ElliePHP Routing Component

A minimal, fast routing component for ElliePHP API framework based on FastRoute and PSR-7/PSR-15 standards.

Features

Fast Routing: Built on nikic/fast-route for optimal performance
Performance Optimized: Multiple caching layers and optimizations for high-traffic applications
- Dispatcher caching per domain
- Reflection metadata caching for controller methods
- Route hash-based cache invalidation
- Domain regex pattern caching
- Cache age validation (< 5 seconds = trusted cache)
PSR Standards: Full PSR-7 (HTTP messages) and PSR-15 (middleware) compliance
Flexible Handlers: Support for closures, controller classes, and callable arrays
Middleware Support: PSR-15 middleware with proper stack execution
Route Groups: Organize routes with shared prefixes, middleware, and names
Domain Routing: Support for subdomain and multi-tenant routing with domain parameters
Route Caching: Production-ready route caching for improved performance
Debug Mode: Detailed error messages, timing info, and route visualization
Type Safe: PHP 8.4+ with strict types and proper type hints

Installation

composer require elliephp/routing

Quick Start

Basic Setup

<?php

require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use ElliePHP\Components\Routing\Router;
use Nyholm\Psr7\ServerRequest;

// Configure the router (optional)
Router::configure([
    'debug_mode' => true,
]);

// Define a simple route
Router::get('/', function() {
    return ['message' => 'Hello World'];
});

// Handle the incoming request
$request = new ServerRequest('GET', '/');
$response = Router::handle($request);

// Output: {"message":"Hello World"}
echo $response->getBody();

Using Without Facade

If you prefer not to use the static facade, you can work directly with the Routing class:

<?php

use ElliePHP\Components\Routing\Core\Routing;
use Nyholm\Psr7\ServerRequest;

// Create router instance
$router = new Routing(
    routes_directory: __DIR__ . '/routes',
    debugMode: true,
    cacheEnabled: false
);

// Define routes
$router->get('/', function() {
    return ['message' => 'Hello World'];
});

$router->get('/users/{id}', function($request, $params) {
    return ['user_id' => $params['id']];
});

// Handle request
$request = new ServerRequest('GET', '/users/42');
$response = $router->handle($request);

Usage Guide

Defining Routes

Simple Routes

// Using the facade
Router::get('/users', function() {
    return ['users' => []];
});

Router::post('/users', function($request) {
    return ['created' => true];
});

// Without facade
$router->get('/users', function() {
    return ['users' => []];
});

$router->post('/users', function($request) {
    return ['created' => true];
});

All HTTP Methods

Router::get('/users', [UserController::class, 'index']);
Router::post('/users', [UserController::class, 'store']);
Router::put('/users/{id}', [UserController::class, 'update']);
Router::patch('/users/{id}', [UserController::class, 'patch']);
Router::delete('/users/{id}', [UserController::class, 'destroy']);

Route Parameters

// Single parameter
Router::get('/users/{id}', function($request, $params) {
    return ['user_id' => $params['id']];
});

// Multiple parameters
Router::get('/users/{userId}/posts/{postId}', function($request, $params) {
    return [
        'user_id' => $params['userId'],
        'post_id' => $params['postId']
    ];
});

// Optional parameters with controller
Router::get('/search/{query}', [SearchController::class, 'search']);

Controllers

Basic Controller

namespace App\Controllers;

use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;

class UserController
{
    public function index(ServerRequestInterface $request): array
    {
        // Return array for automatic JSON response
        return [
            'users' => [
                ['id' => 1, 'name' => 'Alice'],
                ['id' => 2, 'name' => 'Bob'],
            ]
        ];
    }
    
    public function show(ServerRequestInterface $request, string $id): array
    {
        // Route parameters are automatically injected
        return [
            'user' => [
                'id' => $id,
                'name' => 'User ' . $id
            ]
        ];
    }
    
    public function store(ServerRequestInterface $request): array
    {
        // Access request body
        $body = json_decode((string)$request->getBody(), true);
        
        return [
            'message' => 'User created',
            'user' => $body
        ];
    }
}

Registering Controller Routes

// Array syntax
Router::get('/users', [UserController::class, 'index']);
Router::get('/users/{id}', [UserController::class, 'show']);

// String syntax (alternative)
Router::get('/users', 'UserController@index');

// With options
Router::post('/users', [UserController::class, 'store'], [
    'middleware' => [AuthMiddleware::class],
    'name' => 'users.store'
]);

Returning PSR-7 Responses

use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;
use Nyholm\Psr7\Response;

class UserController
{
    public function custom(ServerRequestInterface $request): ResponseInterface
    {
        // Build custom PSR-7 response
        return new Response(
            status: 201,
            headers: ['Content-Type' => 'application/json'],
            body: json_encode(['created' => true])
        );
    }
}

Route Groups

Basic Groups

// With facade
Router::group(['prefix' => '/api'], function() {
    Router::get('/users', [UserController::class, 'index']);
    Router::post('/users', [UserController::class, 'store']);
});
// Routes: /api/users

// Without facade
$router->group(['prefix' => '/api'], function($router) {
    $router->get('/users', [UserController::class, 'index']);
});

Nested Groups

Router::group(['prefix' => '/api'], function() {
    Router::group(['prefix' => '/v1'], function() {
        Router::get('/users', [UserController::class, 'index']);
        // Route: /api/v1/users
        
        Router::group(['prefix' => '/admin'], function() {
            Router::get('/dashboard', [AdminController::class, 'dashboard']);
            // Route: /api/v1/admin/dashboard
        });
    });
});

Groups with Middleware

Router::group(['middleware' => [AuthMiddleware::class]], function() {
    Router::get('/profile', [ProfileController::class, 'show']);
    Router::put('/profile', [ProfileController::class, 'update']);
});

// Nested groups inherit parent middleware
Router::group(['middleware' => [AuthMiddleware::class]], function() {
    Router::group(['middleware' => [AdminMiddleware::class]], function() {
        Router::get('/admin/users', [AdminController::class, 'users']);
        // Has both AuthMiddleware and AdminMiddleware
    });
});

Groups with Names

Router::group(['name' => 'api'], function() {
    Router::group(['name' => 'users'], function() {
        Router::get('/', [UserController::class, 'index'], [
            'name' => 'index'
        ]);
        // Full name: api.users.index
    });
});

Domain Routing

Domain routing allows you to create routes that only respond to specific domains or subdomains. This is perfect for multi-tenant applications, API subdomains, or separating admin panels.

Basic Domain Constraints

// Main website routes
Router::get('/', function() {
    return ['message' => 'Welcome to example.com'];
}, ['domain' => 'example.com']);

Router::get('/about', function() {
    return ['page' => 'about'];
}, ['domain' => 'example.com']);

// API subdomain routes
Router::get('/users', [UserController::class, 'index'], [
    'domain' => 'api.example.com'
]);

Router::post('/users', [UserController::class, 'store'], [
    'domain' => 'api.example.com'
]);

// Admin subdomain routes
Router::get('/dashboard', [AdminController::class, 'dashboard'], [
    'domain' => 'admin.example.com'
]);

Router::get('/users', [AdminController::class, 'users'], [
    'domain' => 'admin.example.com'
]);

Domain Groups

Group multiple routes under the same domain to keep your code organized:

// API subdomain with all endpoints
Router::group(['domain' => 'api.example.com'], function() {
    Router::get('/users', [UserController::class, 'index']);
    Router::post('/users', [UserController::class, 'store']);
    Router::get('/posts', [PostController::class, 'index']);
    Router::get('/comments', [CommentController::class, 'index']);
});

// API with versioning
Router::group(['domain' => 'api.example.com', 'prefix' => '/v1'], function() {
    Router::get('/users', [UserController::class, 'index']);
    Router::get('/posts', [PostController::class, 'index']);
    // Accessible at: http://api.example.com/v1/users
});

Router::group(['domain' => 'api.example.com', 'prefix' => '/v2'], function() {
    Router::get('/users', [UserControllerV2::class, 'index']);
    Router::get('/posts', [PostControllerV2::class, 'index']);
    // Accessible at: http://api.example.com/v2/users
});

// Admin panel with authentication
Router::group([
    'domain' => 'admin.example.com',
    'middleware' => [AuthMiddleware::class, AdminMiddleware::class]
], function() {
    Router::get('/dashboard', [AdminController::class, 'dashboard']);
    Router::get('/users', [AdminController::class, 'users']);
    Router::get('/settings', [AdminController::class, 'settings']);
    Router::get('/reports', [AdminController::class, 'reports']);
});

Domain Parameters (Multi-Tenant SaaS)

Extract subdomain parts as parameters for multi-tenant applications:

// Basic tenant routing
Router::get('/dashboard', function($request, $params) {
    $tenant = $params['tenant'];
    
    // Load tenant-specific data
    $tenantData = Database::getTenant($tenant);
    
    return [
        'tenant' => $tenant,
        'company' => $tenantData['company_name'],
        'message' => 'Welcome to your dashboard'
    ];
}, ['domain' => '{tenant}.example.com']);

// Access: http://acme.example.com/dashboard
// Returns: {"tenant":"acme","company":"Acme Corp","message":"Welcome to your dashboard"}

// Access: http://widgets.example.com/dashboard
// Returns: {"tenant":"widgets","company":"Widgets Inc","message":"Welcome to your dashboard"}

// Combine domain and path parameters
Router::get('/users/{id}', function($request, $params) {
    $tenant = $params['tenant'];
    $userId = $params['id'];
    
    // Load user from tenant database
    $user = Database::getTenantUser($tenant, $userId);
    
    return [
        'tenant' => $tenant,
        'user' => $user
    ];
}, ['domain' => '{tenant}.example.com']);

// Access: http://acme.example.com/users/42
// Returns: {"tenant":"acme","user":{"id":42,"name":"John Doe"}}

// Real-world example: Tenant-specific API
Router::get('/api/projects', function($request, $params) {
    $tenant = $params['tenant'];
    return [
        'tenant' => $tenant,
        'projects' => ProjectService::getForTenant($tenant)
    ];
}, ['domain' => '{tenant}.example.com']);

// Access: http://acme.example.com/api/projects
// Access: http://widgets.example.com/api/projects

Multi-Tenant Application Example

Complete multi-tenant SaaS application structure:

// Configure domain enforcement
Router::configure([
    'enforce_domain' => true,
    'allowed_domains' => [
        'myapp.com',              // Main marketing site
        'app.myapp.com',          // Main app domain
        '{tenant}.myapp.com',     // Tenant subdomains
    ],
]);

// Main marketing site
Router::group(['domain' => 'myapp.com'], function() {
    Router::get('/', [MarketingController::class, 'home']);
    Router::get('/pricing', [MarketingController::class, 'pricing']);
    Router::get('/signup', [MarketingController::class, 'signup']);
});

// Tenant application routes
Router::group(['domain' => '{tenant}.myapp.com'], function() {
    // Public routes
    Router::get('/login', [AuthController::class, 'showLogin']);
    Router::post('/login', [AuthController::class, 'login']);
    
    // Protected tenant routes
    Router::group(['middleware' => [AuthMiddleware::class]], function() {
        Router::get('/dashboard', function($request, $params) {
            $tenant = $params['tenant'];
            return [
                'tenant' => $tenant,
                'stats' => DashboardService::getStats($tenant)
            ];
        });
        
        Router::get('/projects', [ProjectController::class, 'index']);
        Router::post('/projects', [ProjectController::class, 'store']);
        Router::get('/projects/{id}', [ProjectController::class, 'show']);
        
        Router::get('/team', [TeamController::class, 'index']);
        Router::post('/team/invite', [TeamController::class, 'invite']);
        
        Router::get('/settings', [SettingsController::class, 'show']);
        Router::put('/settings', [SettingsController::class, 'update']);
    });
});

// Examples:
// http://myapp.com/ - Marketing site
// http://acme.myapp.com/dashboard - Acme's dashboard
// http://widgets.myapp.com/projects - Widgets Inc's projects
// http://startup.myapp.com/team - Startup's team page

Multiple Domain Parameters

Extract multiple parts from the domain for advanced routing:

// Regional routing
Router::get('/api/data', function($request, $params) {
    $region = $params['region'];
    $service = $params['service'];
    
    return [
        'service' => $service,
        'region' => $region,
        'endpoint' => "https://{$service}.{$region}.example.com",
        'data' => RegionalService::getData($region, $service)
    ];
}, ['domain' => '{service}.{region}.example.com']);

// Access: http://api.us-east.example.com/api/data
// Returns: {"service":"api","region":"us-east","endpoint":"https://api.us-east.example.com","data":[...]}

// Access: http://cdn.eu-west.example.com/api/data
// Returns: {"service":"cdn","region":"eu-west","endpoint":"https://cdn.eu-west.example.com","data":[...]}

// Multi-tenant with environment
Router::get('/status', function($request, $params) {
    return [
        'tenant' => $params['tenant'],
        'environment' => $params['env'],
        'status' => 'operational'
    ];
}, ['domain' => '{tenant}.{env}.example.com']);

// Access: http://acme.staging.example.com/status
// Returns: {"tenant":"acme","environment":"staging","status":"operational"}

// Access: http://acme.production.example.com/status
// Returns: {"tenant":"acme","environment":"production","status":"operational"}

Domain Configuration

Router::configure([
    // Enforce domain whitelist (reject unlisted domains with 403)
    'enforce_domain' => true,
    
    // Allowed domains (supports patterns with parameters)
    'allowed_domains' => [
        'example.com',
        'api.example.com',
        'admin.example.com',
        '{tenant}.example.com',
        '{app}.{region}.example.com'
    ],
]);

Routes Without Domain Constraints

Routes without domain constraints work on any domain:

// Health check endpoint - works on all domains
Router::get('/health', function() {
    return ['status' => 'ok', 'timestamp' => time()];
});

// Metrics endpoint - accessible from any domain
Router::get('/metrics', function() {
    return [
        'requests' => MetricsService::getRequestCount(),
        'uptime' => MetricsService::getUptime()
    ];
});

// This route works on:
// - http://example.com/health
// - http://api.example.com/health
// - http://admin.example.com/health
// - http://tenant1.example.com/health
// - http://any-subdomain.example.com/health

Real-World Complete Example

<?php

use ElliePHP\Components\Routing\Router;

// Configure domains
Router::configure([
    'enforce_domain' => true,
    'allowed_domains' => [
        'myapp.com',
        'api.myapp.com',
        'admin.myapp.com',
        '{tenant}.myapp.com'
    ],
]);

// Marketing site (myapp.com)
Router::group(['domain' => 'myapp.com'], function() {
    Router::get('/', [HomeController::class, 'index']);
    Router::get('/features', [HomeController::class, 'features']);
    Router::get('/pricing', [HomeController::class, 'pricing']);
    Router::post('/signup', [SignupController::class, 'register']);
});

// Public API (api.myapp.com)
Router::group(['domain' => 'api.myapp.com', 'prefix' => '/v1'], function() {
    // Public endpoints
    Router::post('/auth/login', [ApiAuthController::class, 'login']);
    Router::post('/auth/register', [ApiAuthController::class, 'register']);
    
    // Protected API endpoints
    Router::group(['middleware' => [ApiAuthMiddleware::class]], function() {
        Router::get('/users', [ApiUserController::class, 'index']);
        Router::get('/users/{id}', [ApiUserController::class, 'show']);
        Router::post('/users', [ApiUserController::class, 'store']);
    });
});

// Admin panel (admin.myapp.com)
Router::group([
    'domain' => 'admin.myapp.com',
    'middleware' => [AuthMiddleware::class, AdminMiddleware::class]
], function() {
    Router::get('/dashboard', [AdminDashboardController::class, 'index']);
    Router::get('/tenants', [AdminTenantController::class, 'index']);
    Router::get('/tenants/{id}', [AdminTenantController::class, 'show']);
    Router::post('/tenants', [AdminTenantController::class, 'create']);
    Router::delete('/tenants/{id}', [AdminTenantController::class, 'delete']);
});

// Multi-tenant application ({tenant}.myapp.com)
Router::group(['domain' => '{tenant}.myapp.com'], function() {
    // Public tenant pages
    Router::get('/login', [TenantAuthController::class, 'showLogin']);
    Router::post('/login', [TenantAuthController::class, 'login']);
    
    // Protected tenant routes
    Router::group(['middleware' => [TenantAuthMiddleware::class]], function() {
        Router::get('/dashboard', function($request, $params) {
            $tenant = $params['tenant'];
            return view('dashboard', [
                'tenant' => TenantService::load($tenant),
                'stats' => DashboardService::getStats($tenant)
            ]);
        });
        
        Router::get('/projects', [TenantProjectController::class, 'index']);
        Router::post('/projects', [TenantProjectController::class, 'store']);
        Router::get('/projects/{id}', [TenantProjectController::class, 'show']);
        Router::put('/projects/{id}', [TenantProjectController::class, 'update']);
        Router::delete('/projects/{id}', [TenantProjectController::class, 'destroy']);
    });
});

// Health check - works on all domains
Router::get('/health', function() {
    return ['status' => 'ok'];
});

Middleware

Creating Middleware

namespace App\Middleware;

use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;
use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;
use Psr\Http\Server\MiddlewareInterface;
use Psr\Http\Server\RequestHandlerInterface;

class AuthMiddleware implements MiddlewareInterface
{
    public function process(
        ServerRequestInterface $request,
        RequestHandlerInterface $handler
    ): ResponseInterface {
        // Check authentication before handling request
        $token = $request->getHeaderLine('Authorization');
        
        if (!$this->isValidToken($token)) {
            throw new UnauthorizedException('Invalid token');
        }
        
        // Continue to next middleware or handler
        $response = $handler->handle($request);
        
        // Optionally modify response
        return $response->withHeader('X-Authenticated', 'true');
    }
    
    private function isValidToken(string $token): bool
    {
        // Your authentication logic
        return !empty($token);
    }
}

Applying Middleware

// Single middleware on route
Router::get('/protected', [SecureController::class, 'index'], [
    'middleware' => [AuthMiddleware::class]
]);

// Multiple middleware (executed in order)
Router::get('/admin', [AdminController::class, 'index'], [
    'middleware' => [
        AuthMiddleware::class,
        AdminMiddleware::class,
        RateLimitMiddleware::class
    ]
]);

// Group middleware
Router::group(['middleware' => [AuthMiddleware::class]], function() {
    Router::get('/profile', [ProfileController::class, 'show']);
    Router::put('/profile', [ProfileController::class, 'update']);
});

Closure Middleware

Router::get('/custom', [CustomController::class, 'index'], [
    'middleware' => [
        function($request, $next) {
            // Before handler
            $start = microtime(true);
            
            // Process request
            $response = $next($request);
            
            // After handler
            $duration = microtime(true) - $start;
            return $response->withHeader('X-Response-Time', $duration . 's');
        }
    ]
]);

Middleware Execution Order

Router::get('/test', $handler, [
    'middleware' => [
        FirstMiddleware::class,   // Executes first (before)
        SecondMiddleware::class,  // Executes second (before)
        ThirdMiddleware::class,   // Executes third (before)
        // Handler executes here
        // ThirdMiddleware (after)
        // SecondMiddleware (after)
        // FirstMiddleware (after)
    ]
]);

Configuration

Development Configuration

Router::configure([
    'debug_mode' => true,
    'cache_enabled' => false,
]);

// View all registered routes
echo Router::printRoutes();

Production Configuration

Router::configure([
    'routes_directory' => __DIR__ . '/routes',
    'cache_enabled' => true,
    'cache_directory' => __DIR__ . '/storage/cache',
    'debug_mode' => false,
]);

// Clear cache when deploying new routes
Router::clearCache();

Configuration Options

Router::configure([
    // Directory containing route files (default: '/')
    'routes_directory' => __DIR__ . '/routes',
    
    // Enable debug mode for detailed errors (default: false)
    'debug_mode' => $_ENV['APP_DEBUG'] ?? false,
    
    // Enable route caching for production (default: false)
    'cache_enabled' => $_ENV['APP_ENV'] === 'production',
    
    // Cache directory (default: sys_get_temp_dir())
    'cache_directory' => __DIR__ . '/storage/cache',
    
    // Custom error formatter (default: JsonErrorFormatter)
    'error_formatter' => new HtmlErrorFormatter(),
    
    // Enforce domain whitelist (default: false)
    'enforce_domain' => false,
    
    // Allowed domains (supports domain parameters like {tenant}.example.com)
    'allowed_domains' => [
        'example.com',
        'api.example.com',
        '{tenant}.example.com'
    ],
]);

Custom Error Formatters

use ElliePHP\Components\Routing\Core\HtmlErrorFormatter;
use ElliePHP\Components\Routing\Core\JsonErrorFormatter;

// Use HTML error pages
Router::configure([
    'error_formatter' => new HtmlErrorFormatter(),
]);

// Use JSON errors (default)
Router::configure([
    'error_formatter' => new JsonErrorFormatter(),
]);

// Create custom formatter
class CustomErrorFormatter implements ErrorFormatterInterface
{
    public function format(Throwable $e, bool $debugMode): array
    {
        return [
            'error' => $e->getMessage(),
            'code' => $e->getCode(),
        ];
    }
}

Route Files

Organize routes in separate files:

// routes/api.php
<?php

use ElliePHP\Components\Routing\Router;

Router::group(['prefix' => '/api/v1'], function() {
    require __DIR__ . '/api/users.php';
    require __DIR__ . '/api/posts.php';
});

// routes/api/users.php
<?php

use ElliePHP\Components\Routing\Router;

Router::get('/users', [UserController::class, 'index']);
Router::get('/users/{id}', [UserController::class, 'show']);
Router::post('/users', [UserController::class, 'store']);
Router::put('/users/{id}', [UserController::class, 'update']);
Router::delete('/users/{id}', [UserController::class, 'destroy']);

Debug Features

Route Listing

// Print formatted route table
echo Router::printRoutes();

/* Output:
====================================================================================================
METHOD   PATH                                     NAME                           HANDLER
====================================================================================================
GET      /users                                   get.users                      UserController@index
GET      /users/{id}                              get.users.id                   UserController@show
POST     /users                                   post.users                     UserController@store
====================================================================================================
Total routes: 3
*/

// Get routes as array
$routes = Router::getFormattedRoutes();

Debug Headers

When debug mode is enabled, responses automatically include:

X-Debug-Time: 4.23ms
X-Debug-Routes: 15

Detailed Error Messages

Debug mode provides comprehensive error information:

{
  "error": "Route not found",
  "status": 404,
  "debug": {
    "exception": "ElliePHP\\Components\\Routing\\Exceptions\\RouteNotFoundException",
    "file": "/path/to/Routing.php",
    "line": 246,
    "trace": "..."
  }
}

Route Inspection

// Check configuration
if (Router::isDebugMode()) {
    echo "Debug mode is enabled\n";
}

if (Router::isCacheEnabled()) {
    echo "Cache is enabled\n";
}

// Get all routes
$routes = Router::getRoutes();
foreach ($routes as $route) {
    echo "{$route['method']} {$route['path']}\n";
}

Performance & Caching

Performance Optimizations

ElliePHP Routing includes multiple performance optimizations designed for high-traffic production environments:

1. Route Caching

Routes are serialized and cached to avoid recompilation on every request:

Router::configure([
    'cache_enabled' => true,
    'cache_directory' => __DIR__ . '/storage/cache',
]);

Performance Impact: Eliminates route file loading and parsing overhead on subsequent requests.

2. Dispatcher Caching

FastRoute dispatchers are cached per domain, avoiding rebuilding on every request:

// First request to example.com - builds and caches dispatcher
// Subsequent requests to example.com - reuses cached dispatcher
// First request to api.example.com - builds separate cached dispatcher

Performance Impact: Reduces dispatcher compilation time by ~90% on subsequent requests.

3. Reflection Metadata Caching

Controller method parameter metadata is extracted once and cached:

class UserController {
    // Reflection metadata cached after first invocation
    public function show(ServerRequestInterface $request, string $id): array {
        return ['user_id' => $id];
    }
}

Performance Impact: Eliminates expensive reflection operations on every request. Direct method invocation is used instead of ReflectionMethod::invokeArgs().

4. Domain Regex Caching

Domain patterns are compiled to regex once and cached:

Router::get('/dashboard', $handler, [
    'domain' => '{tenant}.example.com'  // Compiled once, cached forever
]);

Performance Impact: Avoids regex compilation overhead on every domain match.

5. Smart Cache Validation

Cache validation uses a 5-second trust window to avoid expensive filesystem checks:

// Cache age < 5 seconds: Trusted without validation
// Cache age >= 5 seconds: Validates against route file modification times

Performance Impact: Reduces filesystem I/O by ~95% in high-traffic scenarios.

6. Route Hash Invalidation

Uses CRC32 hashing for efficient cache invalidation:

// Hash calculated only when routes change
// Lightweight comparison instead of deep route comparison

Performance Impact: Fast cache validation with minimal CPU overhead.

Enable Caching

Router::configure([
    'cache_enabled' => true,
    'cache_directory' => __DIR__ . '/storage/cache',
]);

Clear Cache

// Clear cache manually
Router::clearCache();

// Or delete the cache file
unlink(__DIR__ . '/storage/cache/ellie_routes.cache');

Cache Behavior

Cache is automatically disabled when debug_mode is true
Routes are cached after first load
Cache is loaded on subsequent requests
Failed cache loads fall back to loading routes normally
Cache validation skipped for requests within 5 seconds of last validation

Performance Benchmarks

Typical performance improvements with caching enabled:

Metric	Without Cache	With Cache	Improvement
Route Loading	~5-10ms	~0.1ms	50-100x faster
Dispatcher Build	~2-4ms	~0.05ms	40-80x faster
Reflection Operations	~0.5ms per call	~0.01ms per call	50x faster
Domain Matching	~0.2ms per pattern	~0.01ms per pattern	20x faster

Production Recommendations

For optimal performance in production:

Router::configure([
    // Enable caching
    'cache_enabled' => true,
    'cache_directory' => __DIR__ . '/storage/cache',
    
    // Disable debug mode
    'debug_mode' => false,
    
    // Use OPcache for PHP bytecode caching
    // php.ini: opcache.enable=1
    
    // Preload routes on deployment
    // Clear cache after deploying new routes
]);

// Warm up cache after deployment
Router::clearCache();
$request = new ServerRequest('GET', '/');
Router::handle($request); // Builds and caches routes

Memory Usage

The router is designed for minimal memory footprint:

Only essential data stored in cache structures
Closures and non-serializable data excluded from cache
Dispatcher cache stores only dispatcher instance and hash
Reflection cache stores only parameter metadata arrays

Typical Memory Usage: ~50-200KB for 100 routes (depending on complexity)

Testing

Basic Testing

use ElliePHP\Components\Routing\Router;
use Nyholm\Psr7\ServerRequest;
use PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase;

class RouteTest extends TestCase
{
    protected function setUp(): void
    {
        // Reset router state between tests
        Router::resetInstance();
        Router::reset();
    }
    
    public function testUserRoute(): void
    {
        Router::get('/users/{id}', function($request, $params) {
            return ['user_id' => $params['id']];
        });
        
        $request = new ServerRequest('GET', '/users/123');
        $response = Router::handle($request);
        
        $this->assertEquals(200, $response->getStatusCode());
        
        $body = json_decode((string)$response->getBody(), true);
        $this->assertEquals('123', $body['user_id']);
    }
}

Testing with Controllers

public function testUserController(): void
{
    Router::get('/users', [UserController::class, 'index']);
    
    $request = new ServerRequest('GET', '/users');
    $response = Router::handle($request);
    
    $this->assertEquals(200, $response->getStatusCode());
    $this->assertStringContainsString('users', (string)$response->getBody());
}

Testing Middleware

public function testMiddleware(): void
{
    Router::get('/protected', function() {
        return ['protected' => true];
    }, [
        'middleware' => [TestMiddleware::class]
    ]);
    
    $request = new ServerRequest('GET', '/protected');
    $response = Router::handle($request);
    
    $this->assertTrue($response->hasHeader('X-Test-Middleware'));
}

Advanced Usage

Programmatic Route Registration

Router::registerRoutes([
    [
        'method' => 'GET',
        'path' => '/users',
        'class' => UserController::class,
        'handler' => 'index',
        'middleware' => [AuthMiddleware::class],
        'name' => 'users.index'
    ],
    [
        'method' => 'POST',
        'path' => '/users',
        'class' => UserController::class,
        'handler' => 'store',
        'middleware' => [AuthMiddleware::class],
        'name' => 'users.store'
    ],
]);

Named Routes

Router::get('/users/{id}', [UserController::class, 'show'], [
    'name' => 'users.show'
]);

Router::post('/users', [UserController::class, 'store'], [
    'name' => 'users.store'
]);

// Access route names
$routes = Router::getRoutes();
foreach ($routes as $route) {
    echo "Route: {$route['name']}\n";
}

Custom Route Names

// Automatic naming: get.users.id
Router::get('/users/{id}', [UserController::class, 'show']);

// Custom naming
Router::get('/users/{id}', [UserController::class, 'show'], [
    'name' => 'user.profile'
]);

Complete Example

<?php

require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use ElliePHP\Components\Routing\Router;
use Nyholm\Psr7\Factory\Psr17Factory;
use Nyholm\Psr7Server\ServerRequestCreator;

// Configure router
Router::configure([
    'debug_mode' => $_ENV['APP_DEBUG'] ?? false,
    'cache_enabled' => $_ENV['APP_ENV'] === 'production',
    'cache_directory' => __DIR__ . '/storage/cache',
]);

// Define routes
Router::get('/', function() {
    return ['message' => 'Welcome to the API'];
});

Router::group(['prefix' => '/api/v1'], function() {
    // Public routes
    Router::post('/auth/login', [AuthController::class, 'login']);
    Router::post('/auth/register', [AuthController::class, 'register']);
    
    // Protected routes
    Router::group(['middleware' => [AuthMiddleware::class]], function() {
        Router::get('/profile', [ProfileController::class, 'show']);
        Router::put('/profile', [ProfileController::class, 'update']);
        
        // Admin routes
        Router::group([
            'prefix' => '/admin',
            'middleware' => [AdminMiddleware::class]
        ], function() {
            Router::get('/users', [AdminController::class, 'users']);
            Router::get('/stats', [AdminController::class, 'stats']);
        });
    });
});

// Create PSR-7 request from globals
$psr17Factory = new Psr17Factory();
$creator = new ServerRequestCreator(
    $psr17Factory,
    $psr17Factory,
    $psr17Factory,
    $psr17Factory
);
$request = $creator->fromGlobals();

// Handle request
$response = Router::handle($request);

// Send response
http_response_code($response->getStatusCode());
foreach ($response->getHeaders() as $name => $values) {
    foreach ($values as $value) {
        header("$name: $value", false);
    }
}
echo $response->getBody();

Requirements

PHP 8.4 or higher
psr/http-server-middleware ^1.0
psr/http-server-handler ^1.0
nyholm/psr7 ^1.8

Resources

Examples - Working code examples

License

MIT License

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 13 Commits
.github		.github
examples		examples
src		src
tests		tests
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
SECURITY.md		SECURITY.md
composer.json		composer.json
phpunit.xml		phpunit.xml

License

ElliePHP/Routing

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ElliePHP Routing Component

Features

Installation

Quick Start

Basic Setup

Using Without Facade

Usage Guide

Defining Routes

Simple Routes

All HTTP Methods

Route Parameters

Controllers

Basic Controller

Registering Controller Routes

Returning PSR-7 Responses

Route Groups

Basic Groups

Nested Groups

Groups with Middleware

Groups with Names

Domain Routing

Basic Domain Constraints

Domain Groups

Domain Parameters (Multi-Tenant SaaS)

Multi-Tenant Application Example

Multiple Domain Parameters

Domain Configuration

Routes Without Domain Constraints

Real-World Complete Example

Middleware

Creating Middleware

Applying Middleware

Closure Middleware

Middleware Execution Order

Configuration

Development Configuration

Production Configuration

Configuration Options

Custom Error Formatters

Route Files

Debug Features

Route Listing

Debug Headers

Detailed Error Messages

Route Inspection

Performance & Caching

Performance Optimizations

1. Route Caching

2. Dispatcher Caching

3. Reflection Metadata Caching

4. Domain Regex Caching

5. Smart Cache Validation

6. Route Hash Invalidation

Enable Caching

Clear Cache

Cache Behavior

Performance Benchmarks

Production Recommendations

Memory Usage

Testing

Basic Testing

Testing with Controllers

Testing Middleware

Advanced Usage

Programmatic Route Registration

Named Routes

Custom Route Names

Complete Example

Requirements

Resources

License

About

Resources

License