Calling crm_create_contact without specifying location_type_id causes unrecoverable error.

[I'm not sure what to call this bug, since I'm not sure what correct behavior is here. But Don Lobo thinks this is probably a bug, so see this as a placeholder]

Attempting to create a contact without specifying a location_type_id parameter causes the DataObject "unrecoverable error" screen to come up.

The offending code (from petition.module – in techsoldaten's sandbox on drupal.org) looks like this:

<pre>
if(strlen($edit['first_name']) && strlen($edit['last_name'])){
$edit['location_type'] = 1;
$search = CRM_Core_BAO_UFGroup::findContact( $edit, null, false);
if(!is_numeric($search))

{ $new = crm_create_contact($edit, 'Individual'); $dat['id'] = $new->id; }

else

{ // If the contact already exists, this is how it should look $dat['id'] = $search; }

</pre>

Note $edit['location_type'] = 1; this was apparently the old name for the property. If crm_create_contact is called this way, you get the following unrecoverable error:

<pre>
Array
(
[callback] => Array
(
[0] => CRM_Core_Error
[1] => handle
)

[code] => -3
[message] => DB Error: constraint violation
[mode] => 16
[debug_info] => INSERT INTO civicrm_location (entity_table , entity_id , is_primary ) VALUES ('civicrm_contact' , 2 , 1 ) [nativecode=1216 ** Cannot add or update a child row: a foreign key constraint fails]
[type] => DB_Error
[user_info] => INSERT INTO civicrm_location (entity_table , entity_id , is_primary ) VALUES ('civicrm_contact' , 2 , 1 ) [nativecode=1216 ** Cannot add or update a child row: a foreign key constraint fails]
[to_string] => [db_error: message="DB Error: constraint violation" code=-3 mode=callback callback=CRM_Core_Error::handle prefix="" info="INSERT INTO civicrm_location (entity_table , entity_id , is_primary ) VALUES ('civicrm_contact' , 2 , 1 ) [nativecode=1216 ** Cannot add or update a child row: a foreign key constraint fails]"]
)
</pre>

Changing $edit['location_type'] = 1; to $edit['location_type_id'] = 1; appears to be a work-around, although likely better behavior would for the API to supply a reasonable default.

In any case: the error needs to get caught higher up, since the unrecoverable error message doesn't really help the developer figure out the problem (without spending hours in the debugger, of course

I enclose the current version of the module, since a part of the issue is likely how to document the right way to create a contact.