Zend_Amf with full Zend Framework at Space of Flex/AIR technologies

Zend_Amf with full Zend Framework

There are many examples on the web how to use Zend_Amf as a standalone component but couldn’t find one that actually shows how you can run it with the rest of the Zend Framework. Main benefit of running it in a way I will demonstrate in this post is that requests to AMF service classes are automatically bootstrapped with configuration, database initialization and other Zend components.

Here is how I use Zend_Amf with the full framework. First we have to setup whole environment as it is in ZendFrameworkQuickstart (there is also already preconfigured archive available there).

It will give you above folders structure; don’t forget about .htaccess file (as described in the quickstart tutorial)!!!

Now we will add Zend_Config to have a proper place for our database configuration. To do so we can create new config folder under application directory and place there an app.ini file. Here is an example of ini file content with mySQL configuration:

[production]
database.adapter               =    "PDO_MYSQL"
database.params.dbname        =    "database_name"
database.params.host        =    "127.0.0.1"
database.params.username    =    "user"
database.params.password    =     "password"
 
[development : production]
 
[testing : production]

In this case I’m actually using same configuration for production, development and testing purposes, but probably in most cases you would have some overriding entries under [development : production] and [testing : production] fragments of ini file.

Once you have ini file in place we can now enter bootstrap.php to initialize Zend_Config. It can be done after front controller entries with following line:

$configuration = new Zend_Config_Ini(APPLICATION_PATH . '/config/app.ini', 
    APPLICATION_ENVIRONMENT);

As we have database configuration loaded into $cofiguration variable we can use it to instantiate and setup Zend_Db component. To do so add these lines in bootstrap.php:

$dbAdapter = Zend_Db::factory($configuration->database);
Zend_Db_Table_Abstract::setDefaultAdapter($dbAdapter);

For your convenience and also as a good practice you can have your $configuration and $dbAdapter variables stored in Zend_Registry. This allows the application to ensure that regardless of what
happens in the global scope, the registry will contain the objects it needs.

$registry = Zend_Registry::getInstance();
$registry->configuration = $configuration;
$registry->dbAdapter     = $dbAdapter;

And here is a complete listing of my bootstrap.php file:

<?php
// application/bootstrap.php
// 
// Step 1: APPLICATION CONSTANTS - Set the constants to use in this application.
// These constants are accessible throughout the application, even in ini 
// files. We optionally set APPLICATION_PATH here in case our entry point 
// isn't index.php (e.g., if required from our test suite or a script).
defined('APPLICATION_PATH')
    or define('APPLICATION_PATH', dirname(__FILE__));
 
defined('APPLICATION_ENVIRONMENT')
    or define('APPLICATION_ENVIRONMENT', 'development');
 
// Step 2: FRONT CONTROLLER - Get the front controller.
// The Zend_Front_Controller class implements the Singleton pattern, which is a
// design pattern used to ensure there is only one instance of
// Zend_Front_Controller created on each request.
$frontController = Zend_Controller_Front::getInstance();
 
// Step 3: CONTROLLER DIRECTORY SETUP - Point the front controller to your action
// controller directory.
$frontController->setControllerDirectory(APPLICATION_PATH . '/controllers');
 
// Step 4: APPLICATION ENVIRONMENT - Set the current environment.
// Set a variable in the front controller indicating the current environment --
// commonly one of development, staging, testing, production, but wholly
// dependent on your organization's and/or site's needs.
$frontController->setParam('env', APPLICATION_ENVIRONMENT);
 
// CONFIGURATION - Setup the configuration object
// The Zend_Config_Ini component will parse the ini file, and resolve all of
// the values for the given section.  Here we will be using the section name
// that corresponds to the APP's Environment
$configuration = new Zend_Config_Ini(APPLICATION_PATH . '/config/app.ini', APPLICATION_ENVIRONMENT);
 
// DATABASE ADAPTER - Setup the database adapter
// Zend_Db implements a factory interface that allows developers to pass in an
// adapter name and some parameters that will create an appropriate database
// adapter object.  In this instance, we will be using the values found in the
// "database" section of the configuration obj.
$dbAdapter = Zend_Db::factory($configuration->database);
 
// DATABASE TABLE SETUP - Setup the Database Table Adapter
// Since our application will be utilizing the Zend_Db_Table component, we need 
// to give it a default adapter that all table objects will be able to utilize 
// when sending queries to the db.
Zend_Db_Table_Abstract::setDefaultAdapter($dbAdapter);
 
// REGISTRY - setup the application registry
// An application registry allows the application to store application 
// necessary objects into a safe and consistent (non global) place for future 
// retrieval.  This allows the application to ensure that regardless of what 
// happends in the global scope, the registry will contain the objects it 
// needs.
$registry = Zend_Registry::getInstance();
$registry->configuration = $configuration;
$registry->dbAdapter     = $dbAdapter;
 
// Step 5: CLEANUP - Remove items from global scope.
// This will clear all our local boostrap variables from the global scope of 
// this script (and any scripts that called bootstrap).  This will enforce 
// object retrieval through the applications's registry.
unset($frontController, $configuration, $dbAdapter);

Now we are ready to create a Zend controller that will handle AMF requests. To be consistent with url that is used by BlazeDS or LiveCycle DS (http://host:port/messagebroker/amf) we create MessageBrokerController.php under application/controllers directory with following content:

<?php
class MessageBrokerController extends Zend_Controller_Action 
{ 
	public function init()
	{
		$this->_helper->layout()->disableLayout();
		$this->_helper->viewRenderer->setNoRender();
	}
 
	public function amfAction()
	{
		$server = new Zend_Amf_Server();
		$server->addDirectory(APPLICATION_PATH . '/services/');
		echo($server->handle());
	}
}

It is not obligatory but viewRenderer can be disabled in init method as it is above. Please be ware that all AMF service classes will be stored in application/services directory. This is achieved by this line: $server->addDirectory(APPLICATION_PATH . ‘/services/’); - it can be modified to fit the requirements also addDirectory method can be called multiple times for multiple directories where services are stored. If we try to access http://localhost/messagebroker/amf now, browser should display Zend Amf Endpoint message – this ensures that our whole configuration is correct.

Now we actually got to the point where we can start creating our AMF service classes. To do so we just create application/services and application/dtos (where we will store DTOs – Data Transfer Objects or as others prefare to call these VOs – Value Objects) folders. Under dtos lets create MyObjectDTO.php with following content:

<?php
class MyObjectDTO
{
	public $_explicitType = 'MyObject';
 
	public $myProperty = "My property value";
}

Important to note here is that we will be mapping our php DTO classes to Flex classes using $_explicitType variable. I prefer this approach over explicit mapping during Zend_Amf_Server instantiation. This way I don’t have to return to my MessageBrokerController and edit it every time I want to add new DTO class.

So the last thing we are missing is AMF service class. Create it under services/MyAmfService.php as following:

<?php
class MyAmfService
{ 
	public function myAction()
	{
		require_once APPLICATION_PATH . '/dtos/MyObjectDTO.php';
		return new MyObjectDTO();
	}
}

At the end my project folder structure looks like this:

To test it we can create simple Flex client like that:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="absolute">
	<mx:Script>
		<![CDATA[
			import mx.controls.Alert;
		]]>
	</mx:Script>
 
	<mx:RemoteObject id="zendRemoteObject" destination="zend" source="MyAmfService" 
		endpoint="http://localhost/messagebroker/amf" 
		result="Alert.show(event.result.myProperty)"/>
	<mx:Button label="Call service" click="zendRemoteObject.myAction()"/>
 
</mx:Application>

Written by Piotr

January 5th, 2009 at 7:19 pm

Posted in Examples

Tagged with Flex, PHP

33 Responses to 'Zend_Amf with full Zend Framework'

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aahhh, this is great. Thanks.

Alan

5 Jan 09 at 8:42 pm
[...] Tutorial niestety w języku angielskim jest dostępny pod tym adresem: http://www.riaspace.net/2009/01/zend_amf-with-full-zend-framework/ [...]

Polish Adobe Flex User Group » Blog Archive » Zend_Amf + Zend Framework

6 Jan 09 at 11:58 am
Cześć,

przede wszystkim dobrze, że poruszyłeś ten temat, przyznam, że
bardzo inersujący.

TAK trzymaj!

Pozdrawiam miło
Paweł

guci0

6 Jan 09 at 3:41 pm
Witam. Bardzo przydatny tutorial. Proszę, zwróć jednak uwagę na różnice między oryginalnym plikiem bootstrap.php pochodzącym z ZendFrameworkQuickstart a Twoją wersją. Oryginalny plik tworzy jeszcze dwu-krokowy layout. W przypadku użycia Layoutu otrzymujemy błąd: “NetConnection.Call.BadVersion”

Antoni Jakubiak

8 Jan 09 at 6:10 pm
Excellent tutorial! I suggested the same approach on my blog but didn’t provide all the code. So I think your post will be very helpful for people who are completely new to ZF.

Stefan Schmalhaus

9 Jan 09 at 8:37 am
Bravissimo!

At last a clear explanation and a working (!!!) example… I’ve spent the last two days trying to merge Zend_Amf and Zend Framework MVC with poor success.

Thanks a lot for this post,
B Marcello

bmarcello

26 Jan 09 at 4:49 pm
Hi,
referring to your example, where echo($server->handle()) should provide text/html “Zend Amf Endpoint message” does not work properly. At least in ZF version 1.7.3, Zend_Amf_Server::handle() -method should be used without echo(). Using echo(), the response is sent with application/x-amf headeres instaed of text/html.

Echo() might also cause the “NetConnection.Call.BadVersion” exception, mentioned in Antoni’s comment, thrown back to Flex/Flash.

Tero

30 Jan 09 at 12:09 pm
To refer my last comment, echo() needs to be invoked in all cases to response with the application/x-amf headers. When viewing the Amf end point in ZF-MVC with browser, echo() should be excluded.

Thanks for the good tutorial Piotr, it helped me to port http://www.keithcraigo.com/archives/275 into ZF MVC model

Tero

30 Jan 09 at 6:58 pm
Hi! I think is a good tutorial but i would like to see a more complete instructions when the flex client is created because i get lost and i can’t get it to work

I run the project but when i press on the button “Call Service”, nothing happens.

Thanks,
Fernando.

Fernando

1 Feb 09 at 9:11 am
An interesting comparison between Zend AMF and the X2O framework:
http://blog.x2oframework.com/2009/02/framework-battles-for-flash-platform.html

Ka Wai

6 Feb 09 at 7:23 am
Beginning of this week I recorded video tutorial for Adobe Deve Connection on this Stayed tunned in near future

Piotr

8 Feb 09 at 11:57 pm
I’ve a problem:
I’ve put VOAuthor class into a package “business” (either AS3 and PHP) and if I use “$server->setClassMap(”VOAuthor”, “VOAuthor”);” (without specify package) then Zend work fine, while if I use “var $_explicitType =’VOAuthor’;” (into class) then Zend don’t work fine.

I receive from PHP (php_error.log):

PHP Fatal error: Uncaught exception ‘Zend_Amf_Exception’ with message ‘Unable to parse null body data VOAuthor mapped class is not defined’ in C:\wamp\www\provaZendAMF2\Zend\Amf\Request.php:174
Stack trace:
#0 C:\wamp\www\provaZendAMF2\Zend\Amf\Request.php(125): Zend_Amf_Request->readBody()
#1 C:\wamp\www\provaZendAMF2\Zend\Amf\Request.php(93): Zend_Amf_Request->readMessage(Object(Zend_Amf_Parse_InputStream))
#2 C:\wamp\www\provaZendAMF2\Zend\Amf\Request\Http.php(64): Zend_Amf_Request->initialize(’????????null??/…’)
#3 C:\wamp\www\provaZendAMF2\Zend\Amf\Server.php(365): Zend_Amf_Request_Http->__construct()
#4 C:\wamp\www\provaZendAMF2\Zend\Amf\Server.php(313): Zend_Amf_Server->getRequest()
#5 C:\wamp\www\provaZendAMF2\ZendAMF\gateway.php(18): Zend_Amf_Server->handle()
#6 {main}
thrown in C:\wamp\www\provaZendAMF2\Zend\Amf\Request.php on line 174

I prefer to write $_explicitType =’VOAuthor’; into every business class! Maybe Do it need the package?

In add … why I can’t specify a package? So I can’t write 2 class with self name!

for example I would write business.Utente and transition.Utente in PHP so in RemoteObject into Flex I can write source=”transition.Utente”

Thanks

oscaroxy

9 Feb 09 at 5:57 pm
I also prefer to use $_explicitType and I think is a way to go, it always worked for me… What variable modifier u are using?

Piotr

11 Feb 09 at 11:11 am
[...] If you had any problems with steps above you may want to refer to one of my previous posts where I explained how to configure Zend_Amf with full Zend Framework. [...]

ZendAmfDs first release!!! at Space of Flex/AIR technologies

11 Feb 09 at 5:41 pm
Great tutorial, I like your approach better than the way I’ve been implementing the library.

Keith

Keith Craigo

28 Feb 09 at 5:33 pm
[...] Zend_Amf with full Zend Framework by Keith | Categories: Uncategorized | Enjoyed this article? Subscribe to the full RSS Feed [...]

Great tutorial on linking all of the Zend Framework into your projects - KeithCraigo.com

28 Feb 09 at 5:38 pm
Thanks! This will come in handy.

Paul

9 Mar 09 at 12:58 am
When I go to http://www.domain.com/messagebroker/amf I get this error page:

Message: Invalid controller specified (messagebroker)

Stack trace:

#0 /home/www/mooscms.dk/zend_framework_test/library/Zend/Controller/Front.php(934): Zend_Controller_Dispatcher_Standard->dispatch(Object(Zend_Controller_Request_Http), Object(Zend_Controller_Response_Http))
#1 /home/www/mooscms.dk/zend_framework_test/public/index.php(41): Zend_Controller_Front->dispatch()
#2 {main}
Request Parameters:

array(3) {
["controller"]=>
string(13) “messagebroker”
["action"]=>
string(3) “amf”
["module"]=>
string(7) “default”
}

I have tried accessing just the index.php, that works fine.

Anyone knows what might be causing this?

Lasse

22 Mar 09 at 8:45 pm
Hi all.

First of all I wanna appreciate for this tutorial.
second I wanna point to some pitfall I had encountered pls follow theses:

1.we must use of echo ($server->handle());

2.I see many people encounter with Badversion error , I have spent 2 days to solve this problem ,another one of it’s symptom is when you click the Call Service button nothing happened right! you know it is …. you must clear empty line of MessageBrokerController even ?> mark , it is zend framework problem .

for your reference I have put the newflexzend.rar in http://www.ria.webandishan.com/newflexzend.rar

this is complete source code .

again I appreciate .

if you any comments pls let me know about it.

BR
farid valipour

farid valipour

26 Mar 09 at 10:41 am
[...] It was just published on ADC, it’s a first recording of two part series. You can find more details on one of my previous blog posts: Zend_Amf with full Zend Framework [...]

Flex with full Zend Framework on Adobe Developer Connection at Space of Flex/AIR technologies

1 Apr 09 at 9:51 am
Thanks for posting this and the video. These are very helpful to understanding how to harness the full power of the Zend framework from within Flex.

diamondTearz

2 Apr 09 at 3:50 am
Responding to Lasse question, change MessageBrokerController to single camel case for example RemotingController. I found same problem when posted my application on my hosting provider server. I guess there is something regarding case sensitive settings.

p.

Piotr

6 Apr 09 at 10:48 pm
After reading the article, I just feel that I really need more information on the topic. Could you suggest some resources please?

How to Get Six Pack Fast

15 Apr 09 at 4:51 pm
Good thinking but you’ve made a mistake. If you apply Zend’s MVC you must never echo anything or send headers directly (header()). There’s a special object for all that - response. Otherwise you just lose the whole point.

So here’s an example of correct controller script.

_server = new Zend_Amf_Server();
$this->_server->addDirectory(dirname(dirname(__FILE__)) . ‘/services/’);

$this->_server->setProduction(false);

// turn the fucking renderer the fuck off
$this->_helper->viewRenderer->setNoRender();
}

public function postDispatch ()
{
// shut the layout the fuck off
$this->_helper->layout->disableLayout();
// set the correct header if no error or forwarding occurred during dispatch
$this->_response->setHeader(’Content-Type’, ‘application/x-amf’, true);
}

public function indexAction ()
{
// process the fucking request and set the fucking response
$amfResponse = $this->_server->handle();
$this->_response->setBody($amfResponse);
}

}

Nikita

16 Apr 09 at 8:23 pm
Hmm, I can’t comment. If this works, then disregard it as a test.

Lasse

19 Apr 09 at 3:31 pm
Okay, so that worked, I apparently can’t post code in here.

@Piotr, thank you. Your suggestion worked (partially). I’m getting a new error. See this pastebin: http://pastebin.com/m62fa4d62

Thank you.

Lasse

19 Apr 09 at 3:34 pm
[...] also found a great post from Piotr Walczyszyn about how to merge the Zend_Amf package within the Zend Framework MVC [...]

Fileupload using Zend AMF, RemoteObject and Flash 10 « Gerton’s Corner

19 Apr 09 at 10:13 pm
Alright so I found a solution, just remove:
$this->_helper->layout()->disableLayout();

In the init function. But why?

Solution found here:
http://gertonscorner.wordpress.com/2009/04/19/fileupload-using-zend-amf-remoteobject-and-flash-10/

Lasse

21 Apr 09 at 8:51 pm
Piotr,
In regards to the error posted by Lasse “See this pastebin: http://pastebin.com/m62fa4d62”

This seems to be due to

Zend_Layout::startMvc(APPLICATION_PATH . ‘/layouts/scripts’);

$view = Zend_Layout::getMvcInstance()->getView();
$view->doctype(’XHTML1_STRICT’);

is not included in your bootstrap code above but is in bootstrap.php of the Quickstart download.

I was getting the same error because _layout() is not a function within the helper but is part of Zend_Layout.

Hope this helps.

Keith Craigo

22 Apr 09 at 2:09 am
Right you are Keith! Thanks a lot!

Lasse

22 Apr 09 at 10:46 am
tks dude.

Fernando

23 Apr 09 at 3:44 pm
I’m getting the busy cursor and any response,

I Haven’t any log error ( php, or apache ) and I can’t see perfectly Zend Amf Endpoint message.

I checked the addDirectory path which is /application/services

Any idea?

Xavier Colomer

10 May 09 at 12:54 am
I’m getting the busy cursor and any response,

I Haven’t any log error ( php, or apache ) and I CAN see perfectly Zend Amf Endpoint message.

I checked the addDirectory path which is /application/services

Any idea?

Xavier Colomer

10 May 09 at 2:02 am