README

• a tiny library for quick and easy PHP apps
• requires at least PHP 8.x

functions

Below is the list of functions provided by dispatch.

function dispatch(...$args): void;
function route(string $method, string $path, callable ...$handlers): void;
function _404(callable $handler = null): callable;
function apply(...$args): void;
function bind(string $name, callable $transform): void;
function action(string $method, string $path, callable ...$handlers): array;
function response(string $body, int $code = 200, array $headers = []): callable;
function redirect(string $location, int $code = 302): callable;
function serve(array $routes, string $reqmethod, string $reqpath, ...$args): callable;
function phtml(string $path, array $vars = []): string;
function stash(string $key, mixed $value = null): mixed;

Here's a sample of how you'd usually use them in an app.

<?php

require 'path/to/dispatch.php';

# This is a named route parameter binding. If a requested URI has a
# :name parameter in the matching route (eg. /profiles/:user), the mapped
# callback gets executed, and the return value gets used as a replacement
# for the named parameter value.
bind('user', function (string $username, $db): array {
  $user = loadUserProfileByUsername($db, $username);
  return $user;
});

# Sample middleware that is applied to all routes. Note that
# the middleware function requires the first two params to be $next which
# is a callable to the next middleware, and the $params named params
# associative array. The $params array is always passed, and not optional.
# Other arguments that follow are ones forwarded from the dispatch() call.
apply(function (callable $next, array $params, $db) {
  if (isDeviceRestricted($_SERVER)) {
    # returning a response here breaks the middleware chain
    return response('Forbidden', 403);
  }
  # we move on to the next middleware
  return $next();
});

# Sample middleware that gets applied to all routes, and also uses the
# stash() function to store values we'll need later.
apply(function ($next) {
  # stash is a function for storing values that can be accessed
  # anywhere in your handlers. values stored only lasts within the same
  # request context.
  stash('favicon.ico', file_get_contents(__DIR__.'/static/favicon.ico'));
  return $next();
});

# Sample middleware that gets applied to routes matching
# the regular expression argument.
apply('^/admin/', function ($next, $params, $db) {
  # note that because of the named parameter binding above, the
  # value of $params['user'] is already the loaded user profile
  if (!isAdmin($params['user'])) {
    return response('Forbidden', 403);
  }
  return $next();
}

# Replace default 404 handler
_404(fn() => response(phtml('not-found'), 404));

# Sample route that has a named parameter value. Named parameters gets
# passed to the handlers as the first argument as an associative array.
# Arguments that follow the named parameters array are values passed through
# dispatch(...).
route('GET', '/profiles/:user', function (array $params, $db) {

  # because of the named param binding for user, this will
  # contain the user profile loaded by the named param handler
  $user = $params['user'];

  # the $db argument was forwarded from the dispatch() call below
  $meta = loadUserMetadata($db, $user['username']);

  # phtml() is a function that loads a phtml file and populates it with
  # values from the passed in associative array.
  return response(phtml(__DIR__.'/templates/profile', ['user' => $user]));
});

# Sample route that has no named parameter so it doesn't receive the $params
# associative array. Only dispatch() arguments get forwarded to the handler.
route('GET', '/index', function ($db) {
  $users = loadTopUsers($db);
  return response(phtml(__DIR__.'/templates/index', ['users' => $users]));
});

# Sample route that has an inline middleware passed in. Note that the
# middleware function should still follow the middleware function signature.
route(
  'GET',
  '/favicon.ico',
  # inline middleware
  function ($next, $params, $db) {
    logDeviceAccess($db, $_SERVER);
    return $next();
  },
  # this is the main handler
  function () {
    # stash is a request-scoped storage
    return response(stash('favicon.ico'));
  }
);

# App routing entry point. All arguments passed to dispatch get forwarded to
# matching route handlers after the named params array.
$db = createDatabaseConnection();
dispatch($db);

Once dispatch(...) is called, it will try to match the current request to any of the mapped routes via route(...). When it finds a match, it will then do the following sequence:

1. Execute all named parameter bindings from bind(...)
2. Execute all global middleware and matching middleware from apply(...)
3. Invoke the handler for the matching route.

Because of this sequence, it means that any transformations done by bind(...) mappings will have already updated the values inside the $params array that's forwarded down the execution chain.

URL Rewriting as a standalone PHP file

If you are running Dispatch as a stanalone PHP file, either on the root path or not (eg: path/to/search.php), this can cause errors with path matching.

You can use the DISPATCH_PATH_PREFIX global to mimic URL rewriting used in other libraries;

<?php
// file: path/to/search.php

// NOTE: this must be defined before calling the dispatch.php file
define('DISPATCH_PATH_PREFIX', '/path/to/search.php');

require __DIR__ . '/dispatch.php';

route('GET', '/testing', function() {
  echo "test page on subpath " . $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'];
});

dispatch();

license

MIT