Getting Started

Start with Zend\View\Renderer\PhpRenderer — it’s the core renderer class responsible for rendering .phtml templates using PHP variables.
Install via Composer: composer require zendframework/zend-view. (Note: This package is archived; consider migrating to laminas/laminas-view for active support.)

First use case: Render a simple template with variables:

use Zend\View\Renderer\PhpRenderer;

$renderer = new PhpRenderer();
echo $renderer->render('templates/hello.php', [
    'name' => 'World'
]);

Templates (e.g. hello.php) use standard PHP syntax with variable interpolation: <?= $this->escapeHtml($name) ?>.

Implementation Patterns

Use View Helpers for common tasks: Leverage built-in helpers like $this->escapeHtml(), $this->url(), $this->partial(), and $this->layout() for reusable presentation logic.
Leverage Layouts & View Models:
- Wrap templates in layouts: $renderer->resolve('layout', 'default') or use ViewModel for structured variable passing.
- Example:
```
$viewModel = new ViewModel(['title' => 'Home']);
$viewModel->setTemplate('layout/default');
echo $renderer->render($viewModel);
```

Plugin managers (Renderer Plugins): Extend functionality via custom helpers registered with PluginManager:

$renderer->pluginManager->addInitializer(function ($helper, $pm) {
    // e.g., set DI container or request instance
});

Asset helpers integration: Use $this->headLink() / $this->headScript() for managing <head> assets — particularly useful in full MVC pipelines.

Deprecated but functional: This package is archived and unmaintained. Prefer laminas/laminas-view (its official successor) to avoid security risks and ensure compatibility with modern PHP versions.
Autoloading quirk: Requires Zend\View namespace mapped correctly (Composer handles this by default, but verify vendor/autoload.php is loaded).
Security: Always use $this->escapeHtml() or appropriate helpers (escapeJs, escapeCss, etc.) to prevent XSS — PhpRenderer does not auto-escape by default.
Debugging tip: Set Zend\View\Renderer\PhpRenderer::setOption('strict_types', true) for stricter PHP parsing (PHP 7.4+).
Extensibility: Override renderer behavior by extending PhpRenderer or adding preprocessors/postprocessors via RendererPluginManager.
No routing integration out-of-the-box: If used standalone, you’ll need to manually inject request/URL generation — consider pairing with laminas/laminas-mvc or laminas-stratigility for full integration.