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Essentials

Owner: Nuwan Danushka

Introduction

Essentials, the cornerstone of Do Framework, brings together a suite of indispensable tools designed to elevate your development experience. This comprehensive package comprises key functionalities essential for crafting robust and feature-rich applications. Let's delve into its core components.

Notification​

Keep your users informed and engaged with seamless notification capabilities. Whether it's alerts, updates, or reminders, the Notification module empowers you to deliver timely messages to your audience, enhancing user experience and interaction.

Email​

Streamline communication and outreach with the Email module. From transactional emails to marketing campaigns, this feature-rich component provides the tools you need to effortlessly send and manage email communications, ensuring reliable delivery and engagement.

Authentication​

Authentication covers how users log in (password and two-factor), log out, reset a forgotten password and stay logged in with remember-me. It explains how sessions work, what validate_session returns to the SPA, and how a controller protects its actions with authenticate() and auth::appUserPermission().

Roles And Permissions​

Roles And Permissions explains how DoFramework controls who can do what. Apps declare permissions in their XML manifest, and roles hold grants for them. A user can hold several roles, whose grants combine in the session. Apps can create roles with default grants from the manifest. Changes made on the admin panel's Roles page reach logged-in users on their next request, with no new login. The page shows how to check permissions in controllers and in the SPA. It also covers scoped grants, which limit a grant to part of an app's data through a resolver class.

Logging​

Gain valuable insights into your application's behavior and performance with the Logging module. By capturing and analyzing logs, you can identify issues, track user actions, and optimize your application for peak efficiency, facilitating proactive maintenance and improvement.

Localization​

Reach a global audience and tailor your application to diverse languages and regions with the Localization module. From translating content to adapting formats and conventions, this versatile tool empowers you to create a truly inclusive and accessible user experience.

Configuration Files​

Configuration Files explains which file each DoFramework setting lives in: api/config.xml, the per-environment overlay api/config.<environment>.xml, and the two xp-config.json files. It covers how <system_environment> and the APP_CONFIG_ENV override choose the overlay, and how the .dist templates create the live files and reset release-owned keys. It also covers maintenance mode, CORS <allowed_domains>, the <installed_at> setup marker and the module health check, with an annotated example of each file.

Config Handlers​

Config Handlers shows how to read and change configuration from code. system_config reads and writes the backend XML files. DoFrontendConfigHandler edits xp-config.json, DoFrontendAppConfigHandler edits an app's app-config.json, and AppConfigHandler edits an app's XML manifest. Changes to the JSON files are saved only when you call commit_modification_to_config().

App Options​

App Options are named settings that an app keeps in its own table, such as a display name or a feature flag. The app declares them in an <app_options> block in its manifest, the framework seeds their defaults on every app initialization, and the app_options class and XP.app_options read and write them. Allowed options are readable without login, so they must never hold secrets.

Scheduler (Heartbeat)​

The Scheduler runs background tasks from a cron job that calls api/heartbeat.php every minute. An app schedules its own work by adding a <app_name>Scheduler class that extends DoScheduler and registers tasks with self::job()->frequency(). The page also covers the admin panel's Scheduler page and the heartbeat.php commands.

Service Worker​

Service Worker explains how to turn on the service worker and PWA support through the service_worker block in xp-config.json.

User Device Detection​

User Device Detection covers the DeviceDetect module, which tells mobile, tablet and desktop apart on the server, and the device classes the framework adds to the page body.

Moving DoFramework to another development environment​

To move the DoFramework from one server to another or create a backup, follow these simplified steps:

1. Copy the Framework Files​

  • What to do: Make a copy of the entire working framework, including these important folders:
    • api
    • apps
    • assets
    • storage
    • All other essential files are in the public directory.
  • How: You can zip the entire framework directory.

2. Export the Database​

  • What to do: Export the database using a tool like PHPMyAdmin or Direct Admin Databases.
  • How:
    • In PHPMyAdmin or your database manager, go to your database.
    • Choose the Export option and download the SQL file.

3. Update Configuration Files​

  • File to update: api/config.<environment>.xml, where <environment> is the value of <system_environment> in api/config.xml (for example api/config.development.xml).
  • What to change:
    • Database settings: Update the database connection details under the <database> section: host, dbname, username and password.
    • System settings: Update system_site_path in the <system> section (the path where the system is installed on the new server).
    • System email: Update system_email in the <system> section, the address used for system notifications.

4. Change Email Settings (If Necessary)​

  • What to do: If you need to change how the system sends emails, update the SMTP settings.
  • Where: In the <smtp> section of <email> in the same api/config.<environment>.xml file.
    • You might need to change smtp_host, smtp_port, smtp_user_name or smtp_password, depending on your email provider.

5. Change System Token (If Necessary)​

  • What to do: If you need to change how the DoCloud identifies the application, update the System Token.
  • Where: In the <system_token> section of the <do_cloud> in the api/config.xml file.
    • Update the system token tag <system_token> token here </system_token>

Final Steps:​

  • Upload the zipped framework to the new server.
  • Import the SQL file to the new database.
  • Update the configuration file with new server settings.

That's it! Your DoFramework should now be set up on the new server.