Yii

[easy, efficient and extensible php framework]

Honeyson Joseph D Roll no : 511 S5 MCA TKMCE KOLLAM
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introduction
- Yii is a high-performance component-based PHP framework for developing large-scale Web applications

- Yii is a generic Web programming framework, used

for developing virtually all sorts of Web applications

- Yii is a Model View Controller framework

FUNDAMENTALS OF Yii

- Model-View-Controller (MVC) - Entry Script - Debug Mode - Application

- Application Base Directory

- Action

- Layout
- Widget etc..
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FUNDAMENTALS OF Yii

Model-View-Controller (MVC) In MVC ,model represents the data and the business rules; view contains elements of the user interface such as text, form inputs; and the controller manages the communication between the model and the view. MVC separate business logic from user interface considerations to easily change each part without affecting the other. Yii uses a front-controller, called application, which represents the execution context of request processing.
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Static structure of MVC

FUNDAMENTALS OF Yii

Entry Script Entry script is the bootstrap PHP script that handles user requests initially. It is the only PHP script that end users can directly request to execute Debug Mode Yii application can run in either debug or production mode according to the constant value YII DEBUG. By default, this constant value is defined as false, meaning production mode. To run in debug mode, define this constant as true before including

FUNDAMENTALS OF Yii

Application Application represents the execution context of request processing. The application singleton can be accessed at any place via Yii::app(). Application Base Directory Application base directory refers to the root directory that contains all security-sensitive PHP scripts and data. By default, it is a subdirectory named protected that is located under the directory containing the entry script
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FUNDAMENTALS OF Yii

Controller A controller is an instance of CController or its child class created by application . When a controller runs, it performs the requested action which usually brings in the needed models and renders an appropriate view Action An action can be defined as a method whose name starts with the word action. An action class and ask the controller to instantiate tasks when requested

FUNDAMENTALS OF Yii

Layouts Layout is a special view that is used to decorate views. It usually contains portions of user interface that are common among several views Widget

A widget is an instance of CWidget or its child class. It is a component mainly for presentational purpose. Widgets enable better reusability in user interface. Widgets are usually embedded in a view script to generate some complex yet self-contained user interface. For example, a calendar widget can be used to

A Typical Workflow OF Yii

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CREATING AN Yii APPLICATION For creating Web application we use a powerful yiic tool which can be used to automate code creation for certain tasks.

For simply, we assume that YiiRoot is the directory

where Yii is installed, and WebRoot is the document root of our Web server.
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CREATING AN Yii APPLICATION(contd..) Step 0. Preparation After installing the Yii framework, run a simple console command
% YiiRoot/framework/yiic webapp WebRoot/testdrive

to generate a skeleton Web application built with Yii.

This will create a skeleton Yii application under the directory WebRoot/testdrive.

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CREATING AN Yii APPLICATION(contd..)

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CREATING AN Yii APPLICATION(contd..)

Step 1. Create the Database While Yii can virtually eliminate most repetitive coding tasks, you are responsible for the real creative work. This often starts with designing the whole system to be built, in terms of some database schema.

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CREATING AN Yii APPLICATION(contd..)

Step 2a.

Yii Generates the Model Classes

Using the built-in Web-based code generator, you can turn database table definitions into model classes instantly, without writing a single line of code. The model classes will allow you to access the database tables in an object-oriented fashion.

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CREATING AN Yii APPLICATION(contd..)

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CREATING AN Yii APPLICATION(contd..)

Step 2b. Yii Generates the CRUD Code

Using the code generator, we can further generate code that implements the typical CRUD (create, read, update, delete) features for the selected database tables. The generated code is highly usable and customizable, following the well-adopted MVC (model-view-controller) design pattern.

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CREATING AN Yii APPLICATION(contd..)

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CREATING AN Yii APPLICATION(contd..)

Step 3. You customize the code to fit your exact needs Finally we customize the code to fit our exact needs. For example, to hide the password column on the user administration page, simply cross out the 'password' element shown in the user admin view file:

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features of Yii
- Database Access Objects (DAO), Query Builder

Yii allows developers to model

database data in terms of objects and avoid the deadliness and complexity of writing repetitive

SQL statements.

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features of Yii(contd..) - Form input and validation

Yii makes collecting form input

extremely easy and safe. It comes with a set of

validates as well as numerous helper methods and widgets to simplify the task for form input

and validation.
Authentication and authorization Yii has built-in authentication support. It

also supports authorization via hierarchical rolebased access control

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features of Yii(contd..)
- Skinning and theming Yii implements a skinning and

theming mechanism that allows you to quickly

switch the outlook of a Yii-power website.

Layered caching scheme

Yii supports data caching, page caching,

fragment caching and dynamic content. The storage

medium of caching can be changed easily without

touching the application code.
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features of Yii(contd..) - Automatic code generation

Yii provides a set of spontaneous

and highly extensible code generation tools that

can help you quickly generate the code you need for features such as form input, CRUD.

- Purely object-oriented
Yii framework sticks to strict OOP paradigm. It does not define any global function or

variable. And the class hierarchy that it defines allows

maximum reusability and customization.
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features of Yii(contd..) - Error handling and logging

Errors are handled and presented

more nicely, and log messages can be

categorized, filtered and routed to different destinations.

- Security Yii is equipped with many security

measures to help prevent your Web applications from

attacks such as SQL injection, cookie tampering etc.
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Disadvantages of Yii framework Yii is written in approach that does not support the most innovative, modern advantages brought to PHP development world with release of PHP 5.3 and soon PHP version 6.

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Conclusion Yii does not need to be installed under a Webaccessible directory. An Yii application has one entry script which is usually the only file that needs to be exposed to Web users. Other PHP scripts, including those from Yii, should be protected from Web access since they may be exploited for hacking.

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References

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