Question

I had to develop a CMS using Zend Framework and I used the default namespace defined in my boostrap for my backend:

autoloaderNamespaces[] = "Application_"

Now I want to develop the frontend, but I don’t know how to do it, since I have access to my backend from the /public/ directory.

Then I would like to use a different layout for my frontend than the one I use for the backend access. So I found this post but I don’t know if I have to change/add (and then how to change) the module of my backend, or if I have to create a second module that I will use for my frontend

my file tree is like this :

So if I create a frontend module, shall I create a frontend directory next to the applicationdirectory ?

EDIT : I created 2directories pub and frontend next to the application directory. In pub/index.php I instanciated the bootstrap with the application/configs/application.ini file with a different APPLICATION_FRONT_ENV :

[frontprod : production]

bootstrap.path = APPLICATION_FRONT_PATH "/bootstrap.php"
bootstrap.class = "Bootstrap"
resources.frontController.controllerDirectory = APPLICATION_FRONT_PATH "/controllers"
autoloaderNamespaces[] = "Frontend_"
resources.layout.layout = "layout"
resources.layout.layoutPath = APPLICATION_FRONT_PATH "/layouts/scripts"

[frontdev: frontprod]

phpSettings.display_startup_errors = 1
phpSettings.display_errors = 1
resources.frontController.params.displayExceptions = 1

and in the frontend/bootstrap.php I loaded models from applicationdirectory :

public function _initAutoloader(){

        $baseAutoload = new Zend_Loader_Autoloader_Resource(array(
                                    'namespace' => 'Application',
                                    'basePath' => realpath(dirname(__FILE__).'/../application')
                                )
                            );

}

And it seems to be working fine =)
thank you !

Answer 1

In Zend Framework you can organise your app in modules, wich suits very well to your needs. Unfortunately the doc doesn’t emphasize enough the importance of this concept, and how you should implement it from day one.

Modules allows you to regroup under a same module folder everything that is related to this module only, and this way to isolate “parts” of your app in logical groups.
In your case it would be “back” and “front”, but you could also have a “forum” module or let’s say a “shop” module.

In the urls point of view, the default routing of a modular structure is example.com/module/controller/action, but using hostname routes you can also have http://www.example.com pointing to your “front” module and admin.example.com pointing to your backend.

Have a look at the poor documentation section about modules, and don’t panic, you won’t have to rename everything if you move your current controllers, views and models in the “default” module.

There is an other alternative that could suit well for a backend/frontend logic, but not if you want to split your code in more logical parts (forum, blog, shop,…). You just create a second application folder (you would name ‘frontend’) next to the ‘application’ folder, and a second public directory (where you can symlink your assets folder if you use the sames), and a different namespace.

To be able to autoload your ‘Application_’ classes in your frontend code, just add and configure a Module Autoloader in your frontend bootstrap. The code is quite simple :

//in your frontend/Bootstrap.php
public function _initAutoloader(){
     new Zend_Loader_Autoloader_Resource( array(
             'namespace' => 'Application_',
             'path' => realpath(dirname(__FILE__).'/../application'
         )
     );
}

For the application.ini config file i would recommend, instead of duplicating it, that you create a section [frontprod : production] section where you override your backend settings (and a matching [frontdev: frontprod] for your local settings).

I hope this helped. There is so much to say about all the topics introduced here that you should first have a look at this, then comment this answer with more specific questions about the problems you may encounter, and i’ll extend the answer.