README

Canvas is the view and template layer of the Avik framework.

It is intentionally simple, PHP-first, and predictable.

Canvas is not Blade, not a new language, and not a logic engine. It is a very thin declarative layer that compiles to plain PHP and renders HTML.

Philosophy

Canvas follows these strict principles:

PHP remains PHP
HTML remains readable
No magic runtime parsing
No heavy DSL or expression language
Compile once, render many times
Syntax is intentionally limited
Future power grows internally, not via new syntax

Canvas is designed to be stable for years without redesign.

What Canvas Is

A view renderer
A PHP execution wrapper
A minimal declarative syntax for common patterns
A compiled, cached template system

What Canvas Is NOT

Blade
Twig
A logic engine
A controller system
A reactive system
A component framework (yet)

Canvas does not try to replace PHP. It only removes small pain points.

Supported Syntax (Final & Closed)

⚠️ The syntax below is FINAL and IMMUTABLE. No new directives will be added in future versions.

Output

{{ variable }}        escaped output
{!! variable !!}      raw output
###Loop
@each items as item
    ...
@endEach


Meaning:

foreach ($items as $item)

###Conditional Display (truthy only)
@show variable
    ...
@endshow


Meaning:

if (!empty($variable))


###There is intentionally:

no else

no elseif

###This keeps templates simple and readable.

### Layouts
@layout app

@content
    ...
@endcontent

app refers to app.avik.php. The layout controls the structure, while child views define the content.

### Components & Slots
Components can now receive data and use slots for flexible content.

```text
@component('card', ['title' => 'User Profile'])
    @slot('body')
        <p>This is the profile body.</p>
    @endslot
@endcomponent

In components/card.avik.php:

<div class="card">
    <h3>{{ title }}</h3>
    <div class="body">
        @yieldSlot('body')
    </div>
</div>

Advanced Features

View Composers: Bind data to specific views automatically.
Custom Directives: Extend the compiler with your own syntax.
Shared Data: Share variables across all views.
Exception Handling: Detailed exceptions for missing views or components.

Example Usage

$factory->share('app_name', 'Avik App');

$factory->composer('profile', function($data) {
    $data['user'] = User::current();
    return $data;
});

$factory->directive('datetime', function($expression) {
    return "<?php echo ($expression)->format('Y-m-d H:i:s'); ?>";
});

Rendering a View $factory = new Factory( viewsPath: DIR . '/views', cachePath: DIR . '/storage/canvas' );

$view = $factory->make('home', [ 'title' => 'Welcome', 'users' => $users, 'isAdmin' => true, ]);

echo $view->render();

Compilation & Caching

Templates are compiled to plain PHP

Compiled files are cached by file hash

No runtime parsing

No performance penalty after first render

avik / canvas

Maintainers

Details