Create and Run a Phalcon Project

What is Phalcon?

Phalcon is a high-performance PHP framework implemented as a C extension, delivering exceptional execution speed. It follows the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture, providing developers with a fast and flexible development experience while maintaining high performance.

Main Features and Advantages of Phalcon

• High Performance: Since Phalcon is implemented as a C extension, it offers outstanding performance.
• Rich Features: Includes functionality such as ORM, template engine, routing, caching, queues, and more to meet various development needs.
• Low Memory Usage: Due to its unique implementation, Phalcon consumes very little memory at runtime.
• Easy to Use: Offers a straightforward API and clear documentation to help developers get started quickly.
• Modular Design: Allows you to choose and use different components as needed, offering high flexibility.

Phalcon is an ideal choice for building high-performance web applications and APIs, suitable for projects ranging from small applications to large enterprise systems.

Create and Run a Phalcon Project Using ServBay

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

Note: If you were an NGINX or Apache user

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

1. Caddy Configuration

   ServBay comes with Caddy pre-configured and optimized. Developers only need to manage sites through ServBay’s "Host" feature without manually editing Caddy configuration files.

2. Rewrite rules and .htaccess

   In NGINX and Apache, developers usually write their own rewrite rules and .htaccess files to handle URL rewriting and other settings. However, ServBay comes pre-configured with Caddy rules. Unless special needs arise, developers do not need to write these rules themselves.

3. Learn More

   For more information, please refer to Rewrite and .htaccess, How to Migrate an Apache Website to ServBay, and How to Migrate an NGINX Website to ServBay.

Note: Enable the Phalcon Module

ServBay has the Phalcon module built-in. Users need to enable it and restart PHP. Please refer to How to Enable the Built-in Phalcon Module in ServBay for instructions on enabling the Phalcon module.

Phalcon and DevTools Versions

Depending on the PHP version, you need to install different versions of Phalcon DevTools:

• PHP 5.6, 7.0, 7.1: Phalcon 3.4.5
  • Corresponding Phalcon DevTools version: 3.4.x
• PHP 7.2, 7.3, 7.4: Phalcon 4.1.2
  • Corresponding Phalcon DevTools version: 4.3.x
• PHP 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4: Phalcon 5.7.0
  • Corresponding Phalcon DevTools version: 5.0.x (Since official DevTools support for PHP 8.x is not good, it is recommended to use the fixed version)

Create a Phalcon Project

TIP

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

1. Install Composer

   ServBay has Composer built-in, so no separate installation is needed.

2. Create Project Directory

   Create a project directory and enter it:

   cd /Applications/ServBay/www
   mkdir servbay-phalcon-app
   cd servbay-phalcon-app

3. Install Phalcon DevTools

   Install the corresponding Phalcon DevTools according to the PHP version:

   • PHP 5.6, 7.0, 7.1:

     composer require phalcon/devtools:"^3.4"

   • PHP 7.2, 7.3, 7.4:

     composer require phalcon/devtools:"~4.1"

   • PHP 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4:

   Create a composer.json file and enter the following content:

   {
      "repositories": [
         {
            "url": "https://github.com/daleffe/phalcon-devtools-5.x-fixed.git",
            "type": "git"
         }
      ],
      "require": {
         "phalcon/devtools": "dev-master"
      },
      "minimum-stability": "dev",
      "prefer-stable": true
   }

   Then run:

   composer update

4. Create Phalcon Project

   Use Phalcon DevTools to create a new Phalcon project:

   vendor/bin/phalcon project servbay-phalcon-app

5. Enter Project Directory

   Enter the newly created Phalcon project directory:

   cd servbay-phalcon-app

Initialize Configuration

1. Configure Environment Variables

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

   return new \Phalcon\Config([
       'database' => [
           'adapter' => 'Mysql',
           'host' => '127.0.0.1',
           'username' => 'root',
           'password' => 'password',
           'dbname' => 'servbay_phalcon_app',
       ],
   ]);

Configure Web Server

Use ServBay's "Host" feature to access the Phalcon project through the web server. In ServBay's "Host" settings, add a new host:

• Name: My First Phalcon Dev Site
• Domain: servbay-phalcon-test.local
• Website Type: PHP
• PHP Version: Select the corresponding PHP version
• Website Root Directory: /Applications/ServBay/www/servbay-phalcon-app/servbay-phalcon-app/public

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

Add Example Code

In the app/config/routes.php file, add the following code to output "Hello ServBay!":

$router->add(
    '/',
    [
        'controller' => 'index',
        'action'     => 'index',
    ]
);

In the app/controllers/IndexController.php file, add the following code:

namespace App\Controllers;

use Phalcon\Mvc\Controller;

class IndexController extends Controller
{
    public function indexAction()
    {
        echo 'Hello ServBay!';
    }
}

Access the Website

Open your browser and visit https://servbay-phalcon-test.local, and you should see the page output Hello ServBay!.

NoSQL Database Example

Memcached Example

1. Install Memcached Extension

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

2. Configure Memcached

   Add Memcached connection information in the app/config/config.php file:

   return new \Phalcon\Config([
       'database' => [
           'adapter' => 'Mysql',
           'host' => '127.0.0.1',
           'username' => 'root',
           'password' => 'password',
           'dbname' => 'servbay_phalcon_app',
       ],
       'cache' => [
           'adapter' => 'Memcached',
           'host' => '127.0.0.1',
           'port' => 11211,
       ],
   ]);

3. Configure Routing

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

   $router->add(
       '/memcached',
       [
           'controller' => 'index',
           'action'     => 'memcached',
       ]
   );

4. Use Memcached

   Use cache in the controller:

   namespace App\Controllers;
   
   use Phalcon\Mvc\Controller;
   use Phalcon\Cache\Backend\Memcached;
   use Phalcon\Cache\Frontend\Data as FrontData;
   
   class IndexController extends Controller
   {
       public function memcachedAction()
       {
           $frontCache = new FrontData([
               'lifetime' => 86400
           ]);
   
           $cache = new Memcached($frontCache, [
               'host' => '127.0.0.1',
               'port' => 11211,
           ]);
   
           $cacheKey = 'my_cache_key';
           $cachedData = $cache->get($cacheKey);
   
           if ($cachedData === null) {
               $cachedData = 'Hello Memcached!';
               $cache->save($cacheKey, $cachedData);
           }
   
           echo $cachedData;
       }
   }

   Open your browser and visit https://servbay-phalcon-test.local/memcached

Redis Example

1. Install Redis Extension

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

2. Configure Redis

   Add Redis connection information in the app/config/config.php file:

   return new \Phalcon\Config([
       'database' => [
           'adapter' => 'Mysql',
           'host' => '127.0.0.1',
           'username' => 'root',
           'password' => 'password',
           'dbname' => 'servbay_phalcon_app',
       ],
       'cache' => [
           'adapter' => 'Redis',
           'host' => '127.0.0.1',
           'port' => 6379,
       ],
   ]);

3. Configure Routing

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

   $router->add(
       '/redis',
       [
           'controller' => 'index',
           'action'     => 'redis',
       ]
   );

4. Use Redis

   Use cache in the controller:

   namespace App\Controllers;
   
   use Phalcon\Mvc\Controller;
   use Phalcon\Cache\Backend\Redis;
   use Phalcon\Cache\Frontend\Data as FrontData;
   
   class IndexController extends Controller
   {
       public function redisAction()
       {
           $frontCache = new FrontData([
               'lifetime' => 86400
           ]);
   
           $cache = new Redis($frontCache, [
               'host' => '127.0.0.1',
               'port' => 6379,
           ]);
   
           $cacheKey = 'my_cache_key';
           $cachedData = $cache->get($cacheKey);
   
           if ($cachedData was null) {
               $cachedData = 'Hello Redis!';
               $cache saves the cacheKey, the cachedData);
           }
   
           echo $cachedData;
       }
   }

   Open your browser and visit https://servbay-phalcon-test.local/redis

Relational Database Example

Create Database Structure and Migration Files

1. Create Migration Files

   Use Phalcon DevTools to create migration files:

   vendor/bin/phalcon migration generate --directory=servbay-phalcon-app

2. Edit Migration Files

   In the migrations directory, create a new migration file and edit it to define the database table structure:

   use Phalcon\Db\Column;
   use Phalcon\Db\Index;
   use Phalcon\Migrations\Mvc\Model\Migration;
   
   class UsersMigration_100 extends Migration
   {
       public function morph()
       {
           $this->morphTable('users', [
               'columns' => [
                   new Column(
                       'id',
                       [
                           'type'          => Column::TYPE_INTEGER,
                           'autoIncrement' => true,
                           'notNull'       => true,
                           'primary'       => true,
                       ]
                   ),
                   new Column(
                       'name',
                       [
                           'type'    => Column::TYPE_VARCHAR,
                           'size'    => 255,
                           'notNull' => true,
                       ]
                   ),
                   new Column(
                       'email',
                       [
                           'type'    => Column::TYPE_VARCHAR,
                           'size'    => 255,
                           'notNull' => true,
                           'unique'  => true,
                       ]
                   ),
               ],
               'indexes' => [
                   new Index('PRIMARY', ['id'], 'PRIMARY'),
                   new Index('email_UNIQUE', ['email'], 'UNIQUE'),
               ],
           ]);
       }
   }

3. Run Migration

   Use Phalcon DevTools command to run the migration and create the database table:

   vendor/bin/phalcon migration run --directory=servbay-phalcon-app

MySQL Example

1. Configure MySQL

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

   return new \Phalcon\Config([
       'database' => [
           'adapter' => 'Mysql',
           'host' => '127.0.0.1',
           'username' => 'root',
           'password' => 'password',
           'dbname' => 'servbay_phalcon_app',
       ],
   ]);

2. Configure Routing

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

   $router->add(
       '/mysql-add',
       [
           'controller' => 'index',
           'action'     => 'mysqlAdd',
       ]
   );
   
   $router->add(
       '/mysql',
       [
           'controller' => 'index',
           'action'     => 'mysql',
       ]
   );

3. Insert User Data

   Insert user data in the controller:

   namespace App\Controllers;
   
   use Phalcon\Mvc\Controller;
   use Phalcon\Db\Adapter\Pdo\Mysql;
   
   class IndexController extends Controller
   {
       public function mysqlAddAction()
       {
           $connection = new Mysql([
               'host'     => '127.0.0.1',
               'username' => 'root',
               'password' => 'password',
               'dbname'   => 'servbay_phalcon_app',
           ]);
   
           $success = $connection->insert(
               'users',
               ['ServBay', '[email protected]'],
               ['name', 'email']
           );
   
           echo $success ? 'User added' : 'Failed to add user';
       }
   
       public function mysqlAction()
       {
           $connection = new Mysql([
               'host'     => '127.0.0.1',
               'username' => 'root',
               'password' => 'password',
               'dbname'   => 'servbay_phalcon_app',
           ]);
   
           $users = $connection->fetchAll('SELECT * FROM users', \Phalcon\Db\Enum::FETCH_ASSOC);
   
           echo json_encode($users);
       }
   }

   Open your browser and visit https://servbay-phalcon-test.local/mysql-add and https://servbay-phalcon-test.local/mysql

PostgreSQL Example

1. Configure PostgreSQL

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

   return new \Phalcon\Config([
       'database' => [
           'adapter' => 'Postgresql',
           'host' => '127.0.0.1',
           'username' => 'root',
           'password' => 'password',
           'dbname' => 'servbay_phalcon_app',
       ],
   ]);

2. Configure Routing

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

   $router->add(
       '/pgsql-add',
       [
           'controller' => 'index',
           'action'     => 'pgsqlAdd',
       ]
   );
   
   $router->add(
       '/pgsql',
       [
           'controller' => 'index',
           'action'     => 'pgsql',
       ]
   );

3. Insert User Data

   Insert user data in the controller:

   namespace App\Controllers;
   
   use Phalcon\Mvc\Controller;
   use Phalcon\Db\Adapter\Pdo\Postgresql;
   
   class IndexController extends Controller
   {
       public function pgsqlAddAction()
       {
           $connection = new Postgresql([
               'host'     => '127.0.0.1',
               'username' => 'root',
               'password' => 'password',
               'dbname'   => 'servbay_phalcon_app',
           ]);
   
           $success = $connection->insert(
               'users',
               ['ServBay', '[email protected]'],
               ['name', 'email']
           );
   
           echo $success ? 'User added' : 'Failed to add user';
       }
   
       public function pgsqlAction()
       {
           $connection = new Postgresql([
               'host'     => '127.0.0.1',
               'username' => 'root',
               'password' => 'password',
               'dbname'   => 'servbay_phalcon_app',
           ]);
   
           $users = $connection->fetchAll('SELECT * FROM users', \Phalcon\Db\Enum::FETCH_ASSOC);
   
           echo json_encode($users);
       }
   }

   Open your browser and visit https://servbay-phalcon-test.local/pgsql-add and https://servbay-phalcon-test.local/pgsql

Through the above steps, you have successfully created and run a Phalcon project, used the features provided by ServBay to manage and access your project, connected to various databases, and called data.