Views

Views are the part of your application responsible for presenting data to the user. They are typically plain HTML files but can also include PHP code to dynamically display content passed from controllers.

Separating your logic (controllers/models) from your presentation (views) makes your code more organized, reusable, and maintainable.

Loading a View

You can load a view file from a controller using the $this->call->view() method. This tells LavaLust to include the view file and optionally send data to it.

Example:

<?php

class HomeController extends Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        $data = [
            'title' => 'Welcome to LavaLust',
            'message' => 'Hello, World!'
        ];

        // Load the 'home' view and pass the $data array
        $this->call->view('home', $data);
    }
}

In this example, LavaLust will look for the file:

app/views/home.php

If found, it will be included and rendered as the response.

Note

The first parameter is the view name without the `.php` extension. The second parameter is an optional array of data to make available inside the view.

Passing Data to Views

Data passed as an associative array from the controller becomes variables inside the view file.

Example view file:

<!-- app/views/home.php -->

<html>
  <head>
    <title><?= $title ?></title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1><?= $message ?></h1>
  </body>
</html>

The variables $title and $message are automatically available inside the view because they were passed from the controller when calling $this->call->view('home', $data).

This approach keeps logic in the controller and presentation in the view.

Loading Partial Views

Often, you will want to reuse view fragments like headers, navigation bars, or footers on multiple pages. LavaLust allows you to load as many views as you want within a single request.

Example:

<?php

class PageController extends Controller
{
    public function about()
    {
        $this->call->view('partials/header');
        $this->call->view('about');
        $this->call->view('partials/footer');
    }
}

This will render the following files in order:

app/views/partials/header.php
app/views/about.php
app/views/partials/footer.php

This helps you avoid repeating the same HTML structure in every view.

Organizing Views into Subfolders

You can organize views inside subfolders. To load a view inside a folder, use the folder name and file name separated by a slash:

$this->call->view('users/profile');

This will load:

app/views/users/profile.php

This helps keep your views well-structured as your project grows.

View Nesting (Layouts)

You can also build reusable layout templates by nesting views. This is useful when you want to apply a consistent layout (like a master page) to multiple pages.

Example:

<!-- app/views/layout.php -->

<html>
  <head>
    <title><?= $title ?></title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <?= $this->call->view('partials/navbar') ?>
    <div class="container">
      <?= $content ?>
    </div>
  </body>
</html>


<!-- app/views/home.php -->

<?php
$content = "<h1>Welcome!</h1>";
$this->call->view('layout', [
    'title' => 'Home',
    'content' => $content
]);
?>

This method allows you to:

Centralize your main layout in one place.
Reuse the same layout for multiple pages.
Change the layout structure once and affect all pages using it.

Best Practices

Keep business logic out of your views. Only display data.
Use controllers to gather data from models and pass it to views.
Store your views inside app/views and organize them in subfolders.
Use partial views (headers, footers, navbars) for reusable page sections.
Use layout templates to keep your design consistent across pages.

Note

Views should only handle output, never input or data processing. Keeping your views simple makes your application easier to maintain.