Zend_Controller_Action specifies two methods that may
be called to bookend a requested action, preDispatch()
and postDispatch(). These can be useful in a variety of
ways: verifying authentication and ACL's prior to running an action
(by calling _forward() in
preDispatch(), the action will be skipped), for instance, or
placing generated content in a sitewide template
(postDispatch()).
Usage of init() vs. preDispatch()
In the previous
section, we introduced the init() method, and
in this section, the preDispatch() method. What is the
difference between them, and what actions would you take in each?
The init() method is primarily intended for extending the
constructor. Typically, your constructor should simply set object state, and not
perform much logic. This might include initializing resources used in the controller
(such as models, configuration objects, etc.), or assigning values retrieved from
the front controller, bootstrap, or a registry.
The preDispatch() method can also be used to set object
or environmental (e.g., view, action helper, etc.) state, but its primary purpose
is to make decisions about whether or not the requested action should be dispatched.
If not, you should then _forward() to another action, or
throw an exception.
Note: _forward() actually will not work correctly when
executed from init(), which is a formalization of the
intentions of the two methods.