symfony sandbox
===============

Thank you for downloading the symfony sandbox. This pre-configured symfony
project will allow you to experiment with the symfony framework immediately, 
without any installation or configuration.

Quick start
-----------

The sandbox project will work "out of the box", provided that you extract the 
.tgz archive under the root web directory configured for your server (usually 
`web/`).

After unpacking the archive, test the sandbox by requesting the following URL:

    http://localhost/sf_sandbox/web/
    
You should see a congratulations page.

Command line
------------

If you are in the `sf_sandbox/` directory, you can use the command line to do 
usual site management operations. For instance, to clear the cache, type:

    $ ./symfony.sh clear-cache                      (*nix)
    symfony clear-cache                             (Windows)
    
To discover all the available actions of the symfony command line, type:

    $ ./symfony.sh -T                               (*nix)
    symfony -T                                      (Windows)

Environments
------------

The sandbox already contains one application called `frontend`, accessible 
through two environments:

- the default environment is the `prod` one, in which the application is fast 
  but outputs few error messages
- the `dev` environment is slower but gives access to a lot of information
  about the current request

To access the `frontend` application in the `dev` environment, type:

    http://localhost/sf_sandbox/web/frontend_dev.php/
               (don't forget the final /)

Modules
-------

To create a new module `mymodule`, just type in the command line:

    $ ./symfony.sh init-module frontend mymodule    (*nix)
    symfony init-module frontend mymodule           (Windows)

To access it, call:

    http://localhost/sf_sandbox/web/mymodule

If, at this point, you meet an error, this means that your web server doesn't
support mod_rewrite. Delete the `.htaccess` file from the `web/` directory and
call instead: 

    http://localhost/sf_sandbox/web/index.php/mymodule

What's in the sandbox?
----------------------

The sandbox is an empty symfony project where all the required libraries 
(symfony, pake, creole, propel and phing) are already included (in the 
`sf_sandbox/lib/` directory). It is configured to work without any 
configuration if unpacked under the web root, but you can install it anywhere 
in your disk. In this case,

- delete the 22nd line of the `sf_sandbox/apps/frontend/config/settings.yml`
  (`relative_url_root: /sf_sandbox/web/`)
- create a virtual host in your web server configuration to address the 
  `sf_sandbox/web` directory

The sandbox is intended for you to practice with symfony in a local computer, 
not really to develop complex applications that may end up on the web. 
However, the version of symfony shipped with the sandbox is fully functional 
and equivalent to the one you can install via PEAR.

Beware that the sandbox is not upgradeable.

Happy symfony! 
--------------

Feel free to experiment and try the various techniques described in the 
www.symfony-project.com website. All the tutorials can also work in a sandbox. 
But in the long run, if you decide to go on with symfony, we advise you to 
switch to a PEAR installation, which will guarantee you with the possibility 
to use the latest patches and enhancements.

The symfony team
http://www.symfony-project.com/