MVC Framework

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Contents

Title:
Main editor:
Project status:
mailinglist:
manual
API-documentation
using examples

lib/div
Elmar Hinz
in alpha/beta development
typo3.teams.extension-coordination
current-version
the code is rich documented
Apples/ apples, Bananas/ bananas, Cherries/ cherries, EFAQ Project/ efaq, Articles/ articles, ResultBrowser


This document is published under the Open Content License

The content is related to TYPO3 - a GNU/GPL
CMS/Framework available from www.typo3.com

[edit] Keywords (Tags)

MVC, PAC, SPL, ECT, lib, div, PHP5, OOP, ORM, Action Pipeline, Design Patterns

[edit] Abstract

This library for extensions can by used to replace the tslib_pibase class. The design implements the MVC pattern (Model View Controller) for TYPO3. Structuring your code in the MVC way prepares it for a smooth migration to TYPO3 5.0.

[edit] Team

[edit] General

[edit] Alpha Branch (focus research, PHP4)

[edit] Beta Branch (focus stable API, PHP5)

[edit] Targets

  • Cultivate the spirit of cooperation.
  • Offering an alternative to tslib_pibase with a modern API.
  • Providing a MVC framework extension for TYPO3 v4.
  • Filling the technological gap between v4 and v5.
  • Shortening the migration path between V4 and V5 extensions.
  • Spreading modern patterns of development within the TYPO3 community.
  • Incubator of ideas for v5.

[edit] Components

Library

Related extensions

Collection

  • ect: Declares dependencies from libraries and basic extensions

[edit] Overview of Technology

[edit] Architecture and Design Patterns

lib/div combines a special selection of architectural and design patterns in a unique way. It implements modern conceptions that fit perfectly into the existing architecture of TYPO3. It builds the technological fundament for further layers like workflow management or webbased development environments (ajax based drag'n'drop widgets).

[edit] Extensions and Plugins

When we speak of a plugin we either mean the content type plugin in special, or more general any component of functionality that can be plugged into the T3 frontent in different ways. An extension can contain multiple

plugins. All plugins are objects with a common outer interface: <PHP> :
 
 $outputString = $PLUGIN->main($inputString, $configuration, [$requestParameters], [$context]);

Where the parameters in [...] are optional. This is a refinement of the traditional T3 plugin interface of the type tslib_pibase. They can be used in the same places, in the same way. They can replace plugins of the tslib_pibase type. Traditional plugins can be improved by the use of lib/div style.

[edit] Model View Controller

MVC for extensions with the lib/div library

MVC is an architectural pattern that decouples the data access and business logic, the model, from data presentation, the view, by introducing an intermediate component, the controller. The controller reacts to the user interaction and moderates the tasks of the model and the view.

A simple lib/div plugin consists of one controller class, one model class and one view class. Typically the view class renders a HTML template. More classes and templates can be used.

MVC on wikipedia

[edit] The Tree of Plugins (TOP)

or Presentation Abstraction Control (PAC)

Lib/div uses the MVC pattern in a nested way. Each node (agent) of the tree is a full MVC plugin. Plugin controllers can call sub-plugins. The output of sub-plugins is nested into the own view. PAC is an architecural pattern that describes this aspect of the lib/div architecture approximately. PAC on wikipedia

Pac-schema.png

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentation-abstraction-control)

TODO: Replace the PNG with one more specific for lib.

[edit] Controllers and Actions

The user interacts with the application by clicking links and filling forms. This user actions send parameters to the server. One of the parameter is the action parameter. The lib/div controller is a dispatcher object, which matches the incomming action parameters to action methods. The action methods define the tasks of different objects of model and view, that finally build the output string.

[edit] The Action Pipeline

Generally you can vitalize the actions methods of lib/div with any code you like, but the library also offers a standard system to build the actions. This standad way is done by the use of objects, that share the API due to inheritance from a common parent class (tx_lib_processor).

Different data has to be transported and processed along the request cycle from the request to the response. This happens in form of a daisy chain of processor objects, following the design pattern of Pipes and Filters . The filters are the processing objects. We call them processors. Processing in this wide sense includes for example the loading and storing taskes of the data.

Dataflow.png (Source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipes_and_Filters)

If it is not sufficiant to process the data in a linear way, the flow of data can be routed. The processors return result status, to which different pipes can be assigned.

The pipes are the methods by use of which the processors are plugged to each other. This methods are part of the inherited SPL interfaces.

The flow of the action pipeline can be either controlled by plain PHP actions or by the usage of a special controller, that can be fully configured by TS.

[edit] Comparism to other frameworks

[edit] Apache Cocoon

cocoon-logo.gif

on apache.org, on wikipedia

Cocoon is a JAVA framework with a pipeline as the central piece of its architecture. It chains components (processors) of the types matchers, generators, transformers, serializers, selectors, views, readers, actions. The pipe of components is configured in a so called sitemap. The data is processed along the pipe as a string of XML. The main transformation language is XSLT.

In lib/div the pipeline isn't the leading architectural charactristic but an architectural pattern on a lower level: 

 Cocoon: pipeline :: processor

 Lib/div: plugin-tree :: plugin :: controller :: action :: pipeline :: processor

This gives us more flexibility while still keeping the advantages of the configurable pipeline architecutre.

Instead of the sitemap the order of the lib/div processors is coded in PHP inside the action. Actions configurable by TS are planned, similar to the Cocoon sitemap.

Both cocoon and lib/div work with templates (XML/XHTML) and array data that come from and is stored to DB or other data sources. In Cocoon the template is processed along the pipiline, while the array data is intermixed by the processors. In lib/dib in contrary array data is processed along the pipeline, they are typically mixed into the template in one of the final processors. From that point on lib/div can be use in the cocoon way. The translator does it. You could use the lib/div pipe completely like cocoon.

The main processing language of lib/div is PHP not XSLT. Processing by PHP is much faster and requires less resources. The knowlage of PHP is wider spread than the knowlage of XSLT. For sure you can also use XSLT transformations with lib/div.

To summerize: You could say, that the main architectural features of cocoon are a subset of lib/div features, that you can make use of as far as you want.

[edit] Roadmap

[edit] Alpha branch

[edit] General targets

  • A working architecture is ready.
  • The central parts of the API are stable and backward compatible from beta on.
  • Developers can start to build productive extensions.
  • Documentations to get started is available.
  • Basic kickstarter support is available.
  • A small team of developers is established.
  • PHP4 and PHP5 ready.

[edit] 07/08/01: Next to last milestone (alpha ms -2)

  • API documentation: lib and div
  • Hello world tutorial: apples
  • Fundamental tutorial: bananas
  • Basic kickstarter support available. 
(done 07/08/05 +4)

[edit] 07/08/08 Last milestone (alpha ms -1) 

(done 07/08/29 +21)
(div 0.0.13, lib 0.0.25, apples 0.1.2, bananas 0.0.9, cherries 0.0.5, efaq 0.1.17)
(Those tags only exist in SVN. They will not be published to TER, 
 due to the intermediate character of this version.)

[edit] 07/08/15 Alpha final (alpha final)

While working on the RC for BETA the ALPHPA branch will be maintained. This branch will be uploaded to TER until the first official version of BETA.

[edit] 07/08/22 Alpha final 1 (alpha final 1)

  • Bugfixes
  • Improving explode functionality
  • Checking smarty support.

[edit] 07/09/1 Alpha final 2 (alpha final 2)

  • Bugfixes

[edit] 07/09/8 Alpha final 3 (alpha final 3)

  • Bugfixes

[edit] Beta Branch

[edit] General targets

See MVC_Framework/lib_div_Beta_Branch.

  • Performance optimization: Singleton patterns, etc.
  • The usibility is improved.
  • Concepts of rapid development are implemented.
  • Automatic form genaration and validation based on TCA and TS.
  • Full kickstarter support is available.
  • Basic classes for different types models and views are provided.
  • Concepts for extension expanding are implemented: services, hooks, chains of subcontrollers.
  • The add-on concept is advertised and implemented into TER.
  • Concept for migration to TYPO3 5.0 is started.
  • PHP 4 support is stopped.
  • PHP 6 support is started.
  • A "migration class" is provided, to connect classical tslib_plugins with lib/div for step by step migration.
  • Everything is documented.
  • Corporate Design is developed and implemented.
  • Developer community is grown.
  • Resposibilities are defined and shared.

[edit] 07/08/22 Release candidate 1 (beta rc1)

  • Comparing V5 terms
  • Review of classnames and methods
  • Comparing V5 coding guidelines
  • Implementation of V5 coding guidelines as far as possible
  • Finishing lib/div coding guidelines
  • Testing and fixing

00000000999999999999900000000000000099999999999999

[edit] 07/09/01 Release candidate 2 (beta rc2)

  • Testing and fixing

[edit] 07/09/15 Release candidate 3 (beta rc3)

  • Testing and fixing

[edit] 07/09/22 Beta initial release (beta initial)

[edit] 07/10/15 Milestone 1 (beta ms1)

  • First feedback collected.
  • More developes involved.
  • Distributing tasks.
  • Setting up the new roadmap.
  • Meeting with V5 team to desgin a migration path.

[edit] Milestone 2 (beta ms2)

[edit] Milestone 3 (beta ms3)

[edit] Milestone 4 (beta ms4)

[edit] Milestone 5 (beta ms5)

[edit] Stable branch

[edit] Release candidate 1 (stable rc1)

  • Feature freeze
  • Testing and fixing

[edit] Release candidate 2 (stable rc2)

  • Testing and fixing

[edit] Release candidate 3 (stable rc3)

  • Testing and fixing

[edit] Stable release (stable)

[edit] Documents

external links

[edit] Glossary and Coding Guidelines - ECT/MVC

[edit] Reference Extensions

[edit] Reference Websites

Please add presentable (moderated) reference projects (maximum 20) based on lib/div into this table:

Reference Project Extension(s) Programmer(s) Agency Finalized Keywords
http://enob.info/ unpublished extension Elmar Hinz http://sunbeam-berlin.de 12/2006 documents, projects, addresses, category tree, multiple relations, relational based context links, relational based search, ajax, accessibility

[edit] Relations

Other relating projects to lib/div

[edit] Todo

[edit] General

  • Rapid model development. See object persistance framework.

[edit] Alpha Branch

  • Optional controller configuration by TS (similar to JAVA struts).
  • Final documentation.

[edit] Beta Branch

  • Migration to beta in general.
  • Improvement of the forms library.
  • Forms configuration generation by TS.
  • Result browser as a service for external extensions.
  • Adaptation of documentation for beta.
  • Adaptation of apples, bananas, cherries and efaq for the beta branch.

[edit] Wishlist

Retrieved from "http://wiki.typo3.org/MVC_Framework"
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