Question

Just started fumbling with ATK4. I’d like to use it both as a backend API (if possible) as well as to create a small CMS based on the same data the API will work with. The API will be accessed by browser plugins so no rendering will be done by ATK4.

So basically my question is, does ATK4 come with support for creating your own REST API or would I basically have to create this functionality myself? I’ve found the API docs but they seem focused on making API methods in service of the rendering “engine”.

In case I should make this myself, what’s the best way of implementing this on ATK4? (in terms of future compatibility).

Thanks

Answer 1

There is a straightforward way to solve that and a generic way.

The straightforward way is as simple as this:

class page_api_article_add extends Page {
    function init(){
         parent::init();
         try {
             $this->add('Model_Article')->set($_POST)->update();
             echo json_encode("OK");
             exit;
         }catch (BaseException $e){
             echo json_encode($e->getMessage());
             exit;
         }
    }
}

The more sophisticated solution consists of building the following items:

• You’ll need a custom API on top of ApiCLI.
• You’ll need a separate page routing
• Inside API you’ll need to define which models are accessible through API and which controller should be used
• Controller will implement argument validation and operations on the models, such as create, update, delete, duplicate, etc
• Support for key-authentication
• Custom exceptions

I have implemented this on one occasion, but I’ll need to negotiate with my client to make sure I can donate the code to atk4-addons.

Currently I would suggest you to go the “straightforward” route until the generic API is released.