Creating and Running a CakePHP Project

What is CakePHP?

CakePHP is an open-source PHP web framework aimed at helping developers quickly build web applications. It is based on the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture and provides a powerful set of tools to simplify common tasks in the development process, such as database interactions, form processing, authentication, session management, etc.

Key Features and Advantages of CakePHP

• Rapid Development: Offers rich code generation tools to help developers quickly generate common code structures.
• Flexible and Powerful ORM: The built-in ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) layer simplifies database operations.
• Security: Comes with multiple security features like input validation, CSRF protection, and SQL injection prevention.
• Community Support: Has an active community and a rich ecosystem of plugins.
• Good Documentation: Provides comprehensive documentation and tutorials to help developers get started quickly.

CakePHP is suitable for various projects ranging from small applications to large enterprise systems, helping developers build high-quality web applications quickly.

Creating and Running a CakePHP Project Using ServBay

In this article, we will use the PHP environment provided by ServBay to create and run a CakePHP project. We will use ServBay's 'Host' feature to set up the web server and achieve project access through simple configuration.

Note: If you have been an NGINX or Apache user

ServBay uses Caddy as the web server by default. For users migrating from NGINX and Apache to ServBay, there are some key changes to be aware of:

1. Caddy Configuration

   ServBay has Caddy built-in, and the default configuration has been optimized and debugged. Developers only need to manage sites through ServBay's 'Host' feature without manually modifying Caddy configuration files.

2. Rewrite Rules and .htaccess

   In NGINX and Apache, developers usually need to write rewrite rules and .htaccess files to handle URL rewrites and other configurations themselves. However, ServBay has already configured Caddy's rules out of the box, so developers generally don't need to write these rules unless there are special requirements.

3. Learn More

   For more information, refer to Rewrite and htaccess, How to migrate Apache websites to ServBay, and How to migrate NGINX websites to ServBay.

Creating a CakePHP Project

TIP

ServBay recommends developers place websites in the /Applications/ServBay/www directory for easy management.

1. Install Composer

   ServBay comes with Composer pre-installed, so no separate installation is needed.

2. Create a CakePHP Project

   Use Composer to create a new CakePHP project:

   cd /Applications/ServBay/www
   mkdir servbay-cakephp-app
   cd servbay-cakephp-app
   composer create-project --prefer-dist cakephp/app .

3. Enter the Project Directory

   Enter the newly created CakePHP project directory:

   cd /Applications/ServBay/www/servbay-cakephp-app

Initial Configuration

1. Configure Environment Variables

   Configure the database connection information and other environment variables in the config/app_local.php file. Ensure the following configurations are correctly set:

   'Datasources' => [
       'default' => [
           'host' => '127.0.0.1',
           'username' => 'root',
           'password' => 'password',
           'database' => 'servbay_cakephp_app',
           'url' => env('DATABASE_URL', null),
       ],
   ],

Configuring the Web Server

Using ServBay's 'Host' feature, access the CakePHP project through the web server. In ServBay's 'Host' settings, add a new host:

• Name: My First CakePHP Dev Site
• Domain: servbay-cakephp-test.local
• Site Type: PHP
• PHP Version: Choose 8.3
• Site Root Directory: /Applications/ServBay/www/servbay-cakephp-app/webroot

For detailed setup steps, refer to Adding the First Website.

Adding Sample Code

Add the following code in the config/routes.php file to output "Hello ServBay!":

$routes->connect('/', ['controller' => 'Pages', 'action' => 'display', 'home']);

Add the following code in the src/Controller/PagesController.php file:

namespace App\Controller;

use Cake\Http\Response;

class PagesController extends AppController
{
    public function display()
    {
        return new Response(['body' => 'Hello ServBay!']);
    }
}

Accessing the Website

Open a browser and visit https://servbay-cakephp-test.local, you will see the page output Hello ServBay!.

NoSQL Database Example

Memcached Example

1. Install the Memcached Extension

   In ServBay, the Memcached extension is pre-installed, so no additional installation is needed.

2. Configure Memcached

   Configure Memcached connection information in the config/app_local.php file:

   'Cache' => [
       'default' => [
           'className' => 'Cake\Cache\Engine\MemcachedEngine',
           'servers' => ['127.0.0.1'],
       ],
   ],

3. Configure Routes

   Add the following code in the config/routes.php file:

   $routes->connect('/memcached', ['controller' => 'Pages', 'action' => 'memcached']);

4. Using Memcached

   Use caching in the controller:

   use Cake\Cache\Cache;
   
   class PagesController extends AppController
   {
       public function memcached()
       {
           $cacheKey = 'my_cache_key';
           $cachedData = Cache::read($cacheKey);
   
           if (!$cachedData) {
               $cachedData = 'Hello Memcached!';
               Cache::write($cacheKey, $cachedData);
           }
   
           return new Response(['body' => $cachedData]);
       }
   }

   Open a browser and visit https://servbay-cakephp-test.local/memcached

Redis Example

1. Install the Redis Extension

   In ServBay, the Redis extension is pre-installed, so no additional installation is needed.

2. Configure Redis

   Configure Redis connection information in the config/app_local.php file:

   'Cache' => [
       'default' => [
           'className' => 'Cake\Cache\Engine\RedisEngine',
           'server' => '127.0.0.1',
           'port' => 6379,
       ],
   ],

3. Configure Routes

   Add the following code in the config/routes.php file:

   $routes->connect('/redis', ['controller' => 'Pages', 'action' => 'redis']);

4. Using Redis

   Use caching in the controller:

   use Cake\Cache\Cache;
   
   class PagesController extends AppController
   {
       public function redis()
       {
           $cacheKey = 'my_cache_key';
           $cachedData = Cache::read($cacheKey);
   
           if (!$cachedData) {
               $cachedData = 'Hello Redis!';
               Cache::write($cacheKey, $cachedData);
           }
   
           return new Response(['body' => $cachedData]);
       }
   }

   Open a browser and visit https://servbay-cakephp-test.local/redis

Relational Database Example

Creating Database Structure and Migration Files

1. Create Migration File

   Use CakePHP's Bake tool to create a migration file:

   bin/cake bake migration CreateUsers name:string email:string:unique

2. Run Migration

   Use the CakePHP command to run the migration and create database tables:

   bin/cake migrations migrate

MySQL Example

1. Configure MySQL

   Configure MySQL connection information in the config/app_local.php file:

   'Datasources' => [
       'default' => [
           'host' => '127.0.0.1',
           'username' => 'root',
           'password' => 'password',
           'database' => 'servbay_cakephp_app',
           'url' => env('DATABASE_URL', null),
       ],
   ],

2. Configure Routes

   Add the following code in the config/routes.php file:

   $routes->connect('/mysql-add', ['controller' => 'Pages', 'action' => 'mysqlAdd']);
   $routes->connect('/mysql', ['controller' => 'Pages', 'action' => 'mysql']);

3. Add User Table

   Save the following code in the src/Model/Table/UsersTable.php file.

   <?php
   namespace App\Model\Table;
   
   use Cake\ORM\Table;
   
   class UsersTable extends Table
   {
   }

4. Write User Data

   Write user data in the controller:

   use App\Model\Entity\User;
   use Cake\ORM\TableRegistry;
   
   class PagesController extends AppController
   {
       public function mysqlAdd()
       {
           $usersTable = TableRegistry::getTableLocator()->get('Users');
           $user = $usersTable->newEntity(['name' => 'ServBay', 'email' => '[email protected]']);
   
           if ($usersTable->save($user)) {
               return new Response(['body' => 'User added']);
           }
   
           return new Response(['body' => 'Failed to add user']);
       }
   
       public function mysql()
       {
           $usersTable = TableRegistry::getTableLocator()->get('Users');
           $users = $usersTable->find()->all();
   
           return new Response(['body' => json_encode($users)]);
       }
   }

   Open a browser and visit https://servbay-cakephp-test.local/mysql-add and https://servbay-cakephp-test.local/mysql.

PostgreSQL Example

1. Configure PostgreSQL

   Configure PostgreSQL connection information in the config/app_local.php file:

   'Datasources' => [
       'default' => [
           'host' => '127.0.0.1',
           'driver' => Postgres::Class,
           'username' => 'root',
           'password' => 'password',
           'database' => 'servbay_cakephp_app',
           'url' => env('DATABASE_URL', null),
       ],
   ],

2. Configure Routes

   Add the following code in the config/routes.php file:

   $routes->connect('/pgsql-add', ['controller' => 'Pages', 'action' => 'pgsqlAdd']);
   $routes->connect('/pgsql', ['controller' => 'Pages', 'action' => 'pgsql']);

3. Add User Table

   Save the following code in the src/Model/Table/UsersTable.php file.

   <?php
   namespace App\Model\Table;
   
   use Cake\ORM\Table;
   
   class UsersTable extends Table
   {
   }

4. Write User Data

   Write user data in the controller:

   use App\Model\Entity\User;
   use Cake\ORM\TableRegistry;
   
   class PagesController extends AppController
   {
       public function pgsqlAdd()
       {
           $usersTable = TableRegistry::getTableLocator()->get('Users');
           $user = $usersTable->newEntity(['name' => 'ServBay', 'email' => '[email protected]']);
   
           if ($usersTable->save($user)) {
               return new Response(['body' => 'User added']);
           }
   
           return new Response(['body' => 'Failed to add user']);
       }
   
       public function pgsql()
       {
           $usersTable = TableRegistry::getTableLocator()->get('Users');
           $users = $usersTable->find()->all();
   
           return new Response(['body' => json_encode($users)]);
       }
   }

   Open a browser and visit https://servbay-cakephp-test.local/pgsql-add and https://servbay-cakephp-test.local/pgsql.

Through the above steps, you have successfully created and run a CakePHP project using the functionalities provided by ServBay to manage and access your project, while connecting to multiple databases and invoking data.