Feed Bundle Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation

   composer require brainwasher/feed-bundle
   

   Add to AppKernel.php:

   new Nekland\FeedBundle\NeklandFeedBundle(),
   

2. Basic Configuration In config/packages/nekland_feed.yaml (Symfony 4+) or app/config/config.yml (Symfony 2.1+):

   nekland_feed:
       feeds:
           my_feed:
               class: App\Entity\Post
               title: 'My Posts'
               description: 'Latest posts'
               url: 'https://example.com'
               language: 'en'
   

3. First Use Case Create a route to generate the feed:

   # config/routes.yaml
   nekland_feed_feed:
       path: /feed
       defaults: { _controller: 'NeklandFeedBundle:Feed:feed', feed: 'my_feed' }
   

   Visit /feed to see the generated RSS/Atom feed.

Implementation Patterns

Core Workflow

1. Define Feed Entities Implement Nekland\FeedBundle\Model\ItemInterface for your entity (e.g., Post):

   use Nekland\FeedBundle\Model\ItemInterface;
   
   class Post implements ItemInterface
   {
       public function getFeedRoutes()
       {
           return ['post_show']; // Array of routes for item links
       }
   
       public function getFeedTitle()
       {
           return $this->title;
       }
   
       // ... other required methods (see ItemInterface)
   }
   

2. Dynamic Feed Generation Use on-the-fly generation (default) or at-save (via event listeners):

   # config.yml
   nekland_feed:
       feeds:
           my_feed:
               # ... config
               save_feed: true  # Enable at-save generation
   

3. Multiple Feeds Configure multiple feeds in config.yml and route them separately:

   nekland_feed:
       feeds:
           posts_feed:
               class: App\Entity\Post
               # ...
           comments_feed:
               class: App\Entity\Comment
               # ...
   

4. Custom Feed Formats Override the default Rss20 or Atom10 formats by extending Nekland\FeedBundle\Feed\FeedInterface:

   class CustomFeed extends \Nekland\FeedBundle\Feed\Rss20
   {
       protected function getCustomXml()
       {
           return '<custom>...</custom>';
       }
   }
   

   Register in config:

   nekland_feed:
       feeds:
           my_feed:
               class: App\Entity\Post
               feed_class: App\Feed\CustomFeed
   

5. Integration with Controllers Manually trigger feed generation:

   use Nekland\FeedBundle\Manager\FeedManager;
   
   class FeedController extends AbstractController
   {
       public function generate(FeedManager $feedManager)
       {
           return $feedManager->generate('my_feed');
       }
   }
   

Gotchas and Tips

Common Pitfalls

1. Route vs. URL in Config

   • Mistake: Using a Symfony route (e.g., post_show) in url.
   • Fix: Always use a full URL (e.g., https://example.com/posts/{id}).

     url: 'https://example.com'  # Base URL for item links
     

2. ItemInterface Methods

   • Missing Methods: Forgetting to implement all required methods in ItemInterface (e.g., getFeedTitle(), getFeedUpdated()).
   • Fix: Use the wiki as a reference.

3. Filename Formatting

   • Mistake: Forgetting |format| in feed names for dynamic formats.
   • Fix: Append |format| to the feed name in config:

     my_feed|atom:  # Generates `/feed/atom` and `/feed/rss`
         class: App\Entity\Post
     

4. Caching Issues

   • Problem: Feeds not updating after entity changes.
   • Fix: Clear the cache or disable caching temporarily:

     nekland_feed:
         feeds:
             my_feed:
                 cache: false
     

5. Namespace Conflicts

   • Issue: Nekland\FeedBundle namespace clashes in Symfony 4+.
   • Fix: Use fully qualified names or aliases in code:

     use Nekland\FeedBundle\Model\ItemInterface as FeedItemInterface;
     

Debugging Tips

1. Check Generated XML Enable debug mode and inspect the raw feed output to verify structure:

   $feed = $feedManager->generate('my_feed');
   dump($feed->getXml());
   

2. Event Listeners Use feed.save events to debug at-save generation:

   // src/EventListener/FeedListener.php
   public function onFeedSave(FeedEvent $event)
   {
       if (!$event->isValid()) {
           throw new \RuntimeException('Feed generation failed');
       }
   }
   

   Register in services.yaml:

   services:
       App\EventListener\FeedListener:
           tags:
               - { name: kernel.event_listener, event: feed.save }
   

3. Logging Enable logging in config/packages/monolog.yaml:

   handlers:
       feed:
           type: stream
           path: "%kernel.logs_dir%/feed.log"
           level: debug
           channels: ["feed"]
   

Extension Points

1. Custom Feed Classes Extend Nekland\FeedBundle\Feed\FeedInterface to add custom logic (e.g., OpenGraph tags):

   class OpenGraphFeed extends \Nekland\FeedBundle\Feed\Atom10
   {
       protected function getItemXml(ItemInterface $item)
       {
           $xml = parent::getItemXml($item);
           $xml .= '<og:title>' . htmlspecialchars($item->getFeedTitle()) . '</og:title>';
           return $xml;
       }
   }
   

2. Dynamic Feed Routes Override route generation for feeds:

   nekland_feed:
       feeds:
           my_feed:
               route: 'custom_feed_route'  # Override default `/feed/{name}`
   

3. Query Customization Modify the default repository query for feeds:

   // src/Entity/Post.php
   public function getFeedQueryBuilder(FeedManager $manager)
   {
       $qb = $manager->getEntityManager()->createQueryBuilder();
       $qb->select('p')
          ->from('App\Entity\Post', 'p')
          ->where('p.published = :published')
          ->setParameter('published', true);
       return $qb;
   }
   

4. Localization Use Symfony’s translation system for feed titles/descriptions:

   nekland_feed:
       feeds:
           my_feed:
               title: 'app.feed.posts_title'  # Translatable key
               description: 'app.feed.posts_desc'
   

   In your entity:

   public function getFeedTitle()
   {
       return $this->translator->trans('app.feed.posts_title');
   }