URI Routing

What is URI Routing?

URI Routing maps a URI to a specific controller method, determining how requests are processed.

CodeIgniter supports two types of routing:

1. Defined Route Routing – Allows manual route definition, offering full control and flexibility over URL structures.

2. Auto Routing – Automatically maps HTTP requests to the appropriate controller methods based on naming conventions, eliminating the need for manual route setup.

Api.php and Web.php

In a web application, separating routes for APIs and web interfaces is a best practice for managing and maintaining the codebase. Below is the distinction between Api.php and Web.php, as well as when to use each file.

Defining Routing Rules in PHPFast

In PHPFast, routes are defined using the $routes object within dedicated route files. The syntax is straightforward and supports multiple HTTP methods, including GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, and more.

Examples

$routes->get('users/', 'UsersController::list');
$routes->post('users/create', 'UsersController::create');
$routes->get('users/(:num)', 'UsersController::view:$1');
$routes->put('users/edit/(:num)', 'UsersController::edit:$1');
$routes->delete('users/delete/(:num)', 'UsersController::delete:$1');
$routes->get('admin', 'AdminController::index', [\App\Middleware\AuthMiddleware::class]);

Understanding Route Structure

A route consists of two main parts:

• Route Path → The URL pattern (relative to the BaseURL).

• Route Handler → The Controller and its corresponding method that should process the request.

Example:

$routes->get('/', 'HomeController::index');

This means that when a user visits / (the homepage), CodeIgniter will call the index() method inside the HomeController.

Defining Routes with HTTP Methods

When specifying a route, you also define the HTTP method it should respond to:

• GET Request:

  $routes->get('users', 'UsersController::list');

  • Maps /users to the list() method inside the Users controller.

• GET Request with Parameters:

  $routes->get('users/1/23', 'UsersController::list/1/23');

  • Calls $UsersController->list(1, 23), passing 1 and 23 as parameters.

• POST Request:

  $routes->post('submit-form', 'UsersController::submitForm')

  • Handles form submissions via the submitForm() method in UsersController.

Using Placeholders for Dynamic URLs

PHPFast supports placeholders to create flexible routes:

Placeholder	Description	Regex Equivalent
(:any)	Matches any characters except /.	(.+)
(:segment)	Matches any single segment of the URL, excluding /.	([^/]+)
(:num)	Matches only numeric values.	(\d+)
(:alpha)	Matches only alphabetic characters (A-Z, a-z).	([a-zA-Z]+)
(:alphanum)	Matches alphanumeric characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9).	([a-zA-Z0-9]+)
(:hash)	Matches a 32-character hexadecimal hash value.	([a-fA-F0-9]{32})

Example:

1. (:any) - Matches any string (except /).

$routes->get('users/(:any)', 'UsersController::detail/$1');

Example URL: /users/detail Calls: UsersController::view('detail')

2. (:segment) – Matches a single URL segment (excluding /).

$routes->get('users/(:segment)', 'UsersController::show/$1');

Example URL: /users/all Calls: UsersController::show('all')

3. (:num) - Matches only numeric values.

$routes->get('users/(:num)', 'UsersCotroller::details/$1');

Example URL: /users/123 Calls: UserController::details(123)

4. (:alpha) – Matches only alphabetic characters (A-Z, a-z).

$routes->get('users/(:alpha)', 'UsersController::profile/$1');

Example URL: /user/php_fast Calls: UsersController::profile('php_fast')

5. (:alphanum) – Matches alphanumeric characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9).

$routes->get('users/(:alphanum)', 'UsersController::execute/$1');

Example URL: /users/abc123 Calls: UsersController::execute('abc123')

6. (:hash) – Matches a 32-character hexadecimal hash value.

$routes->get('verify/(:hash)', 'AuthController::verify/$1');

Example URL: /verify/a94a8fe5ccb19ba61c4c0873d391e987 Calls: AuthController::verify('a94a8fe5ccb19ba61c4c0873d391e987')

Global Options

The given lines define different types of routes in PHPFast using $routes. Each method corresponds to a specific HTTP request type, which determines how the route processes incoming requests.

// Route that only accepts GET requests
$routes->get('product/(:num)/(:string)', 'ProductController::show:$1:$2');		

// Route that only accepts POST requests (for form submissions, data creation)
$routes->post('product/create', 'ProductController::create'); 		

// Route that only accepts PUT requests (used for updating resources)
$routes->put('product/update/(:num)', 'ProductController::update/$1');			

// Route that only accepts DELETE requests (used to delete resources)
$routes->delete('product/delete/(:num)', 'ProductController::delete/$1'); 		
			
// Applying middleware to a single route
$routes->get('admin', 'AdminController::index', [\App\Middleware\AuthMiddleware::class]);