README

Flexi is a modular PHP framework designed to facilitate the development of scalable and maintainable applications. It leverages Dependency Injection (DI), a flexible routing system, CQRS and an event-driven architecture.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Structure
• Installation
• Configuration
  • Services
  • Routes
  • Events and Listeners
  • Queries
  • Commands
• Usage
  • Router
  • Event System
  • CQRS
• Contributing
• License

Features

• Modularity & Extensibility: Flexi offers a modular architecture that promotes code organization and reusability. Its extensibility allows developers to customize and extend functionality according to specific project requirements.
• Dependency Injection: Built-in support for Dependency Injection simplifies management and injection of dependencies, enhancing code maintainability and testability. DI in Flexi is implemented using a container that manages service with lazy loading instantiation.
• Flexible Routing: With a flexible routing system, developers can easily define and manage HTTP request handling, streamlining development of complex routing logic enriched with middleware support.
• Event-Driven Architecture: Flexi's event-driven architecture enables asynchronous handling of events by event listeners, fostering loose coupling and flexibility in application design.
• CQRS & Scalability: Support for Command Query Responsibility Segregation (CQRS) promotes scalability and performance optimization. Combined with features like asynchronous processing, Flexi facilitates the development of scalable applications capable of handling high traffic and data loads.
• Configuration via JSON: Configuration in Flexi is managed through JSON files, making it easy to define services, routes, events, queries, and commands. This approach simplifies configuration management and promotes consistency across projects. Json Schema will be implemented to validate the configuration files.

Structure

• Core: the src/ directory contains the core classes and interfaces that make up the framework.
• Modules: the modules/ directory contains the all pieces of code that are not part of the core framework. Each module is a separate directory that contains its own controllers, services, and configuration files. There are plug and play plugins that can be added to the application to extend its functionality.
• Config: the src/Config/ and modules/*/Config directory contains the configuration files for the framework (routes, commands, queries, event listeners and services).
• Console: the bin/ directory contains the console application that can be run from the command line. (coming soon)

Installation

You can install Flexi Framework using Composer:

composer create-project cubadevops/flexi my-app

This command creates a minimal ready boilerplate application in the my-app directory.

Steps after install

To get started with Flexi Framework, ensure you:

• Configure your web server to point to the public directory in the root of the project.
• Deny direct access to any directory that is not the public directory.
• Serve static files directly and route all other requests to the index.php file in the public directory.
• Set up the .env file with the necessary environment variables for your application.

After setup, browse to the URL of your application to see the welcome page. If you use the default configuration with Docker, you can access the application at http://localhost:8080.

Configuration

Configuration for Flexi is managed through JSON files. These files define services, routes, events, queries, and commands used within your application.

Services

Services are defined in the services.json file located in the Config directory. This file outlines how each service should be instantiated, either directly or via factory methods.

Example

{
  "services": [
    {
      "name": "CubaDevOps\\Flexi\\Infrastructure\\Classes\\Configuration",
      "factory": {
        "class": "CubaDevOps\\Flexi\\Infrastructure\\Factories\\ConfigurationFactory",
        "method": "getInstance",
        "arguments": []
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "session",
      "alias": "CubaDevOps\\Flexi\\Infrastructure\\Session\\NativeSessionStorage"
    },
    {
      "name": "logger",
      "class": {
        "name": "CubaDevOps\\Flexi\\Infrastructure\\Classes\\PsrLogger",
        "arguments": [
          "@CubaDevOps\\Flexi\\Infrastructure\\Persistence\\InFileLogRepository"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "glob": "/modules/*/Config/services.json"
    }
  ]
}

Note:

• The alias key is used to reference services by a different name.
• Arguments prefixed with @ are references to other services (can be alias as well)
• Arguments prefixed with ENV. are references to environment variables.
• Quoted strings without @ or ENV. prefixes are treated as string values.
• All other values are treated as the standard json_decode values.
• The glob key is used to include services from modules.

Routes

Routes are defined in the routes.json file. Each route specifies the HTTP method, path, and the controller that should handle the request.

Example

{
  "routes": [
    {
      "name": "health",
      "path": "/health",
      "method": "GET",
      "controller": "CubaDevOps\\Flexi\\Infrastructure\\Controllers\\HealthController",
      "parameters": [],
      "middlewares": [
        "CubaDevOps\\Flexi\\Infrastructure\\Middlewares\\AuthCheckMiddleware"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "404",
      "path": "/not-found",
      "method": "GET",
      "controller": "CubaDevOps\\Flexi\\Infrastructure\\Controllers\\NotFoundController"
    },
    {
      "glob": "/modules/*/Config/routes.json"
    }
  ]
}

Note:

• Controllers should implement the Psr\Http\Server\RequestHandlerInterface interface if you want attach middlewares. However they must have a handle method that receives a Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface and returns a Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface.
• The optional parameters key is used to define how many params should be passed to the request and if they are required.
• The optional middlewares key is used to define the middlewares that should be executed before the controller. They are executed in the order they are defined and can stop the execution chain if they return a response directly or pass the request to the next middleware.
• The glob key is used to include additional route definitions from modules.

Events and Listeners

Events and listeners are defined in the listeners.json file. This file maps events to their corresponding listeners.

Example

[
  {
    "event": "*",
    "listeners": [
      "CubaDevOps\\Flexi\\Application\\EventListeners\\LoggerEventListener"
    ]
  },
  {
    "glob": "/modules/*/Config/listeners.json"
  }
]

Note:

• The event key can be a specific event name or a wildcard * to listen to all events.
• The listener class should implement the CubaDevOps\Flexi\Domain\Interfaces\EventListenerInterface interface.

Queries

Queries are defined in the queries.json file. Each query handler is mapped to a specific DTO and an optional CLI alias.

Example

{
  "handlers": [
    {
      "id": "CubaDevOps\\Flexi\\Domain\\DTO\\EmptyVersionDTO",
      "cli_alias": "version",
      "handler": "CubaDevOps\\Flexi\\Application\\UseCase\\Health"
    },
    {
      "glob": "/modules/*/Config/queries.json"
    }
  ]
}

Note:

• Handlers should implement the CubaDevOps\Flexi\Domain\Interfaces\HandlerInterface interface.

Commands

Commands are defined similarly to queries in the commands.json file.

Example

{
  "handlers": [
    {
      "glob": "/modules/*/Config/commands.json"
    }
  ]
}

Note:

• Handlers should implement the CubaDevOps\Flexi\Domain\Interfaces\HandlerInterface interface.

Usage

Router

The Router class is responsible for managing routes and dispatching requests to the appropriate controllers.

Example Usage

use CubaDevOps\Flexi\Domain\Classes\Router;
use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;
use CubaDevOps\Flexi\Infrastructure\Factories\ContainerFactory;

/** @var Router $router */
$router = ContainerFactory::getInstance()->get(Router::class); // or use router alias
$route = $router->getByName('home'); // Get a route by name
$route->getPath(); // Get the path of the route to pass to the template

Event System

The event system in Flexi is based on the EventBus pattern. Events are dispatched to listeners which can handle them accordingly.

Example

use CubaDevOps\Flexi\Domain\Interfaces\EventBusInterface;
use CubaDevOps\Flexi\Domain\Classes\Event;
use CubaDevOps\Flexi\Application\UseCase\Health;
use CubaDevOps\Flexi\Infrastructure\Factories\ContainerFactory;
use CubaDevOps\Flexi\Infrastructure\Bus\EventBus;

$eventBus = ContainerFactory::getInstance()->get(EventBus::class);
$event = new Event('health-check', Health::class, ['from' => $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']);
$eventBus->notify($event);

CQRS

Flexi implements the CQRS pattern with separate handling for commands and queries.

Command Example

use CubaDevOps\Flexi\Infrastructure\Bus\CommandBus;

// Assume $command is a class that implements the DTOInterface
$commandBus->execute($command);

Query Example

use CubaDevOps\Flexi\Infrastructure\Bus\QueryBus;

// Assume $query is a class that implements the DTOInterface
$result = $queryBus->execute($query);

Controllers and Response

The response is a PSR-7 response object that can be returned from a controller or middleware. Controllers that extend the CubaDevOps\Flexi\Infrastructure\Classes\HttpHandler have an easy way to build responses using the createResponse method. If you don't extend the HttpHandler you can use a factory that implements Psr\Http\Message\ResponseFactoryInterface interface to build the response. Flexi uses the GuzzleHttp\Psr7\HttpFactory as default factory.

The HttpHandler abstract class implements a Template Method pattern that automatically manages the middleware chain execution. Controllers only need to implement the process() method with their specific business logic, while the framework handles middleware orchestration automatically.

Basic Controller Example

namespace CubaDevOps\Flexi\Modules\Home\Infrastructure\Controllers;

use CubaDevOps\Flexi\Infrastructure\Classes\HttpHandler;
use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;
use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;

class AuthenticatedController extends HttpHandler
{
    protected function process(ServerRequestInterface $request): ResponseInterface
    {
        // This method is called automatically after all middlewares have been processed
        $response = $this->createResponse();
        $response->getBody()->write('Authorized');

        return $response;
    }
}

Controller with Dependencies and Business Logic

namespace CubaDevOps\Flexi\Infrastructure\Controllers;

use CubaDevOps\Flexi\Infrastructure\Bus\QueryBus;
use CubaDevOps\Flexi\Application\Queries\GetVersionQuery;
use CubaDevOps\Flexi\Infrastructure\Classes\HttpHandler;
use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;
use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;

class HealthController extends HttpHandler
{
    private QueryBus $query_bus;

    public function __construct(QueryBus $query_bus)
    {
        $this->query_bus = $query_bus;
        parent::__construct(); // Always call parent constructor
    }

    protected function process(ServerRequestInterface $request): ResponseInterface
    {
        // Execute business logic using CQRS pattern
        $version = $this->query_bus->execute(new GetVersionQuery());

        $response = $this->createResponse();
        $response->getBody()->write('Version: ' . $version);

        return $response;
    }
}

Controller with Template Rendering

namespace CubaDevOps\Flexi\Infrastructure\Controllers;

use CubaDevOps\Flexi\Domain\Interfaces\TemplateEngineInterface;
use CubaDevOps\Flexi\Infrastructure\Classes\HttpHandler;
use CubaDevOps\Flexi\Infrastructure\Utils\FileHandlerTrait;
use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;
use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;

class NotFoundController extends HttpHandler
{
    use FileHandlerTrait;

    private TemplateEngineInterface $html_render;

    public function __construct(TemplateEngineInterface $html_render)
    {
        $this->html_render = $html_render;
        parent::__construct();
    }

    protected function process(ServerRequestInterface $request): ResponseInterface
    {
        $body = $this->html_render->render(
            $this->normalize('./src/Infrastructure/Ui/Templates/404.html'),
            ['request' => $request->getUri()->getPath()]
        );

        $response = $this->createResponse(404, 'Not Found');
        $response->getBody()->write($body);

        return $response;
    }
}

Key Points

• No manual middleware handling: The handle() method is final and manages the middleware chain automatically
• Focus on business logic: Controllers only implement the process() method with their specific logic
• Dependency injection: Use constructor injection to receive dependencies from the DI container
• Template Method pattern: The framework ensures middlewares are executed before your controller logic
• PSR-7 compliance: All controllers work with PSR-7 request/response objects
• Error handling: Return appropriate HTTP status codes using createResponse($code, $reasonPhrase)

Middlewares

Middlewares are classes that can be executed before the controller. They can modify the request, response or stop the execution chain. Middlewares should implement the Psr\Http\Server\MiddlewareInterface interface.

Middleware Implementation Example

namespace CubaDevOps\Flexi\Infrastructure\Middlewares;

use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;
use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;
use Psr\Http\Server\MiddlewareInterface;
use Psr\Http\Server\RequestHandlerInterface;

class AuthCheckMiddleware implements MiddlewareInterface
{
    public function process(ServerRequestInterface $request, RequestHandlerInterface $handler): ResponseInterface
    {
        // Perform authentication logic here and stop the execution chain if necessary
        // or pass the request
        return $handler->handle($request);
    }
}

Testing

Flexi includes a comprehensive test suite using PHPUnit. Tests use a separate environment configuration to ensure isolation from development and production environments.

Running Tests

# Run all tests
./vendor/bin/phpunit tests/

# Run specific test file
./vendor/bin/phpunit tests/Infrastructure/TestEnvironmentTest.php

# Run with coverage
./vendor/bin/phpunit tests/ --coverage-html coverage/

Test Environment

Tests automatically use .env.testing configuration file with test-specific settings:

• Synchronous event dispatch: Events are dispatched synchronously for predictable testing
• In-memory cache: Faster tests without disk I/O
• Separate logs: Test logs go to var/logs/test.log
• Isolated cache: Test cache uses var/cache/test/ directory

To customize test environment:

1. Copy .env.testing.example to .env.testing
2. Modify values as needed
3. Tests will automatically use these values

For more details, see tests/README.md.

Writing Tests

<?php

namespace CubaDevOps\Flexi\Test\YourNamespace;

use PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase;

class YourTest extends TestCase
{
    public function testSomething(): void
    {
        // Test environment variables from .env.testing are automatically loaded
        $this->assertTrue(true);
    }
}

Documentation

The documentation is available online at https://flexi.cubadevops.com (Under construction and not yet available).

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please submit a pull request or open an issue to discuss any changes you would like to make.

License

Flexi is open-source software licensed under the MIT license.