Zend_Controller_Front will first call the router to
determine the first action in the request. It then enters a dispatch
loop, which calls on the dispatcher to dispatch the action.
The dispatcher needs a variety of data in order to do its work - it needs to know how to format controller and action names, where to look for controller class files, whether or not a provided module name is valid, and an API for determining if a given request is even dispatchable based on the other information available.
Zend_Controller_Dispatcher_Interface defines the
following methods as required for any dispatcher implementation:
<?php
interface Zend_Controller_Dispatcher_Interface
{
/**
* Format a string into a controller class name.
*
* @param string $unformatted
* @return string
*/
public function formatControllerName($unformatted);
/**
* Format a string into an action method name.
*
* @param string $unformatted
* @return string
*/
public function formatActionName($unformatted);
/**
* Determine if a request is dispatchable
*
* @param Zend_Controller_Request_Abstract $request
* @return boolean
*/
public function isDispatchable(
Zend_Controller_Request_Abstract $request
);
/**
* Set a user parameter (via front controller, or for local use)
*
* @param string $name
* @param mixed $value
* @return Zend_Controller_Dispatcher_Interface
*/
public function setParam($name, $value);
/**
* Set an array of user parameters
*
* @param array $params
* @return Zend_Controller_Dispatcher_Interface
*/
public function setParams(array $params);
/**
* Retrieve a single user parameter
*
* @param string $name
* @return mixed
*/
public function getParam($name);
/**
* Retrieve all user parameters
*
* @return array
*/
public function getParams();
/**
* Clear the user parameter stack, or a single user parameter
*
* @param null|string|array single key or array of keys for
* params to clear
* @return Zend_Controller_Dispatcher_Interface
*/
public function clearParams($name = null);
/**
* Set the response object to use, if any
*
* @param Zend_Controller_Response_Abstract|null $response
* @return void
*/
public function setResponse(
Zend_Controller_Response_Abstract $response = null
);
/**
* Retrieve the response object, if any
*
* @return Zend_Controller_Response_Abstract|null
*/
public function getResponse();
/**
* Add a controller directory to the controller directory stack
*
* @param string $path
* @param string $args
* @return Zend_Controller_Dispatcher_Interface
*/
public function addControllerDirectory($path, $args = null);
/**
* Set the directory (or directories) where controller files are
* stored
*
* @param string|array $dir
* @return Zend_Controller_Dispatcher_Interface
*/
public function setControllerDirectory($path);
/**
* Return the currently set directory(ies) for controller file
* lookup
*
* @return array
*/
public function getControllerDirectory();
/**
* Dispatch a request to a (module/)controller/action.
*
* @param Zend_Controller_Request_Abstract $request
* @param Zend_Controller_Response_Abstract $response
* @return Zend_Controller_Request_Abstract|boolean
*/
public function dispatch(
Zend_Controller_Request_Abstract $request,
Zend_Controller_Response_Abstract $response
);
/**
* Whether or not a given module is valid
*
* @param string $module
* @return boolean
*/
public function isValidModule($module);
/**
* Retrieve the default module name
*
* @return string
*/
public function getDefaultModule();
/**
* Retrieve the default controller name
*
* @return string
*/
public function getDefaultControllerName();
/**
* Retrieve the default action
*
* @return string
*/
public function getDefaultAction();
}
In most cases, however, you should simply extend the abstract class
Zend_Controller_Dispatcher_Abstract, in which each of
these have already been defined, or
Zend_Controller_Dispatcher_Standard to modify
functionality of the standard dispatcher.
Possible reasons to subclass the dispatcher include a desire to use a different class or method naming schema in your action controllers, or a desire to use a different dispatching paradigm such as dispatching to action files under controller directories (instead of dispatching to class methods).