README

DALT.PHP

A transparent PHP framework for learning backend development

DALT is a learning framework where you can see and understand everything. The whole framework is under 3,000 lines of readable PHP across 25 files — small enough to read in an afternoon. You write real SQL queries, handle security yourself, and see exactly how routing, sessions, and authentication work.

This isn't a framework for production apps. It's a framework for understanding how web applications actually work.

🎯 What You Get

A working web application with routing, database access, and validation, plus an optional authentication example installed with php artisan example:install auth. Unlike production frameworks, you can read and understand every line of code.

The auth installer is repeatable and refuses to overwrite application files or conflicting literal routes. Untouched generated files can later be refreshed with php artisan example:update auth or removed with php artisan example:uninstall auth; learner modifications are preserved by default.

You write real SQL with prepared statements - no ORM hiding the queries. You see $_SESSION arrays directly - no magic session handling. You add CSRF tokens to forms yourself - no automatic protection. This is intentional. You learn by doing it yourself.

The framework includes optional lessons and debugging challenges to help you get started, but they're easily removable. The real learning happens when you build your own projects.

🚀 Quick Start

# Create a new project
composer create-project ibnuafdel/daltphp my-project --remove-vcs
cd my-project

# Start the application
php artisan serve    # http://localhost:8000

Visit http://localhost:8000 to see your app. Visit http://localhost:8000/learn for the optional courses and challenges.

Prebuilt frontend assets are included, so Node.js is not required to start a new project. If you change the learning-platform CSS, JavaScript, or Vue components, run npm ci and npm run dev; use npm run build before distributing those changes.

Requirements


PHP	8.2, 8.3, 8.4, or 8.5
Extensions	`pdo` and `pdo_sqlite` (bundled with most PHP builds); `pdo_pgsql` only if you set `DB_DRIVER=pgsql`
Databases	SQLite (default) and PostgreSQL
Composer	2.x
Node.js	not required to run a project; needed only to rebuild frontend assets
Operating systems	tested on Linux; macOS is expected to work. Windows is untested — use WSL2

Deployment boundary

DALT is an educational framework, not a production-hardened runtime. If you adapt a project for deployment, serve only the public/ directory, install PHP dependencies with composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader, set APP_ENV=production and APP_DEBUG=false, configure HTTPS and secure session cookies, and review SECURITY.md. The built-in php artisan serve command is for local development only.

📚 Learning Features (Optional)

Everything under /learn is optional and lives entirely in .dalt/. There are three separate learning surfaces, and you do not have to take them in order:

DALT Core — 19 lessons on framework internals, Docker, and PostgreSQL: request lifecycle, routing, middleware, authentication, sessions, databases, containers, reliability, and observability. Focused lessons with small experiments.

Fullstack theory — 60 concise lessons across 13 parts, taking React + TypeScript + Tailwind down through HTTP and JSON into PHP and PostgreSQL under Docker. Theory with small disposable experiments, plus 19 build milestones that specify what to make.

DALT Build — 71 guided lessons that build one serious issue-tracking application from an empty DALT skeleton, in the order real product development creates the need for each idea. This is a course, not starter code: you write the application yourself.

Challenges — 22 deliberately broken states across framework code, container configuration, SQL, migrations, reliability, and database performance. Each one is verified by behavior rather than by matching your source text.

php artisan challenge:list
php artisan challenge:start broken-routing
php artisan challenge:verify
php artisan challenge:stop

These are completely optional. Remove them with php artisan platform:remove to keep only the framework core. The command preserves application files, including an installed auth example; generated auth files become learner-owned after the platform is gone. Use --force only when intentionally running the removal non-interactively.

🛠️ Why PHP for Learning?

PHP is perfect for learning backend development because HTTP concepts are built into the language. You see $_GET, $_POST, and $_SESSION directly instead of framework abstractions. Code runs synchronously (top-to-bottom), making it easier to understand than async languages.

After learning with PHP, these concepts transfer to any backend language. You'll understand what Laravel's Eloquent is doing, what Express.js middleware means, and how authentication works in any framework.

📖 Documentation

Framework Reference — the public API, with every documented behavior verified against the framework.

Hosted documentation: dalt.ibnuafdel.com/docs

What is DALT? — what the framework is, and what it is not
Installation — getting a project running
Learn locally — using the bundled courses
Architecture — how a request moves through DALT
Framework reference — the public API

📦 What v1 promises

v1.0.0 is a stable release. COMPATIBILITY.md records exactly which public APIs, Artisan commands, configuration keys, routes, and removal behavior are covered by that promise, and what is deliberately left free to change. Anything that breaks a covered contract requires a new major version.

Security fixes and the supported version window are in SECURITY.md. The release history is in CHANGELOG.md.

🤝 Contributing

DALT is open source and welcomes contributions through the GitHub repository. Read CONTRIBUTING.md first — it covers local setup, the commands that must pass, the boundary between framework and course code, and how course content is reviewed. Participation is governed by the Code of Conduct.

Please do not report security issues in a public issue. SECURITY.md has the private disclosure route.

Join the community: Telegram

Learn backend development by seeing how it actually works 🔧

ibnuafdel / daltphp

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