[feature request] add a context object

[aledeg]

See #632 for the context of the discussion.

It would be nice to have a context object that handle the current state of the application and the current configuration for the user.
This way we can have a more efficient way to modify the layout and query the database.

At the moment, here is the list of the thing I can think of:

• compute the current state to display depending of the user configuration and selection
• simplify templates by using context methods instead of complex tests
• simplify queries by using context methods instead of complex tests

[marienfressinaud]

I marked this ticket as critical since it will be necessary for big changes like plugin system and useful to refactor some parts of the source code.

[marienfressinaud]

I'm working on the Context object but I'm not sure of what it should do:

• Return which state is enabled (e.g. $this->context->stateEnabled(FreshRSS_Entry::STATE_READ) returns true if state read is enabled)
• Return the next get value (useful in entryContoller::readAction() so we can remove code in nav_menu.phtml)
• Aaaand… what else? ^^' I would like to simplify the indexController() but I'm not sure Context object can help… what do you think?

[aledeg]

For me, it should hold the configuration and the current state. It should also make all the calculation regarding the state, the next/previous feed/category and maybe other things.
For instance, I can see methods like getNextFeed, getNextCategory, isCurrentStatusRead.

[aledeg]

Maybe we can start with a simple object and use it to simplify the code in the controllers, views and DAOs. If something comes up, we can add it later.

[marienfressinaud]

Ok, fine, I begins something :)

[marienfressinaud]

My last commit gives an idea of how to use context object. Here is my plan:

1. Replace all references to different $conf variables by FreshRSS_Context::$conf
2. Replace output parameters by different actions: one action for normal view, another for global view and a last one for RSS output. I think reader view should be supported by CSS only (I'm not decided how to handle this view).
3. Previous point will ask to refactor indexController. It will be time to use furthermore the Context object I think (maybe by storing useful parameters such as search, order, nb, etc.?)
4. Then, nav_menu.phtml seems to need being polished (use of Context object again).
5. Finally, check different other view files if Context object can be used.

[marienfressinaud]

I have pushed my work in a dedicated branch. IT'S NOT WORKING ANYMORE. There is still a lot of work to finish but I'm quite satisfied of what I have done so far :)

[marienfressinaud]

I have moved a lot of code from indexController to Context object, please have a look to the source code. I have to add comments and finish to fix bugs and missing features.

I hope the code is clearer now: indexController does 186 lines now and 500 before!

[marienfressinaud]

I have finished the Context object and fixed some bugs, IndexController has been refactored (see #655) and nav_menu.phtml does not handle the `nextGet`` calculation anymore. I don't merge the code for the moment because I have changed the feed aside structure (something I wanted to do since a long time) but it's not finished yet!

[aledeg]

I just thought about something to add in the context object. We need to store the query parameters and have methods to get those values easily. That would be useful for filtering the result, counting the number of results of a query (see #546 and #611), mark as read a selection (see #608 and #609), and improve the filter options (see #610).

[marienfressinaud]

Do you mean we need to store parameters such as search, nb, order, etc.? Because it's already the case ;)

[aledeg]

That's what I meant. So 👍
I haven't check the code yet since I am pretty busy at the moment.

[marienfressinaud]

No problem, we all have our constraints ;)

I have finished my work on this branch so I merge it into dev