Input and Output Class

Note

This class is initialized automatically by the system, so there is no need to load it manually.

The Input and Output (IO) Class in LavaLust provides a set of helper methods to safely and conveniently access request data ($_POST, $_GET, $_COOKIE, $_SERVER) and to send customized responses (HTML or JSON) with headers and status codes.

Accessing Form and Server Data

Instead of directly using superglobals like $_POST['field'] and having to check if they exist, the IO class provides safe methods that automatically return NULL if the value is not set.

Example (without IO):

<?php
$something = isset($_POST['something']) ? $_POST['something'] : NULL;

Example (with IO):

<?php
$something = $this->io->post('something');

Main Request Methods

These methods are used to fetch data from different superglobals:

<?php
// POST data
$this->io->post('field');
$this->io->post(['field1', 'field2']);

// GET data
$this->io->get('field');
$this->io->get(['field1', 'field2']);

// COOKIE data
$this->io->cookie('field');
$this->io->cookie(['cookie1', 'cookie2']);

// SERVER data
$this->io->server('field');
$this->io->server(['SERVER_PROTOCOL', 'REQUEST_URI']);

Additional Request Methods

<?php
// Search both POST and GET (POST first)
$this->io->post_get('field');

// Search both GET and POST (GET first)
$this->io->get_post('field');

// Set a cookie
// Options: domain, path, prefix, secure, samesite
$this->io->set_cookie($name, $value, $expiration, $options = []);

// Get user IP address (returns '0.0.0.0' if invalid)
$this->io->ip_address();

// Validate an IP address
$this->io->valid_ip('127.0.0.1');

// Check if request is AJAX
$this->io->is_ajax();

// Get the request method (GET, POST, etc.)
$this->io->method(); // Can be upper or lower case

Response Handling

The IO class also allows you to build and send responses with headers, content, and status codes.

Example: HTML Response

<?php
$this->io->add_header('Content-Type', 'text/html');
$this->io->set_content('Hello, World!');
$this->io->set_status_code(200);
$this->io->send();

Shorthand:

<?php
$this->io->set_html_content('Hello, World!');
$this->io->set_status_code(200);
$this->io->send();

Example: JSON Response

<?php
$this->io->add_header([
    'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' => '*',
    'Content-Type' => 'application/json'
]);
$data = ['message' => 'Hello, World!'];
$this->io->set_status_code(200);
$this->io->send_json($data);

Available Methods Reference

Method	Description
`post($key)`	Get value from `$_POST`
`get($key)`	Get value from `$_GET`
`cookie($key)`	Get value from `$_COOKIE`
`server($key)`	Get value from `$_SERVER`
`post_get($key)`	Get value from POST or GET (POST first)
`get_post($key)`	Get value from GET or POST (GET first)
`set_cookie($name, $value, $expire, $options=[])`	Set a cookie with additional options
`ip_address()`	Returns the current user’s IP address
`valid_ip($ip)`	Validate if the given IP is valid
`is_ajax()`	Check if the request is AJAX
`method()`	Return the current request method (GET/POST/etc.)
`add_header($name, $value)` / `add_header(array $headers)`	Add response headers
`set_content($content)`	Set response content
`set_html_content($content)`	Shorthand to set HTML content
`set_status_code($code)`	Set HTTP response status code
`send()`	Send the response
`send_json(array $data)`	Send a JSON response