renttek/magento2-virtual-controllers

A module which enables developers to create virtual controllers in Magento 2

Renttek_VirtualControllers

Enables creating of routes with "virtual controllers", _(*1)

, _(*2)

What is a virtual controllers? A virtual controller is a path + an optional layout handle which will be set. With that it is possible to create custom routes where you can place custom blocks to your wishes. (In Magento 2 this is currently only possible by creating a route.xml & a dummy controller action, which returns a \Magento\Framework\View\Result\Page), _(*3)

Comparison

Here is a short comparison of the minimal required code to create a custom route (example/page/view) in Magento 2 (given there is already a module My_Module), _(*4)

Vanilla Magento 2

/etc/frontend/routes.xml, _(*5)

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
    xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:framework:App/etc/routes.xsd">
    <router id="standard">
        <route id="example" frontName="example">
            <module name="My_Module"/>
        </route>
    </router>
</config>

/Controllers/Page/View.php, _(*6)

resultPageFactory = $resultPageFactory;
    }

    public function execute()
    {
        return $this->resultPageFactory->create();
    }
}
```

### With this Module

/etc/virtual_controllers.xml
```xml

<controllers xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
    xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:module:Renttek_VirtualControllers:etc/virtual_controllers.xsd">
    <controller path="example/page/view" />
</controllers>

Features

Handles

Besides the much simpler creation of custom routes, every route will get a few layout handles set: * "default" * "virtual_controller" * The given path, but all characters except [a-z_] are replaced by underscores. (example/page/view => example_page_view), _(*7)

The generated handle can also be set manually in the xml configuration like this:, _(*8)

/etc/virtual_controllers.xml, _(*9)

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<controllers xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
    xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:module:Renttek_VirtualControllers:etc/virtual_controllers.xsd">
    <controller path="example/page/view" handle="my_custom" />
</controllers>

Routes can also be disabled by setting disabled=true in the configuration:, _(*10)

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<controllers xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
    xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:module:Renttek_VirtualControllers:etc/virtual_controllers.xsd">
    <controller path="example/page/view" disabled="true" />
</controllers>

Forwards

Another feature is the possibility of creating forwards without creating a controller. Forwards are needed if you want to display another URL for a page. (e.g. 'my/shoppingcart' => 'checkout/cart'), _(*11)

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<controllers xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
    xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:module:Renttek_VirtualControllers:etc/virtual_controllers.xsd">

    <forward path="my/shoppingcart"
             module="checkout"
             controller="cart"
             action="index"/>
</controllers>

In V1 the attributes controller and action defaulted to 'index' if not specified. In V2 this is not the case!, _(*12)

Forwards are only URLs/path that CAN be called. It does not extend/manipulate url generation in any way., _(*13)

All routes are merged by the path attribute, so it is possible to disable routes from other modules., _(*14)