Routing Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation:

   composer require symfony-cmf/routing
   

   Ensure symfony/routing (v6+) is also installed as a dependency.

2. First Use Case:

   • Dynamic Route Matching: Use the DynamicRouter to match routes with dynamic parameters (e.g., {slug}) in a Laravel controller:

     use SymfonyCmf\Routing\DynamicRouter;
     use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Request;
     
     public function show(Request $request, DynamicRouter $router)
     {
         $match = $router->match($request->getPathInfo());
         return view('page', ['content' => $match['_route_params']['slug']]);
     }
     

3. Key Files:

   • Review config/routing.php (if created) for route definitions.
   • Check app/Providers/RouteServiceProvider.php for binding the DynamicRouter to the container.

Implementation Patterns

Core Workflows

1. Route Definition:

   • Define routes in a YAML/array format (similar to Symfony):

     // config/routing.php
     return [
         'page_show' => [
             'path' => '/page/{slug}',
             'defaults' => ['_controller' => 'App\Controller\PageController::show'],
         ],
     ];
     

   • Load routes in RouteServiceProvider:

     public function boot()
     {
         $loader = new \Symfony\Component\Routing\Loader\YamlFileLoader(
             new \Symfony\Component\Config\FileLocator(__DIR__.'/../config')
         );
         $router = new DynamicRouter($loader->load('routing.yaml'));
         $this->app->singleton(DynamicRouter::class, fn() => $router);
     }
     

2. Route Matching:

   • Use DynamicRouter in controllers/middleware:

     $match = $router->match('/blog/laravel-tips');
     // Returns: ['_route' => 'page_show', '_route_params' => ['slug' => 'laravel-tips']]
     

3. Generating URLs:

   • Generate URLs dynamically:

     $url = $router->generate('page_show', ['slug' => 'laravel-tips']);
     // Returns: '/page/laravel-tips'
     

Integration Tips

• Laravel Middleware: Bind DynamicRouter to middleware for route-aware logic:

  public function handle($request, Closure $next)
  {
      $match = $this->router->match($request->getPathInfo());
      if ($match['_route'] === 'admin_dashboard') {
          // Custom logic
      }
      return $next($request);
  }
  

• Route Caching: Cache route collections for performance:

  $router = new DynamicRouter($loader->load('routing.yaml'));
  $router->getRouteCollection()->compile();
  

• Hybrid Routing: Combine with Laravel’s native router for flexibility:

  Route::get('/legacy', function () {
      return 'Legacy route';
  });
  

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Route Overrides:

   • Laravel’s native router takes precedence. Ensure DynamicRouter is used before Laravel’s router in middleware/service providers to avoid conflicts.

2. Parameter Validation:

   • Unlike Laravel, Symfony’s router does not validate parameters by default. Add validation manually:

     $slug = $match['_route_params']['slug'];
     if (!preg_match('/^[a-z0-9\-]+$/', $slug)) {
         abort(404);
     }
     

3. Case Sensitivity:

   • Routes are case-sensitive by default. Normalize paths in middleware:

     $request->setPathInfo(strtolower($request->getPathInfo()));
     

4. Circular Dependencies:

   • Avoid circular references in route definitions (e.g., recursive route parameters).

Debugging

• Dump Route Collection:

  dd($router->getRouteCollection()->getResources());
  

• Enable Debug Mode: Set SYMFONY_ROUTER_DEBUG=1 in .env to log route matching details.

Extension Points

1. Custom Route Loaders: Extend YamlFileLoader or XmlFileLoader for custom formats (e.g., JSON):

   use Symfony\Component\Routing\Loader\JsonFileLoader;
   

2. Route Builders: Use RouteBuilder for programmatic route generation:

   $routeBuilder = new RouteBuilder();
   $routeBuilder->add('home', '/');
   $router = new DynamicRouter($routeBuilder->getRouteCollection());
   

3. Route Events: Subscribe to ROUTE_MATCH and ROUTE_GENERATE events (via Symfony EventDispatcher) for pre/post-processing.

4. Laravel Service Provider: Override Laravel’s RouteServiceProvider to integrate DynamicRouter seamlessly:

   protected function mapApiRoutes()
   {
       $router = app(DynamicRouter::class);
       // Use $router->match()/$router->generate() here
   }
   

Configuration Quirks

• Route Priority: Routes defined later in the loader override earlier ones. Use unique route names to avoid conflicts.
• Default Routes: Symfony’s router requires at least one route to be defined. Add a fallback:

  $routeCollection->add('fallback', new Route('/{path}', [], [], [], 'GET', [], [], false));