README

Sodapop is a simple PHP MVC framework. You can read more about it at http://sodapop.restlessdev.com.

Its syntax should be immediately familiar to anyone who has used Ruby on Rails, Zend Framework, or other Model-View-Controller frameworks.

A Quick Example

A [Controller] 1:

<?php
class PostController extends Sodapop_Controller {
    // this is the action definition
    public function actionView() {
	// instantiate the Post model
        $post = new Post($this->request->slug); // or $_REQUEST['slug']

        // assign it to the view
        $this->view->post = $post;
    }
}

A [Layout] 2:

<html>
    <head>
        <title>Blog: <?= $this->post->post_title ?></title>
    </head>
    <body>
       <?= $this->viewContent ?>
    </body>
</html>

A [View] 2 Template:

    <h2><?= $this->post->post_title ?></h2>
    <div class="post-body">
        <?= $this->post->post_body ?>
    </div>

A [Model] 3: In typical CRUD-type operations, Sodapop doesn't require model classes to be explicitly defined. See http://sodapop.restlessdev.com/documentation/models for more details.

Why Use Sodapop?

You have many choices in frameworks; why should you consider this one?

Sodapop has several core values that guide its development.

Code should be well-organized; everything should be easily discoverable if one knows the basics of the framework.
Boilerplate code is unnecessary. Let computers handle the repetitive stuff, they enjoy it more.
Convention over configuration. You shouldn't have to state everything explicitly, but you can override defaults.
A framework should get out of the way and not make you change your style.

It has several features that support these values.

The [directory structure] 4 is straightforward and consistent, and the (default) naming conventions make it easy to find things.
Any changes to the [routing] 5 system happen in a single file, routes.json, so they will be easy to manage.
If one uses its default naming conventions (plural, underscore-separated table names and singular, camelCapped class names) for models, you don't need to declare classes.
The framework lets you use PHP's built-in superglobals or its own wrappers, and doesn't force you to learn how to do everything in its own way.
It is being developed from the ground up, slowly. It values consistency over feature-itis.

Themes

One of the most important (and unique) features of Sodapop is that it is totally themeable. It allows you to place UI-oriented code (static files, view, and layout templates) in separate named theme directories and switch between them with a configuration option or programmatically. It also has a hostname-based [configuration] 6, making it perfect for hosted solutions in which each customer will need to have a custom front-end site with a similar backend.

Please see http://sodapop.restlessdev.com/documentation/themes for more detail.

Getting Started

If Sodapop sounds interesting to you, please head over to the [Getting Started] 7 page for instructions on next steps.

restlessdev / sodapop

Maintainers

Details

README

A Quick Example

Why Use Sodapop?

Themes

Getting Started