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Controller

The Controller class serves as the base class for all application controllers. It provides access to configuration and database instances.

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Namespace

Sphp\Core\Controller

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Constructor

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__construct()

Initializes the controller with environment configuration and database connection. 
public function __construct()

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Behavior

  • Loads configuration from ../app/config/config.php
  • Creates a new Database instance with the loaded configuration
  • Assigns the configuration to the $env property
  • Assigns the database instance to the $db property

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Example

namespace App\Controllers;

use Sphp\Core\Controller;

class UserController extends Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        // Access database through $this->db
        $users = $this->db->query('SELECT * FROM users');
        
        // Access config through $this->env
        $appName = $this->env['app_name'];
    }
}

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Properties

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$env

Stores the application configuration array loaded from the config file. 
public $env;
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env
array
Contains configuration values such as:
  • host: Database host
  • port: Database port
  • database: Database name
  • username: Database username
  • password: Database password
  • Additional application-specific settings

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Example

class HomeController extends Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        $dbHost = $this->env['host'];
        $dbName = $this->env['database'];
    }
}

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$db

Provides access to the Database instance for executing queries. 
public $db;
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db
Sphp\Core\Database
An instance of the Database class used to:
  • Execute SQL queries
  • Perform CRUD operations
  • Interact with the database connection

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Example

class PostController extends Controller
{
    public function show($id)
    {
        $post = $this->db->query(
            'SELECT * FROM posts WHERE id = ?',
            [$id]
        );
        
        View::render('post.php', ['post' => $post[0]]);
    }
}

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Usage Pattern

All application controllers should extend the Controller base class to inherit configuration and database access: 
namespace App\Controllers;

use Sphp\Core\Controller;
use Sphp\Core\View;

class ProductController extends Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        // Query the database
        $products = $this->db->query('SELECT * FROM products WHERE active = ?', [1]);
        
        // Access configuration
        $perPage = $this->env['items_per_page'] ?? 10;
        
        // Render view
        View::render('products/index.php', [
            'products' => $products,
            'perPage' => $perPage
        ]);
    }
    
    public function create()
    {
        $name = $_POST['name'];
        $price = $_POST['price'];
        
        $this->db->query(
            'INSERT INTO products (name, price) VALUES (?, ?)',
            [$name, $price]
        );
        
        redirect('/products');
    }
}

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Best Practices

  1. Always extend Controller: All application controllers should extend this base class
  2. **Use this−>dbforqueries∗∗:Accessthedatabasethroughthe‘this->db for queries**: Access the database through the `db` property
  3. **Access config through env∗∗:Retrieveconfigurationvaluesfromthe‘env**: Retrieve configuration values from the `env` property
  4. Keep controllers thin: Delegate business logic to Models when possible

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See Also

ApiController

Specialized controller for building REST APIs

Router

Route definition and dispatching

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