			break;
-			case 'int':
-				$constraint = $column['display'];
-			break;
-			case 'string':
-				switch ($column['data_type'])
-				{
-					case 'binary':
-					case 'varbinary':
-					case 'char':
-					case 'varchar':
-						$constraint = $column['character_maximum_length'];
-					break;
-
-					case 'enum':
-					case 'set':
-					  $constraint = '"\''.implode('\',\'', $column['options']).'\'"';
-					break;
-				}
-			break;
+			throw new \FuelException('Can not generate the migration. The table "'.$table.'" does not exist');
 		}
 
-		$constraint_str = isset($constraint) ? ", 'constraint' => $constraint" : '';
+		// make sure the old field exists, and the new field doesn't
+		$column = \DB::list_columns($table, $subjects[1]);
+		if ( ! empty($column))
+		{
+			throw new \FuelException('Can not generate the migration. The field "'.$subjects[1].'" already exists in "'.$table.'"');
+		}
+		$column = \DB::list_columns($table, $subjects[0]);
+		if (empty($column))
+		{
+			throw new \FuelException('Can not generate the migration. The field "'.$subjects[0].'" does not exist in "'.$table.'"');
+		}
+
+		// generate the code for the fields
+		list($field_up_str, $not_used, $not_used, $not_used) = static::_generate_field_string($column);
+
+		// modify for different dbutil syntax
+		$field_down_str = str_replace('array(', 'array(\'name\' => \''.$subjects[0].'\', ', str_replace($subjects[0], $subjects[1], $field_up_str));
+		$field_up_str = str_replace('array(', 'array(\'name\' => \''.$subjects[1].'\', ', $field_up_str);
 
 		$up = <<<UP
-		\DBUtil::modify_fields('{$subjects[0]}', array(
-\t\t\t'{$subjects[1]}' => array('name' => '{$subjects[2]}', 'type' => '{$column['data_type']}'$constraint_str)
+		\DBUtil::modify_fields('{$table}', array(
+$field_up_str
 		));
 UP;
 		$down = <<<DOWN
-	\DBUtil::modify_fields('{$subjects[0]}', array(
-\t\t\t'{$subjects[2]}' => array('name' => '{$subjects[1]}', 'type' => '{$column['data_type']}'$constraint_str)
+	\DBUtil::modify_fields('{$table}', array(
+$field_down_str
 		));
 DOWN;
 		return array($up, $down);
 	}
 
-	// rename_table_{tablename}_to_{newtablename}
+	/**
+	 * Generate the up and down migration code for deleting a field from a table
+	 *
+	 * oil command: rename_table_{tablename}_to_{newtablename}
+	 *
+	 * @param  array
+	 * @param  array
+	 *
+	 * @return array(up, down)
+	 */
 	public static function rename_table($subjects, $fields)
 	{
+		if (count($subjects) != 2)
+		{
+			throw new \FuelException('Incorrect number of arguments for "rename_table"');
+		}
 
 		$up = <<<UP
 		\DBUtil::rename_table('{$subjects[0]}', '{$subjects[1]}');
 UP;
+
 		$down = <<<DOWN
 		\DBUtil::rename_table('{$subjects[1]}', '{$subjects[0]}');
 DOWN;
@@ -201,80 +284,107 @@ public static function rename_table($subjects, $fields)
 		return array($up, $down);
 	}
 
-	// drop_{tablename}
-	public static function drop($subjects, $fields)
+	// helpers
+
+	/**
+	 * generate the field definitions for up, down, and indexes
+	 */
+	protected static function _generate_field_string($fields)
 	{
-		$up = <<<UP
-		\DBUtil::drop_table('{$subjects[1]}');
-UP;
-		$field_str = '';
-		$column_list = \DB::list_columns($subjects[1]);
+		// temp vars
+		$idx = array();
+		$pks = array();
+		$field_up_str = '';
+		$fields_down = array();
 
-		foreach ($column_list as $column)
+		// loop over the fields
+		foreach($fields as $name => $field)
 		{
-			switch ($column['type'])
+			// storage for the translated field options
+			$field_opts = array();
+
+			// loop over the field options
+			foreach($field as $option => $val)
 			{
-				case 'float':
-					$constraint = '\''.$column['numeric_precision'].', '.$column['numeric_scale'].'\'';
-				break;
-				case 'int':
-					$constraint = $column['display'];
-				break;
-				case 'string':
-					switch ($column['data_type'])
+				// deal with key data first
+				if ($option == 'key')
+				{
+					// primary key field
+					if ($val == 'PRI')
 					{
-						case 'binary':
-						case 'varbinary':
-						case 'char':
-						case 'varchar':
-							$constraint = $column['character_maximum_length'];
-						break;
-
-						case 'enum':
-						case 'set':
-							$constraint = '"\''.implode('\',\'', $column['options']).'\'"';
-						break;
+						$pks[] = $name;
 					}
-				break;
-			}
-
-			$constraint_str = isset($constraint) ? ", 'constraint' => $constraint" : '';
-			$auto_increment = $column['extra'] == 'auto_increment' ? ", 'auto_increment' => true" : '';
-			$default_str = $column['default'] != null ? ", 'default' => '{$column['default']}'" : ", 'null' => true";
+					if ($val == 'MUL')
+					{
+						$idx[] = $name;
+					}
+					continue;
+				}
 
-			if ($column['key'] == 'PRI')
-			{
-			  $primary_keys[] = "'{$column['name']}'";
-			}
-			elseif ($column['key'] == 'MUL')
-			{
-			  $indexes[] = $column['name'];
-			}
+				// skip option data from describe not supported by DBUtil::create_table()
+				if (in_array($option, array('max', 'min', 'name', 'type', 'ordinal_position', 'display', 'comment', 'privileges', 'collation_name', 'options', 'character_maximum_length', 'numeric_precision', 'numeric_scale', 'exact')))
+				{
+					continue;
+				}
 
-			$field_str .= "\t\t\t'{$column['name']}' => array('type' => '{$column['data_type']}'{$default_str}{$constraint_str}{$auto_increment}),".PHP_EOL;
-			unset($constraint);
-		}
+				// skip empty constraints
+				if ($option == 'constraint' and empty($val))
+				{
+					continue;
+				}
 
-		$primary_keys = implode(',', $primary_keys);
-		$down = <<<DOWN
-		\DBUtil::create_table('{$subjects[1]}', array(
-$field_str
-		), array($primary_keys));
-DOWN;
-		$down .= PHP_EOL;
+				// rename options if need be
+				if ($option == 'data_type')
+				{
+					$option = 'type';
+				}
+				if ($option == 'extra')
+				{
+					if ($val != 'auto_increment')
+					{
+						continue;
+					}
+					$option = 'auto_increment';
+					$val = true;
+				}
 
-		$active_db = \Config::get('db.active');
-		$table_prefix = \Config::get('db.'.$active_db.'.table_prefix');
 
-		if (isset($indexes))
-		{
-			foreach ($indexes as $field)
-			{
-				$down .= "\t\t\\DB::query(\"CREATE INDEX {$field}_idx ON {$table_prefix}{$subjects[1]} (`{$field}`)\")->execute();".PHP_EOL;
+				// create the options based on the value type
+				if ($val === true)
+				{
+					$field_opts[] = "'$option' => true";
+				}
+				elseif ($val === false)
+				{
+					$field_opts[] = "'$option' => false";
+				}
+				elseif (is_null($val))
+				{
+					// skip value
+				}
+				elseif (is_int($val))
+				{
+					$field_opts[] = "'$option' => $val";
+				}
+				elseif (is_array($val))
+				{
+					// skip value
+				}
+				else
+				{
+					$field_opts[] = "'$option' => '$val'";
+				}
 			}
+			$field_opts = implode(', ', $field_opts);
+
+			$field_up_str .= "\t\t\t'$name' => array({$field_opts}),".PHP_EOL;
+			$fields_down[] = "\t\t\t'$name'".PHP_EOL;
 		}
 
-		return array($up, $down);
-	}
+		$pks = "'".implode("', '", $pks)."'";
+		$field_up_str = rtrim($field_up_str, PHP_EOL);
+		$field_down_str = rtrim(implode(',', $fields_down), PHP_EOL);
 
+		return array($field_up_str, $field_down_str, $pks, $idx);
+	}
 }
diff --git a/tasks/fromdb.php b/tasks/fromdb.php
index 5a4b0e33..5d09b473 100644
--- a/tasks/fromdb.php
+++ b/tasks/fromdb.php
@@ -247,17 +247,6 @@ protected static function fetch_tables($type)
 	 */
 	protected static function arguments($table, $type = 'model')
 	{
-		// get the list of columns from the table
-		try
-		{
-			$columns = \DB::list_columns(trim($table), null, \Cli::option('db', null));
-		}
-		catch (\Exception $e)
-		{
-			\Cli::write($e->getMessage(), 'red');
-			exit();
-		}
-
 		// construct the arguments list, starting with the table name
 		switch ($type)
 		{
@@ -274,6 +263,17 @@ protected static function arguments($table, $type = 'model')
 		$include_timestamps = false;
 		$timestamp_is_int = true;
 
+		// get the list of columns from the table
+		try
+		{
+			$columns = \DB::list_columns(trim($table), null, \Cli::option('db', null));
+		}
+		catch (\Exception $e)
+		{
+			\Cli::write($e->getMessage(), 'red');
+			exit();
+		}
+
 		// process the columns found
 		foreach ($columns as $column)
 		{
@@ -295,23 +295,25 @@ protected static function arguments($table, $type = 'model')
 				// check if we have such a column, and filter out some default values
 				if (isset($column[$idx]) and ! in_array($column[$idx], array('65535', '4294967295')))
 				{
-					$constraint = '['.$column[$idx].']';
+					$constraint = $column[$idx];
 					break;
 				}
 			}
 			// if it's an enum column, list the available options
 			if (in_array($column['data_type'], array('set', 'enum')))
 			{
-					$constraint = '['.implode(',', $column['options']).']';
+					$constraint = implode(',', $column['options']);
 			}
 
+			// store the constraint
+			$column['constraint'] = $constraint;
+
 			// store the column in the argument list
-			$arguments[] = $column['name'].':'.$column['data_type'].$constraint;
+			$arguments[] = $column;
 		}
 
-		// set the switches for the code generation
-		\Cli::set_option('no-timestamp', $include_timestamps === false);
-		\Cli::set_option('mysql-timestamp', $timestamp_is_int === false);
+		// tell oil not to fiddle with column information
+		\Cli::set_option('no-standardisation', true);
 
 		// return the generated argument list
 		return $arguments;