Zend Framework: Action Controller Directory Tree Component Proposal

Table of Contents

1. Overview

Allow Action controllers to be organized in a directory tree.

2. References

3. Component Requirements, Constraints, and Acceptance Criteria

• Change allowable ":controller" parameter to allow path separators
• Change Dispatcher and possibly other classes to support Action controller paths
• Protect against security risks of allowing this additional capability

4. Dependencies on Other Framework Components

• Zend_Controller_Dispatch
• Zend_Front * possibly
• Zend_Router * possibly
• Zend_RewriteRouter * possibly

5. Theory of Operation

The change would allow syntax in the ":controller" parameter to allow Action controllers in sub-directories within the "controllers" directory to be referenced. I propose that the character "_" be allowed in the ":controller" parameter and that it be converted to the path separator character in the same way that Zend::loadClass() does. This will be consistent with the current formatting scheme. I do not propose that other characters be allowed in sub-directory names – only [a-zA-Z0-9] – but that option is possible.

6. Milestones / Tasks

7. Class Index

N/A

8. Use Cases

Given the code:

The URL:

www.mydomain.com/subdir_path_example/bar/

Would dispatch the Action controller in:

/path/to/my/controllers/subdir/path/ExampleController.php

9. Class Skeletons

N/A