README

7x Primer Framework v1.5 is the continuing evolution of the original symfony 1.4 framework, now fully compatible with PHP 8.0 through PHP 8.5. Maintained by 7x (se7enx.com) and the open-source developer community that has relied on symfony1 for over two decades.

Project Notice
Project Status
Who is 7x
What is 7x Primer Framework?
Architecture Overview
Technology Stack
Requirements
Quick Start
Main Features
Developer Toolbar
Building Pages, Routes, and Database Results
Installation
Key CLI & Task Reference
Issue Tracker
Where to Get More Help
How to Contribute
Donate & Support
Copyright
License

1. Project Notice

Please Note: This project is not associated with the original symfony project, SensioLabs, or Fabien Potencier beyond attribution. It is an independent, 7x + community-driven continuation of the symfony 1.4 codebase, stewarded and evolved by 7x (se7enx.com) to support PHP 8.x in production.

2. Project Status

The symfony 1.4 codebase reached end-of-life in November 2012. Thousands of production websites and applications continued to run on it because its architecture — convention-over-configuration, composable action-filter-view pipeline, flexible ORM integration — remained sound and productive.

7x Primer Framework v1.5 is the first release branch that brings this codebase fully into the PHP 8.x era.

The 1.5 branch is the current active development branch. Work focuses on:

PHP 8.0 through PHP 8.5 full compatibility and test suite passing
Composer package manager integration alongside sfCoreAutoload
Security patches and vulnerability triage
Documentation and developer experience improvements

3. Who is 7x

7x is a North American web software corporation with over 24 years of experience building and maintaining PHP web applications and content platforms. Previously known as Brookins Consulting, 7x took on stewardship of the symfony1 codebase to ensure that the many applications built on it can continue to run on modern, supported PHP versions.

7x offers:

Commercial PHP 8.x upgrade consulting for symfony1 applications
Hosting and infrastructure for PHP 8.x projects
Custom development, migrations, and training
Open-source community stewardship

4. What is 7x Primer Framework?

7x Primer Framework (v1.5) is a PHP 8.x-compatible continuation of the symfony 1.4 MVC web application framework. It provides:

A Model-View-Controller architecture with clean separation of concerns
Convention-over-configuration — a predictable directory layout that removes boilerplate
sfPatternRouting — a flexible URL routing engine with named routes, parameters, and requirements
Action pipeline — executeActionName() methods dispatch HTTP requests through configurable pre/post filters to typed PHP template files
symfony1-style autoloading via sfCoreAutoload — every class in lib/ is available on demand
Composer integration (new in 1.5) — vendor/autoload.php coexists with sfCoreAutoload via PHP's spl_autoload stack, giving access to the full Packagist ecosystem
ORM integration — sfDoctrinePlugin and sfPropelPlugin remain fully functional for database-backed applications
Lime test framework — a TAP-based unit and functional test suite with 600+ tests
Full PHP 8.5 support — every PHP 8.x breaking change addressed in the core library

Architecture at a Glance

HTTP Request
      │
      ▼
   Web Server (Apache / Nginx)  →  DocumentRoot: public/
      │
      ▼
  public/index.php  ──  sfCoreAutoload + (optional) Composer vendor/autoload.php
      │
      ├── sfPatternRouting  →  matches URL to module/action
      │
      ├── {Module}Actions::execute{Action}()  →  business logic
      │
      ├── {action}Success.php  →  view template (PHP)
      │
      └── layout.php  →  HTML decorator (wraps template output)

5. Architecture Overview

Directory Layout

project-root/
├── apps/
│   └── {appName}/
│       ├── config/
│       │   └── routing.php          Route definitions (sfRoute / sfPatternRouting)
│       ├── lib/
│       │   ├── sfMicroAction.class.php    Base action class (mirrors sfAction API)
│       │   └── sfMicroDispatcher.class.php   Front controller dispatcher
│       ├── modules/
│       │   └── {moduleName}/
│       │       ├── actions/
│       │       │   └── actions.class.php  {Module}Actions extends sfMicroAction
│       │       └── templates/
│       │           └── {action}Success.php  View template
│       └── templates/
│           ├── layout.php           HTML decorator layout
│           └── error404.php         404 fallback template
├── lib/                             symfony1 core library (sfCoreAutoload scans here)
│   ├── autoload/                    sfCoreAutoload class
│   ├── cache/                       Cache drivers
│   ├── config/                      Configuration handlers
│   ├── form/                        Form and widget system
│   ├── i18n/                        Internationalisation
│   ├── plugins/                     sfDoctrinePlugin, sfPropelPlugin
│   ├── routing/                     sfPatternRouting, sfRoute
│   ├── task/                        symfony CLI tasks
│   ├── util/                        sfToolkit, sfInflector, sfFinder, …
│   ├── validator/                   Validator library
│   ├── vendor/
│   │   ├── lime/                    Lime test framework
│   │   └── swiftmailer/             Swift Mailer
│   └── yaml/                        YAML parser
├── public/                          ← Web server DocumentRoot (only publicly served dir)
│   ├── index.php                    Web front controller — single entry point
│   ├── .htaccess                    Apache rewrite rules
│   ├── favicon.ico
│   └── favicon.png
├── test/
│   ├── unit/                        Unit tests (lime-based)
│   └── functional/                  Functional tests
└── composer.json                    Composer manifest (new in v1.5)

6. Technology Stack

Component	Version
Language	PHP 8.0+ (tested through 8.5.6)
Framework	7x Primer Framework 1.5 (symfony1 core)
Autoloading	sfCoreAutoload + Composer PSR-4/classmap (coexistent)
ORM	sfDoctrinePlugin (Doctrine 1.x) · sfPropelPlugin (Propel 1.x) · PDO (direct)
Template Engine	PHP (native)
Routing	sfPatternRouting + sfRoute
Test Framework	Lime (TAP-based)
Dependency Mgmt	Composer 2.x (optional — new in v1.5)
Web Server	Apache 2.4 · Nginx 1.18+
Database	MySQL 8.0+ · MariaDB 10.3+ · PostgreSQL 14+ · SQLite 3.x

7. Requirements

PHP 8.0 or later (PHP 8.5 recommended; tested on 8.5.6)
A web server: Apache 2.4 (with mod_rewrite) or Nginx 1.18+
A database: MySQL 8.0+, MariaDB 10.3+, PostgreSQL 14+, or SQLite 3.x
Composer 2.x (optional — required only when installing Packagist packages)

Requirements Summary

Requirement	Minimum	Recommended
PHP	8.0	8.5+
Apache	2.4	2.4 (event + PHP-FPM)
Nginx	1.18	1.24+
MySQL	8.0	8.0+
MariaDB	10.3	10.6+
PostgreSQL	14	16+
SQLite	3.0	3.35+
Composer	2.0	latest 2.x (optional)

8. Quick Start

# 1. Clone the repository (branch 1.5)
git clone -b 1.5 https://github.com/se7enxweb/primer.git my-project
cd my-project

# 2. (Optional) Install Composer packages
composer install

# 3. Point your web server DocumentRoot to the project's public/ directory
#    This keeps lib/, apps/, vendor/, composer.json, etc. off the web.
#    See INSTALL.md for Apache and Nginx virtual host examples.

# 4. Open in a browser
#    GET /         → 301 redirect to /version
#    GET /version  → live status dashboard (all 8 core class checks)

9. Main Features

Convention-over-configuration MVC — modules, actions, and templates follow a predictable naming convention; zero config required for the happy path
sfPatternRouting — named routes, parameter requirements, default values, and reverse URL generation
Action pipeline — pre-filters, post-filters, and slots for cross-cutting concerns (auth, logging, caching)
symfony1-style autoloading — sfCoreAutoload discovers every class in lib/ automatically
Composer integration (new in v1.5) — vendor/autoload.php loads alongside sfCoreAutoload when present; install any Packagist package with composer require
Form system — sfForm, sfFormField, sfWidget, and sfValidator for type-safe form handling
i18n / l10n — sfI18N, sfDateFormat, sfNumberFormat for internationalised applications
Lime test framework — TAP-based unit and functional testing with 600+ passing tests
sfDoctrinePlugin — Doctrine 1.x ORM with model generation, migrations, and fixtures
sfPropelPlugin — Propel 1.x ORM as an alternative
Cache drivers — filesystem, APC, SQLite, and Memcache cache backends
Swift Mailer — bundled for transactional email
YAML configuration — sfYaml parser for configuration files
PHP 8.0–8.5 full compatibility — all breaking changes addressed in 62 core library files

10. Developer Toolbar

When running in the dev environment, 7x Primer injects the 7x Primer Developer Toolbar — a dark, fixed-bottom debug bar — into every HTML response. It shows request metadata, logs, memory usage, and timing information at a glance.

Accessing the Dev Environment

The dev entry point is public/index_dev.php. Prefix any URL path with /index_dev.php to use it:

# Production URL (no toolbar)
https://yourapp.com/articles/hello-world

# Development URL (toolbar visible)
https://yourapp.com/index_dev.php/articles/hello-world

# Home page in dev mode
https://yourapp.com/index_dev.php/

# Version / status page in dev mode
https://yourapp.com/index_dev.php/version

Note: index_dev.php is IP-guarded. Only requests from allowlisted addresses are served — all others receive 403 Forbidden. See IP Allowlist below.

IP Allowlist

The allowed IP list is managed in apps/site/config/dev.yml. Edit this file to add your local or team IP addresses — no code changes needed.

# apps/site/config/dev.yml
dev:
  # IP addresses and CIDR ranges allowed to access public/index_dev.php.
  # Requests from any other address receive 403 Forbidden.
  allowed_ips:
    - '127.0.0.1'       # IPv4 localhost
    - '::1'             # IPv6 localhost
    - '192.168.0.0/16'  # Private LAN (Class C)
    - '10.0.0.0/8'      # Private LAN (Class A)
    - '203.0.113.42'    # Example: your office or home static IP

To find your current public IP:

curl -s https://ifconfig.me
# or
curl -s https://api.ipify.org

Add that IP under allowed_ips, save the file, and reload — no server restart required.

Toolbar Layout

The toolbar is fixed to the bottom of every page. It has three display states, each persisted across reloads via localStorage:

State	How to enter	What you see
Full	Default on first load	Complete bar across the bottom
Collapsed	Click the 7x logo (far left)	Bar stays, panel buttons hidden, × visible
Minimized	Click the × button (far right)	40 px red circle in the bottom-right corner

Click the 7x logo in any reduced state to restore the full bar.

Left info block — always visible in full/collapsed mode:

Cell	Example	Description
Method	`GET`	HTTP method, colour-coded
Status	`200`	HTTP response status
Route	`version`	Matched route name
Controller	`versionActions`	Action class name
Time	`4 ms`	Total dispatch time

Right panel list — click any item to open its detail popup:

Logs — all sfVarLogger entries, filterable by Info / Warning / Error
Memory — peak memory usage
Kernel — 7x Primer version (1.5.0.3)

11. Building Pages, Routes, and Database Results

See INSTALL.md for full step-by-step instructions. Below is the three-minute version.

Define a route

// apps/site/config/routing.php
$routing->connect('articles', new sfRoute('/articles', [
    'module' => 'article',
    'action' => 'index',
]));
$routing->connect('article_show', new sfRoute('/articles/:slug', [
    'module' => 'article',
    'action' => 'show',
], ['slug' => '[a-z0-9\-]+']));

Create an action

// apps/site/modules/article/actions/actions.class.php
class articleActions extends sfMicroAction
{
    public function executeIndex(): string
    {
        $pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=127.0.0.1;dbname=myapp;charset=utf8mb4', 'user', 'pass');
        $this->articles = $pdo->query('SELECT * FROM articles ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 10')
                              ->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
        $this->title = 'Latest Articles';
        return sfView::SUCCESS;
    }

    public function executeShow(): string
    {
        $pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=127.0.0.1;dbname=myapp;charset=utf8mb4', 'user', 'pass');
        $stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM articles WHERE slug = ? LIMIT 1');
        $stmt->execute([$this->getRequest()->getParameter('slug')]);
        $this->article = $stmt->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
        if (!$this->article) {
            $this->forward404();
        }
        $this->title = $this->article['title'];
        return sfView::SUCCESS;
    }
}

Create a template

<!-- apps/site/modules/article/templates/indexSuccess.php -->
<h1><?php echo htmlspecialchars($title) ?></h1>
<ul>
<?php foreach ($articles as $article): ?>
  <li>
    <a href="/articles/<?php echo htmlspecialchars($article['slug']) ?>">
      <?php echo htmlspecialchars($article['title']) ?>
    </a>
    <span><?php echo $article['created_at'] ?></span>
  </li>
<?php endforeach ?>
</ul>

12. Installation

See INSTALL.md for the complete step-by-step guide, including:

Git clone and composer install
Apache and Nginx virtual host configuration
Building a page — module, action, template, and layout
Route definition with parameters and requirements
Database queries (PDO, sfDoctrinePlugin, sfPropelPlugin)
Running the lime test suite
Composer package integration
Deployment checklist

13. Key CLI & Task Reference

# ── Test Suite ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
php test/unit/util/sfInflectorTest.php              # run one unit test
php test/bin/prove.php test/unit/                   # run all unit tests
php test/bin/prove.php test/                        # run all tests

# ── symfony1 Tasks (requires full project configuration) ─────────────────────
php symfony list                                    # list all registered tasks
php symfony help <task>                             # help for a task
php symfony generate:app myapp                      # scaffold a new application
php symfony generate:module myapp mymodule          # scaffold a new module
php symfony cc                                      # clear the application cache
php symfony project:permissions                     # fix directory permissions

# ── Composer ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
composer install                                    # install packages from composer.json
composer require vendor/package-name                # add a Packagist package
composer dump-autoload -o                           # regenerate optimised autoloader
composer show                                       # list installed packages
composer audit                                      # check for security advisories

14. Issue Tracker

Submit bugs, feature requests, and improvements at: https://github.com/se7enxweb/primer/issues

If you discover a security issue, please report it responsibly by email to security@se7enx.com rather than opening a public issue.

15. Where to Get More Help

Resource	URL
Repository	github.com/se7enxweb/primer
Release Notes	RELEASE_NOTES.md
Installation Guide	INSTALL.md
Issue Tracker	github.com/se7enxweb/primer/issues
Discussions	github.com/se7enxweb/primer/discussions
7x Corporate	se7enx.com
Support	support@se7enx.com
Sponsor 7x	sponsor.se7enx.com

16. How to Contribute

Everyone is encouraged to contribute. To get started:

Fork the repository: github.com/se7enxweb/primer
Clone your fork and create a feature branch:
```
git checkout -b feature/my-improvement
```
Make your changes following the existing code style
Add the (c) 2004-2026 7x <info@se7enx.com> copyright header to every modified PHP file
Run the lime test suite to verify no regressions:
```
php test/bin/prove.php test/unit/
```
Push and open a Pull Request against the 1.5 branch
Participate in the code review — maintainers respond promptly

Bug reports, feature requests, and discussions are welcome via the issue tracker and GitHub Discussions.

17. Donate & Support

7x Primer Framework v1.5 is free and open-source. If it has saved you migration time, upgrade costs, or kept a production application running, please consider supporting the project:

sponsor.se7enx.com — support subscriptions
paypal.me/7xweb — one-time donation
github.com/sponsors/se7enxweb — GitHub Sponsors

Every contribution funds:

PHP compatibility testing as new PHP versions release
Security patching and vulnerability triage
Documentation and developer experience improvements
Community infrastructure

18. Copyright

Copyright (C) 2004-2026 7x (se7enx.com). All rights reserved.
Copyright (C) 2004-2006 Fabien Potencier <fabien.potencier@symfony-project.com>
Copyright (C) 2004-2006 Sean Kerr <sean@code-box.org>

19. License

Licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for the full license text.

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software...

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