Views

In the Model–View–Controller pattern, a View is responsible for presentation—the HTML, emails or other templates that your users see. Even in an API-first framework, simple server-side views can be useful for emails, status pages or admin panels.

LacePHP provides a lightweight PHP-based templating helper so you can keep your display logic separate from your controller logic.

Helper Function

Use the global view() function anywhere to render a PHP template into a string:

// weave/Views/emails/welcome.php
<h1>Welcome, <?= htmlspecialchars($name, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8') ?>!</h1>
<p>Thank you for joining LacePHP.</p>

// In your controller or route:
echo view('emails.welcome', ['name' => 'Alice']);

How it works

  1. You call view(‘emails.welcome’, $data).

  2. LacePHP converts dots to directory separators and looks first in your app folder (weave/Views/emails/welcome.php), then falls back to the framework’s shoebox/views folder.

  3. It extract()`s your `$data into local variables, includes the file, and returns the buffered output.

Basic Usage

// 1. Create the template file
// File: weave/Views/articles/show.php

<h2><?= htmlspecialchars($title, ENT_QUOTES) ?></h2>
<div><?= nl2br(htmlspecialchars($body, ENT_QUOTES)) ?></div>

// 2. Render in your controller

class ArticleController
{
    public function show(array $params)
    {
        $article = Article::find($params['id']);
        if (! $article) {
            return kickback()->notFound('Article not found');
        }

        // Pass attributes to the template
        return view('articles.show', [
            'title' => $article->title,
            'body'  => $article->body,
        ]);
    }
}

Fallback Views

If you do not override a template in weave/Views, LacePHP will use the default in shoebox/views. This lets you customise only the views you need while still shipping sensible defaults.

Best Practices

  • Keep logic out of views Only display data—fetching or transforming data belongs in controllers or services.

  • Escape all output Use htmlspecialchars() or equivalent to prevent cross-site scripting (XSS).

  • Use small, focused templates Split large pages into includes (e.g. headers, footers, partials) for maintainability.

  • Name templates clearly Follow the dot notation to match folder structure: view(‘users.profile.edit’) → weave/Views/users/profile/edit.php.

Warning

  • If a template file is missing, view() throws a RuntimeException—catch it or ensure your file paths are correct.

  • Avoid heavy loops or database calls inside templates; prepare all data before calling view().

By using view(), you can cleanly separate presentation from business logic, making templates easy to read, maintain and secure.