Creating controllers and actions¶
The controller classes are stored in the folder EXT:sjr_offer/Classes/Controller/. The name of the
controller is composed by the name of the domain model and the suffix
Controller. So the controller
\MyVendor\SjrOffers\Controller\OfferController is assigned
to the Aggregate Root Object
\MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Model\Offer. And the name of the
Class file is OfferController.php.
The controller class must extend the class
\TYPO3\CMS\Extbase\Mvc\Controller\ActionController, which is
part of Extbase. The individual actions are combined in separate methods.
The method names have to end in Action. The body of
OfferController thus looks like this:
<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
namespace MyVendor\SjrOffers\Controller;
use TYPO3\CMS\Extbase\Mvc\Controller\ActionController;
class OfferController extends ActionController
{
// action methods will be following here
}
When realizing the desired tasks through action methods you will often stumble upon very similar flows and patterns. Each task will be carried out by a single action or a chain of Actions:
- A list of domain objects is to be displayed.
- A single domain object is to be displayed.
- A new domain object is to be created.
- An existing domain object is to be edited.
- A domain object is to be deleted.
The following sections will shed some light on these recurring patterns. Together with the schedule model they form the background for generating flows.
Tip
The method names for your Actions can be chosen freely. Nevertheless, the names presented here should be used to help other developers to find their ways through your code.
Flow pattern “display a list of domain objects”¶
The first pattern in our example fits the action “display
a list of all offers”. One action method usually will be enough
for implementing this. indexAction is the
name of this method:
// use \MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Repository\OfferRepository;
/**
* @var OfferRepository
*/
private $offerRepository;
/**
* Inject the offer repository
*
* @param OfferRepository $offerRepository
*/
public function injectOfferRepository(OfferRepository $offerRepository)
{
$this->offerRepository = $offerRepository;
}
/**
* Index Action
*/
public function indexAction(): ResponseInterface
{
$offers = $this->offerRepository->findAll();
$this->view->assign('offers', $offers);
return $this->htmlResponse();
}
initializeAction¶
In old TYPO3 versions the initializeAction() was used to get the repository instance.
Later we can use this action to modify the request before the property mapper is executed or
integrate JavaScript libraries.
The ActionController not only calls the method initializeAction(), which is executed before any
action in the controller, but also a method in the Form of
initialize*Foo*Action(), which is called only before the method
*foo*Action().
Tip
The trick of implementing an empty method body in the super class, which is the “filled” in the subclass is called Template Pattern.
Flow pattern “display a single domain object”¶
The second pattern is best put into action by a single method as
well. It is called showAction(). In contrast to
indexAction, this method must be told from
outside which domain object is displayed. In this case the offer to
be shown is passed to the method as argument:
/**
* Show action
*
* @param \MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Model\Offer $offer The offer to be shown
* @return ResponseInterface The rendered HTML string
*/
public function showAction(\MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Model\Offer $offer)
{
$this->view->assign('offer', $offer);
return $this->htmlResponse();
}
Usually, the display of a single Object is called by a link in the frontend. In this example extension it connects the list view by something like the following URL:
https://example.org/index.php?id=123&tx_sjroffers_pi1[offer]=3&tx_sjroffers_pi1[action]=show&tx_sjroffers_pi1[controller]=Offer
Due to the 2 Arguments
tx_sjroffers_pi1[controller]=Offer and
tx_sjroffers_pi1[action]=show, the dispatcher of Extbase
passes the request to the OfferController. In the
request we find the information that the action show is to be called. Before passing on the further processing to
the method showAction(), the controller tries to
map the Arguments received by the URL on the method’s arguments.
Extbase maps the arguments by their names. In our example Extbase detects,
that the GET Argument tx_sjroffers_pi1[offer]=3 corresponds to the method argument
$offer:
showAction(\MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Model\Offer *$offer*).
Extbase fetches the type of this Argument from the method signature:
showAction(*\MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Model\Offer* $offer).
Deprecated since version 11.3: Starting with TYPO3 11.3 omitting the PHP type declaration and only using
the DocBlock annotation @param has been deprecated.
After successfully assigning, the incoming argument’s value has
to be cast in the target type and checked for validity (read more
about validation in chapter 9 in the section “Validating domain objects”). In
our case, the incoming value is “3”. Target type is the class
\MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Model\Offer. So Extbase
interprets the incoming value as uid of the object to be created and sends
a request to the Storage Backend to find an Object
with this uid. If the object can be reconstructed fully valid it is passed
to the method as argument. Inside of the method
showAction(), the newly created object is passed on
to the view, taking care of the HTML output.
Tip
Inside of the template, you can access all properties of the domain object, including all existing child objects. Thus this Flow Pattern does not only cover single domain objects but, in the event, also a complex aggregate.
If an argument is identified as invalid, the already implemented
method errorAction() of
ActionController is called instead of the method
showAction(). The method then generates a message
for the frontend user and passes the processing to the previous action, in
case it is given. The latter is handy with invalid form field
input, as you’ll see in the following.
Flow pattern “creating a new domain object”¶
For the third Flow Pattern, the one for creating a new Domain
Object, two steps are required: First, a form for inputting the Domain
Data has to be shown in Frontend. Second, a new domain object has to be
created (using the incoming form data) and put in the appropriate
repository. These two steps are implemented in the methods
newAction() `and
:php:`createAction().
Tip
These steps are described in chapter 3 in section “Alternative route: creating a new posting”.
First the method newAction() is called by a
link in frontend with the following URL:
https://example.org/index.php?id=123&tx_sjroffers_pi1[organization]=5&tx_sjroffers_pi1[action]=new&tx_sjroffers_pi1[controller]=Offer
Extbase instantiates the Organization `Object
mapped to the Argument :php:`$organization, just
as it was the case with the Offer object in the
method showAction(). In the URL, there is no information
(yet), though, which value the Argument $newOffer shall have. So the default value
(=null) set in the method signature is used. With
these Arguments, the controller passes the further processing to the
method newAction().
<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
namespace MyVendor\SjrOffers\Controller;
use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;
use TYPO3\CMS\Extbase\Annotation as Extbase;
use TYPO3\CMS\Extbase\Mvc\Controller\ActionController;
use MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Model\Organization;
use \MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Model\Offer;
class OfferController extends ActionController
{
// ...
/**
* @param Organization $organization The organization
* @param Offer $offer The new offer object
* @return ResponseInterface An HTML form for creating a new offer
* @Extbase\IgnoreValidation("newOffer")
*/
public function newAction(Organization $organization, Offer $newOffer = null): ResponseInterface
{
$this->view->assign('organization', $organization);
$this->view->assign('newOffer', $newOffer);
$this->view->assign('regions', $this->regionRepository->findAll());
return $this->htmlResponse();
}
// ...
}
This action passes to the view in organization the Organization object, in newOffer
null (to begin with) the and in region all Region Objects contained in the
RegionRepository. The view creates the output of
the form in the frontend, using a template, which has a focus on in chapter 8 in
section “Template Creation by example”. After the user filled in the offer’s data
and submitted the form, the Method
createAction() shall be called. It expects as Arguments
an Organization Object and an Object of the class
\MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Model\Offer. Therefore Extbase
instantiates the Object and “fills” its Properties with the appropriate
Form data. If all Arguments are valid, the action
createAction() is called.
// use \MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Model\Organization;
// use \MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Model\Offer
/**
* @param Organization $organization The organization the offer belongs to
* @param Offer $newOffer A fresh Offer object which has not yet been added to the repository
* @return void
*/
public function createAction(Organization $organization, Offer $newOffer): void
{
$organization->addOffer($newOffer);
$newOffer->setOrganization($organization);
$this->redirect('show', 'Organization', NULL, ['organization' => $organization]);
}
Note
The redirect methods do not return any response, any method using them should return void accordingly. This has been deprecated in TYPO3v11 and was dropped in TYPO3v12 where every action must return a response now.
The new offer is allocated to the organization, and inversely the organization is allocated to the offer. Thanks to this allocation, Extbase will cause the persistence of the new offer in the dispatcher before returning to TYPO3.
After creating the new offer, the appropriate organization is to be
displayed with all of its offers. Therefore a new request is started
(request-response-cycle) by redirecting to
showAction() of the
OrganizationController using the Method
redirect(). The actual organization is hereby
passed on as an argument. Inside the
ActionController the following methods are at disposal for
redirecting to other action controllers:
redirect($actionName, $controllerName = NULL, $extensionName = NULL,
array $arguments = NULL, $pageUid = NULL, $delay = 0, $statusCode = 303)
redirectToURI($uri, $delay = 0, $statusCode = 303)
return new :php:`ForwardResponse('actionName')`;
Using the redirect() method, you can start a
new request-response-cycle on the spot, similar to clicking on a link:
- The destimation action is specified in
$actionName. - The appropriate controller is defined in
$controllerName). - The extension name is passed over to the method
in
$extensionName). - In the fourth parameter
$argumentsyou can pass an array of arguments. In our example['organization' => $organization]would look like this in the URL:tx_sjroffers_pi1[organization]=5. The array key is transcribed to the parameter name, while the organization object in$organizationis transformed into the number 5, which is the appropriate UID. - If you want to link to another page inside
the TYPO3 installation, you can pass its uid in the 5th parameter
(
$pageUid). - A delay before redirecting can be
achieved by using the 6th parameter (
$delay). By default the reason for redirecting is set to status code 303 (which means See Other). - You can use the 7th parameter
(
$statusCode) to override this (for example, with 301, which means Moved Permanently).
Tip
If you do not specify a controller or extension, Extbase assumes that you stay in the same context.
In this example, the following code is sent to the browser. It provokes the immediate reload of the page with the given URL:
<html><head><meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0;url=https://example.org/
index.php?id=123&tx_sjroffers_pi1[organization]=5&tx_sjroffers_
pi1[action]=show&tx_sjroffers_pi1[controller]=Organization"/></head></html>
The method redirectToURI() corresponds to the
method redirect(), but you can directly set a URL
respectively URI as string, e.g. <html><head><meta http-equiv= "refresh" content="0;url=https://example.org/foo/bar.html"/></head></html>.
With this, you have all the freedom to do what you need. Returning
a ForwardResponse object redirects the request
to another action, just as the other two redirect methods do. In
contrast to them, no new request-response cycle is started, though. The
request object is updated with the details concerning the action,
controller and extension. It is then being passed back to the dispatcher for
processing. Then the dispatcher passes on the actual
Request object to the appropriate controller.
Here, too, applies: If no controller or extension is set, the actual
context is kept.
This procedure can be done multiple times when calling a page. The risk, though, is that the process runs into an infinite loop (A redirects to B, B redirects to A again). In this case, Extbase stops the processing after some steps.
There is another important difference between the redirect methods. Using
the ForwardResponse() to redirect, new objects
will not (yet) be persisted to database. They will be persisted at the end
of the request-response-cycle. Therefore no UID has been assigned to a
new object yet, and therefore the transcription to a URL parameter fails. You can
manually trigger the persisting before you return the ForwardResponse,
by using $persistenceManager->persistAll(),
though.
When calling the method createAction(), the case of all arguments being valid has already been described.
But what happens if a frontend user inserts invalid data or even manipulates the form to
attack the website deliberately?
Tip
You find detailed information about validation and security in chapter 9
Fluid adds multiple hidden fields to the form generated by the
Method newAction(). These contain information about
the origin of the form (__referrer) as well as, in
encrypted form (__trustedProperties), the structure of the form
(shorted in the example below).
<input type="hidden" name="tx_sjroffers_list[__referrer][extensionName]"
value="SjrOffers" />
<input type="hidden" name="tx_sjroffers_list[__referrer][controllerName]" value="Offer" />
<input type="hidden" name="tx_sjroffers_list[__referrer][actionName]" value="edit" />
<input type="hidden" name="tx_sjroffers_list[__trustedProperties]"
value="a:4:{s:5:"offer";a:12:
...
s:10:"__identity";i:1;}s:12:"organization";i:1;
s:6:"action";i:1;s:10:"controller";
i:1;}8888b05fbf35fc96d0e3aadd370a8856a9edad20" />
If now a validation error occurs when calling the method
createAction(), an error message is saved and the
processing is passed back to the previous action, including all already
inserted form data. Extbase reads the necessary information from the
hidden fields __referrer. In our case the Method
newAction() is called again. In contrast to the
first call, Extbase now tries to create an (invalid)
Offer Object from the form data and pass it to
the Method in $newOffer. Due to the annotation
@Extbase\IgnoreValidation("newOffer") Extbase this time accepts
the invalid object and displays the form once more. Formerly filled in
data is put in the fields again, and the previously saved error message is
displayed if the template is intending so.
Figure 7-1: Wrong input in the form of an offer leads to an error message (in this case, a modal JavaScript window)
Tip
Standard error messages of Extbase are not yet localized in Version 1.2 (TYPO3 4.4). In the section “Localize error messages” in chapter 8 a possibility is described how to translate them.
Using the hidden field __trustedProperties, the Extbase property
mapper compares the incoming property data with the allowed ones.
If the request contains data for non-whitelisted properties, the property
mapper throws an exception.
Using the \TYPO3\CMS\Extbase\Annotation\IgnoreValidation("parameterName") annotation,
you tell Extbase that the argument is not to be validated. If the argument is an Object, the
validation of its properties is also bypassed.
Flow pattern “editing an existing domain object”¶
The flow pattern presented to you is quite similar to the
previous one. Aain need two action methods are neede, which this time call
editAction() and
updateAction(). The method
editAction() provides the form for editing, while
updateAction() updates the object in the
repository. In contrast to newAction() it is not
necessary to pass an organization to the method
editAction(). It is sufficient to pass the offer to
be edited as an argument.
<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
namespace MyVendor\SjrOffers\Controller;
use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;
use TYPO3\CMS\Extbase\Annotation as Extbase;
use TYPO3\CMS\Extbase\Mvc\Controller\ActionController;
use MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Model\Offer;
class OfferController extends ActionController
{
// ...
/**
* @param Offer $offer The existing, unmodified offer
* @return ResponseInterface
* @Extbase\IgnoreValidation("offer")
*/
public function editAction(Offer $offer): ResponseInterface
{
$this->view->assign('offer', $offer);
$this->view->assign('regions', $this->regionRepository->findAll());
return $this->htmlResponse();
}
// ...
}
Note once again the annotation @Extbase\IgnoreValidation("offer").
The Method updateAction()
receives the changed offer and updates it in the repository. Afterward, a
new request is started, and the organization is shown with its updated
offers.
// use \MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Model\Offer;
/**
* @param Offer $offer The modified offer
* @return ResponseInterface
*/
public function updateAction(Offer $offer) : ResponseInterface
{
$this->offerRepository->update($offer);
return $this->redirect('show', 'Organization', NULL, ['organization' => $offer->getOrganization()]);
}
Warning
Do not forget to explicitly update the changed domain object
using update(). Extbase will not do this
automatically for you. Not doing so could lead to unexpected results.
For example, if you have to manipulate the incoming domain object
inside your action method.
At this point it is necessary to prevent unauthorized changes in the domain data. The organization and offer data are not to be changed by all visitors after all. An administrator is allocated to each organization, authorized to change the organization’s data. The administrator can change the organization’s contact data, create and delete offers, and contact persons as well as edit existing offers. Securing against unauthorized access can be done on different levels:
- On the level of TYPO3, access to the page and/or plugin is prohibited.
- Inside the action, it is checked if access is authorized. In our case, it has to be checked if the administrator of the organization is logged in.
- In the template, links to Actions, to which the frontend user has no access, are blinded.
Of these three levels, only the first two offer reliable
protection. The first level is not described in this book.
You can find detailed information for setting up permissions in
your TYPO3 system in the Core API.
The second levelis implemented here in all “critical” actions.
Let’s look at an example with the Method
updateAction().
use TYPO3\CMS\Core\Utility\GeneralUtility;
use \MyVendor\SjrOffers\Service\AccessControlService;
public function initializeAction()
{
$this->accessControlService = GeneralUtility::makeInstance(AccessControlService::class);
}
public function updateAction(\MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Model\Offer $offer)
{
$administrator = $offer->getOrganization()->getAdministrator();
if ($this->accessControlService->isLoggedIn($administrator)) {
$this->offerRepository->update($offer);
} else {
$this->flashMessages->add('Please sign in.');
}
return $this->redirect('show', 'Organization', NULL, ['organization' => $offer->getOrganization()]);
}
A previously instantiated
AccessControlService is asked if the organization’s administrator is
responsible for the offer is logged in the frontend. If yes, do update the offer.
If no, an error message is generated, which is
displayed in the subsequently called organization overview.
Extbase does not yet offer an API for access control. Therefore
an AccessControlService is implemented.
The description of the class is to be found in the file
EXT:sjr_offers/Classes/Service/AccessControlService.php.
<?php
namespace MyVendor\SjrOffers\Service;
use TYPO3\CMS\Core\SingletonInterface;
class AccessControlService implements SingletonInterface
{
public function isLoggedIn($person = NULL)
{
if (is_object($person)) {
if ($person->getUid() === $this->getFrontendUserUid()) {
return TRUE;
}
}
return FALSE;
}
public function getFrontendUserUid()
{
if($this->hasLoggedInFrontendUser() && !empty($GLOBALS['TSFE']->fe_user->
user['uid'])) {
return intval($GLOBALS['TSFE']->fe_user->user['uid']);
}
return NULL;
}
public function hasLoggedInFrontendUser()
{
return $GLOBALS['TSFE']->loginUser === 1 ? TRUE : FALSE;
}
}
The third level can easily be bypassed by manually typing the link or the form data. It, therefore, only reduces the confusion for honest visitors and the stimulus for the bad ones. Let’s take a short look at this snippet from a template:
{namespace sjr=MyVendor\SjrOffers\ViewHelpers}
<!-- ... -->
<sjr:security.ifAuthenticated person="{organization.administrator}">
<f:link.action controller="Offer" action="edit" arguments="{...}">
<f:image src="EXT:sjr_offers/Resources/Public/Icons/edit.gif" alt="edit" />
</f:link.action>
<!-- ... -->
</sjr:security.ifAuthenticated>
Tip
A Service is often used to implement functionalities that are needed in multiple places in your extensions and are not related to one domain object.
Services are often stateless. In this context, that means that
their function does not depend on previous access. This does not
rule out the dependency on the “environment”. In our example, you can be
sure, that a verification by isLoggedIn()
always leads to the same result, regardless of any earlier
verification - given that the “environment” has not changed
(considerably), e.g., by the Administrator logging out or even losing
his access rights.
Services usually can be built as Singleton
(implements t3lib_Singleton). You can find
detailed information on Singleton in chapter 2 in
section “Singleton”.
The AccessControlService is not part of
the Domain of our extension. It “belongs” to the Domain of the Content
Management System. There are Domain Services also, of course, like a
Service creating a continuous invoice number. They are usually located
in EXT:my_ext/Classes/Domain/Service/.
It is made use of an IfAuthenticatedViewHelper
to access the AccessControlService. The class file
IfAuthenticatedViewHelper.php is in our case
located in EXT:sjr_offers/Classes/ViewHelpers/Security/.
namespace MyVendor\SjrOffers\ViewHelper\Security;
use MyVendor\SjrOffers\Service\AccessControlService;
use TYPO3Fluid\Fluid\ViewHelpers\IfViewHelper;
use TYPO3\CMS\Core\Utility\GeneralUtility;
class IfAuthenticatedViewHelper extends IfViewHelper
{
/**
* @param mixed $person The person to be tested for login
* @return string The output
*/
public function render(mixed $person = NULL)
{
$accessControlService = GeneralUtility::makeInstance(AccessControlService::class);
if ($accessControlService->isLoggedIn($person)) {
return $this->renderThenChild();
} else {
return $this->renderElseChild();
}
}
}
The IfAuthenticatedViewHelper extends the
If-ViewHelper of Fluid and therefore provides the
opportunity to use if-else branches. It delegates the access check to the
AccessControlService. If the check gives a positive
result, in our case, a link with an edit icon is generated, which leads to
the method editAction() of the
OfferController.
Flow pattern “deleting a domain object”¶
The last flow pattern realizes the deletion of an existing domain
Object in one single action. The appropriate Method
deleteAction() is kind of straightforward:
// use \MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Model\Offer
/**
* @param Offer $offer The offer to be deleted
* @return ResponseInterface
*/
public function deleteAction(Offer $offer) : ResponseInterface
{
$administrator = $offer->getOrganization()->getAdministrator();
if ($this->accessControlService->isLoggedIn($administrator)) {
$this->offerRepository->remove($offer);
} else {
$this->flashMessages->add('Please sign in.');
}
return $this->redirect('show', 'Organization', NULL, ['organization' => $offer->getOrganization()]);
}
The important thing here is that you delete the given Offer from the
repository using the method remove(). After running
through your extension, Extbase will delete the associated record from
the Database by marking it as deleted.
Tip
In principle, it doesn’t matter how you generate the result (usually HTML code) inside the action. You can even decide to use the traditional way of building extensions in your action - with SQL Queries and maker-based Templating. We invite you to pursue the path we chose up till now, though.
The flow patterns we present here are meant to be blueprints for
your own flows. In real-life projects, they may get way more complex. The
Method indexAction() of the
OfferController looks like this in it’s “final
stage”:
// use \MyVendor\SjrOffers\Domain\Model\Demand;
/**
* @param Demand $demand A demand (filter)
* @return ResponseInterface
*/
public function indexAction(Demand $demand = NULL): ResponseInterface
{
$allowedStates = (strlen($this->settings['allowedStates']) > 0) ?
t3lib_div::intExplode(',', $this->settings['allowedStates']) : [];
$listCategories = (strlen($this->settings['listCategories']) > 0) ?
t3lib_div::intExplode(',', $this->settings['listCategories']) : [];
$selectableCategories = (strlen($this->settings['selectableCategories']) > 0) ?
t3lib_div::intExplode(',', $this->settings['selectableCategories']) : [];
$propertiesToSearch = (strlen($this->settings['propertiesToSearch']) > 0) ?
t3lib_div::trimExplode(',', $this->settings['propertiesToSearch']) : [];
$this->view->assign('offers',
$this->offerRepository->findDemanded(
$demand,
$propertiesToSearch,
$listCategories,
$allowedStates
)
);
$this->view->assign('demand', $demand);
$this->view->assign('organizations',
array_merge(
[0 => 'All Organisations'],
$this->organizationRepository->findByStates($allowedStates)
)
);
$this->view->assign('categories',
array_merge(
[0 => 'All Categories'],
$this->categoryRepository->findSelectableCategories($selectableCategories)
)
);
$this->view->assign('regions',
array_merge(
[0 => 'All Districts'],
$this->regionRepository->findAll()
)
);
return $this->htmlResponse();
}
In the script’s first few lines, configuration options, set in the TypoScript template as a comma-separated list, are transcribed to arrays. Then this information is passed to the View piece by piece.
One requirement our extension has to realize is that a website visitor
can define a special demand, which is then used to filter the
range of offers. An appropriate Method
findDemanded() has already been implemented (see chapter 6).
To define his demand, the visitor chooses
the accordant options in a form (see pic. 7-2).
Figure 7-2: The buildup of the “demand” in a form above the offer list.
Warning
Watch out that you do not implement logic, which belongs in the controller domain. Concentrate on the mere Flow.
Tip
In real life, you will often need similar functionality in some
or even all controllers. The previously mentioned access control is a
simple example. In the example extension it is sourced out to a
service object. Another possibility is to create
a basis controller which extends the
ActionController of Extbase. Inside, you
implement the shared functionality. Then the concrete controllers with
your Actions extend this Basis controller again.
The Flow inside of a controller is triggered from outside by TYPO3. For extensions that generate content for the frontend, this is usually done by a plugin placed on the appropriate page. How to configure such a plugin you’ll see in the following section.