Views Laravel Package

Getting Started

Begin by installing the package via Composer and enabling the ViewsBootloader in your Spiral application’s bootloader stack (app/src/Application/Bootloader/AppBootloader.php). Configure view paths and engine adapters via config/views.php (or via environment variables). The first use case is typically rendering a simple template in a controller:

public function index(Factory $view): Response
{
    return $view->render('home/index', ['title' => 'Welcome']);
}

Start by checking the src/View/FactoryInterface and default engine adapters (e.g., RawEngine, Plates, or Twig integrations) in config/views.php.

Implementation Patterns

• Dependency Injection: Inject Spiral\View\FactoryInterface (or Spiral\View\RendererInterface) into controllers, services, or middleware for consistent rendering.
• Template Namespaces: Use namespace => path mapping in config to organize templates (e.g., admin::dashboard, shop::cart) and avoid path collisions.
• Layout Composition: Define master layouts in resources/views/layouts/main.phtml and extend them in child templates using {{ $layout->extend('layouts/main') }} or equivalent engine syntax.
• Partial Reusability: Render reusable blocks with $view->render('components/header', $data) inside templates or controllers.
• Custom Engines: Implement Spiral\View\EngineInterface to plug in custom or newer template engines (e.g., Blade, Latte), then register them via config.

Gotchas and Tips

• Engine adapter names must match config keys (e.g., 'engines' => ['php' => PhpEngine::class]); mismatched names cause silent fallbacks or exceptions.
• Path resolution is case-sensitive on Linux; ensure template filenames and render() calls match exactly.
• Rendering fails silently if template path isn’t in configured paths — use @var docblocks and debug with Factory::getTemplatePath($name) in dev.
• Avoid injecting Factory into view templates themselves — pass data explicitly; circular dependencies can occur.
• Extensibility: Extend Spiral\View\View to add global variables, global helpers, or custom render() decorators.
• Since the package hasn’t been updated since 2019, verify compatibility with newer Spiral versions (especially v3+); consider forking or adopting alternatives like spiral/blade if you need modern features (e.g., component slots, hot reloading).