This is my implementation of a themeable view class for CakePHP. This class will allow your site to use themes or skins. Themes or skins are a great feature because they allow for division of labor between the developer and the designer (although the designer in this case has to know a bit of PHP). They also allow the website owner to quickly change the look and feel of the website.

The ThemeableView class here is part of the CMS that I am currently working on.

Updated to Version 1.0.6

See this usage notes for CakePHP 1.2.x.x users.

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Here is a simplified flowchart illustrating how the ActionClass-aware custom dispatcher works.

Click on the thumbnail above to view the full image.

I have just finished one of my most important modifications to CakePHP. In my old framework, I used a similar pattern where in a request is handled as a “mode” plus an “command” with optional parameters. This is similar in spirit to CakePHP’s controller/action way of doing things. In my implementation however, commands (analogous to CakePHP actions) are implemented using separate classes.

While some may argue that this manner of implementing MVC is overkill in typical applications, in very large applications (like PhilWeavers.net) it leads to very quick turn-around when it comes to adding new actions or modifying existing ones.

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I have recently begun working on a series of modifications for CakePHP. The primary purpose of these modifications is to provide an easier migration path for my old web projects. I have made them available both as a series of patches and as a downloadable Darcs repository.

Updated: 6 Dec 2006

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