Frontend Bundle Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation Add the bundle to your composer.json:

   composer require alphalemon/frontend-bundle:dev-master
   

   Register the bundle in app/AppKernel.php:

   new AlphaLemon\FrontendBundle\AlphaLemonFrontendBundle(),
   

2. First Use Case

   • Enable Frontend Routing: Configure routes in app/config/routing.yml:

     alphalemon_frontend:
         resource: "@AlphaLemonFrontendBundle/Resources/config/routing.yml"
         prefix:   /
     

   • Verify Twig Environment: Ensure Twig templates are loaded from the bundle’s Resources/views/ directory. Override templates in app/Resources/AlphaLemonFrontendBundle/views/ if needed.

3. Key Configuration Check app/config/config.yml for bundle-specific settings (e.g., asset management, CMS integration). Example:

   alphalemon_frontend:
       assets_version: "%kernel.root_dir%/../web/build-version.txt"
       debug_toolbar: "%kernel.debug%"
   

Implementation Patterns

Core Workflows

1. Asset Management

   • Use AsseticBundle (included as a dependency) for frontend assets (CSS/JS). Configure bundles in app/config/config.yml:

     assetic:
         bundles: [AlphaLemonFrontendBundle]
     

   • Generate assets via:

     php app/console assetic:dump --env=prod
     

2. Twig Integration

   • Extend base templates (e.g., base.html.twig) in app/Resources/AlphaLemonFrontendBundle/views/ to customize layouts.
   • Use Twig extensions (e.g., AlphaLemon\FrontendBundle\Twig\Extension\CmsExtension) for CMS-specific logic:

     {{ alphalemon_cms_content(block='header') }}
     

3. Routing & Controllers

   • Frontend routes are auto-loaded from @AlphaLemonFrontendBundle/Resources/config/routing.yml. Override or extend them in app/config/routing.yml.
   • Example controller usage:

     use AlphaLemon\FrontendBundle\Controller\FrontendController;
     
     class CustomController extends FrontendController {
         public function customAction() {
             return $this->render('AlphaLemonFrontendBundle:Page:custom.html.twig');
         }
     }
     

4. CMS Integration

   • Fetch CMS content via services (e.g., alphalemon_cms.manager). Example in a controller:

     $content = $this->get('alphalemon_cms.manager')->getContentById(1);
     return $this->render('template.html.twig', ['content' => $content]);
     

5. Debugging & Toolbar

   • Enable Symfony’s Web Profiler (%kernel.debug%: true) to inspect Twig variables, routes, and Doctrine queries.

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Deprecated Symfony 2.1

   • The bundle targets Symfony 2.1, which is end-of-life (EOL). Expect compatibility issues with modern PHP/Laravel (if migrating). Test thoroughly with:

     composer require symfony/symfony:2.1.*
     

2. Assetic & Asset Pipeline

   • AsseticBundle is tied to Symfony 2.1’s asset workflow. For Laravel (Symfony 5+), replace with Vite or Webpack Encore:

     npm install --save-dev @symfony/webpack-encore
     

   • Clear cache after asset changes:

     php app/console cache:clear --env=prod
     

3. Twig Auto-Reloading

   • Twig templates do not auto-reload in dev mode. Restart the dev server or clear cache:

     php app/console cache:clear
     

4. Doctrine ORM Version Conflict

   • The bundle requires doctrine/orm:>=2.2.3,<2.4-dev. Modern Laravel uses Doctrine 2.5+. Downgrade or patch if needed:

     composer require doctrine/orm:2.3.*
     

5. Routing Conflicts

   • Frontend routes may clash with Laravel’s default routes. Use _controller in routing.yml to override:

     alphalemon_homepage:
         path: /
         defaults: { _controller: AppBundle:Page:home }
     

Debugging Tips

1. Check Logs

   • Enable Monolog (%monolog.logfile%) to debug CMS content loading:

     monolog:
         handlers:
             main:
                 type: stream
                 path: "%kernel.logs_dir%/%kernel.environment%.log"
                 level: debug
     

2. Dump Twig Variables Use {{ dump() }} in Twig templates to inspect variables:

   {{ dump(app.request.attributes) }}
   

3. Database Queries

   • Enable Doctrine profiling in the Web Profiler to debug CMS data fetching.

Extension Points

1. Custom Twig Extensions Extend the bundle’s Twig environment in app/config/config.yml:

   twig:
       extensions:
           - AlphaLemon\FrontendBundle\Twig\Extension\CustomExtension
   

2. Override Controllers Extend AlphaLemon\FrontendBundle\Controller\FrontendController in your bundle:

   namespace AppBundle\Controller;
   use AlphaLemon\FrontendBundle\Controller\FrontendController as BaseController;
   
   class FrontendController extends BaseController {
       public function overrideAction() { ... }
   }
   

3. Asset Customization Override Assetic configurations in app/config/config.yml:

   assetic:
       filters:
           cssrewrite: ~
       bundles: [AlphaLemonFrontendBundle, AppBundle]
   

4. Event Listeners Subscribe to bundle events (e.g., alphalemon.frontend.init) in services.yml:

   services:
       app.frontend_listener:
           class: AppBundle\EventListener\FrontendListener
           tags:
               - { name: kernel.event_listener, event: alphalemon.frontend.init, method: onInit }