Class JsonView

A view class that is used for JSON responses.

It allows you to omit templates if you just need to emit JSON string as response.

In your controller, you could do the following:

$this->set(['posts' => $posts]);
$this->set('_serialize', true);

When the view is rendered, the $posts view variable will be serialized into JSON.

You can also set multiple view variables for serialization. This will create a top level object containing all the named view variables:

$this->set(compact('posts', 'users', 'stuff'));
$this->set('_serialize', true);

The above would generate a JSON object that looks like:

{"posts": [...], "users": [...]}

You can also set '_serialize' to a string or array to serialize only the specified view variables.

If you don't use the _serialize, you will need a view template. You can use extended views to provide layout-like functionality.

You can also enable JSONP support by setting parameter _jsonp to true or a string to specify custom query string parameter name which will contain the callback function name.

Namespace: Cake\View

Constants

string

NAME_ELEMENT ¶
```
'Element'
```
Constant for name of view file 'Element'
string

NAME_TEMPLATE ¶
```
'Template'
```
Constant for template folder 'Template'
string

TYPE_ELEMENT ¶
```
'element'
```
Constant for view file type 'element'
string

TYPE_LAYOUT ¶
```
'layout'
```
Constant for view file type 'layout'
string

TYPE_TEMPLATE ¶
```
'view'
```
Constant for view file type 'template'.
string

TYPE_VIEW ¶
```
'view'
```
Constant for view file type 'view'

Property Summary

$Blocks public @property

Cake\View\ViewBlock
$Breadcrumbs public @property

Cake\View\Helper\BreadcrumbsHelper
$Flash public @property

Cake\View\Helper\FlashHelper
$Form public @property

Cake\View\Helper\FormHelper
$Html public @property

Cake\View\Helper\HtmlHelper
$Number public @property

Cake\View\Helper\NumberHelper
$Paginator public @property

Cake\View\Helper\PaginatorHelper
$Rss public @property

Cake\View\Helper\RssHelper
$Session public @property

Cake\View\Helper\SessionHelper
$Text public @property

Cake\View\Helper\TextHelper
$Time public @property

Cake\View\Helper\TimeHelper
$Url public @property

Cake\View\Helper\UrlHelper
$_current protected

string

The currently rendering view file. Used for resolving parent files.
$_currentType protected

string

Currently rendering an element. Used for finding parent fragments for elements.
$_eventClass protected

string

Default class name for new event objects.
$_eventManager protected

Cake\Event\EventManagerInterfaceCake\Event\EventManager

Instance of the Cake\Event\EventManager this object is using to dispatch inner events.
$_ext protected

string

File extension. Defaults to CakePHP's template ".ctp".
$_helpers protected

Cake\View\HelperRegistry

Helpers collection
$_parents protected

string[]

The names of views and their parents used with View::extend();
$_passedVars protected

string[]

List of variables to collect from the associated controller.
$_paths protected

string[]

Holds an array of paths.
$_pathsForPlugin protected

string[][]

Holds an array of plugin paths.
$_responseType protected

string

Response type.
$_specialVars protected

array

List of special view vars.
$_stack protected

string[]

Content stack, used for nested templates that all use View::extend();
$_validViewOptions public @property

array
$_viewBlockClass protected

string

ViewBlock class.
$_viewBuilder protected

Cake\View\ViewBuilder

The view builder instance being used.
$autoLayout protected

bool

Turns on or off CakePHP's conventional mode of applying layout files. On by default. Setting to off means that layouts will not be automatically applied to rendered templates.
$elementCache protected

string

The Cache configuration View will use to store cached elements. Changing this will change the default configuration elements are stored under. You can also choose a cache config per element.
$hasRendered public deprecated

bool

True when the view has been rendered.
$helpers protected

array

An array of names of built-in helpers to include.
$layout protected

string

The name of the layout file to render the template inside of. The name specified is the filename of the layout in /src/Template/Layout without the .ctp extension.
$layoutPath protected

string

JSON layouts are located in the json sub directory of Layouts/
$name protected

string

Name of the controller that created the View if any.
$passedArgs public deprecated

array

Current passed params. Passed to View from the creating Controller for convenience.
$plugin protected

string|null

The name of the plugin.
$request protected

Cake\Http\ServerRequest

An instance of a \Cake\Http\ServerRequest object that contains information about the current request. This object contains all the information about a request and several methods for reading additional information about the request.
$response protected

Cake\Http\Response

Reference to the Response object
$subDir protected

string

JSON views are located in the 'json' sub directory for controllers' views.
$template protected

string

The name of the template file to render. The name specified is the filename in /src/Template/ without the .ctp extension.
$templatePath protected

string

The name of the subfolder containing templates for this View.
$theme protected

string|null

The view theme to use.
$uuids public deprecated

string[]

List of generated DOM UUIDs.
$view public @property

string
$viewClass public deprecated

string|null

The name of default View class.
$viewPath public @property

string
$viewVars public

array

Variables for the view.

Method Summary

__construct() public

Constructor
__get() public

Magic accessor for helpers.
__set() public

Magic setter for deprecated properties.
_checkFilePath() protected

Check that a view file path does not go outside of the defined template paths.
_createCell() protected

Create and configure the cell instance.
_dataToSerialize() protected

Returns data to be serialized.
_elementCache() protected

Generate the cache configuration options for an element.
_evaluate() protected

Sandbox method to evaluate a template / view script in.
_getElementFileName() protected

Finds an element filename, returns false on failure.
_getLayoutFileName() protected

Returns layout filename for this template as a string.
_getSubPaths() protected

Find all sub templates path, based on $basePath If a prefix is defined in the current request, this method will prepend the prefixed template path to the $basePath, cascading up in case the prefix is nested. This is essentially used to find prefixed template paths for elements and layouts.
_getViewFileName() protected

Returns filename of given action's template file (.ctp) as a string. CamelCased action names will be under_scored by default. This means that you can have LongActionNames that refer to long_action_names.ctp views. You can change the inflection rule by overriding _inflectViewFileName.
_inflectViewFileName() protected

Change the name of a view template file into underscored format.
_paths() protected

Return all possible paths to find view files in order
_render() protected

Renders and returns output for given template filename with its array of data. Handles parent/extended templates.
_renderElement() protected

Renders an element and fires the before and afterRender callbacks for it and writes to the cache if a cache is used
_serialize() protected

Serialize view vars
append() public

Append to an existing or new block.
assign() public

Set the content for a block. This will overwrite any existing content.
autoLayout() public deprecated

Turns on or off CakePHP's conventional mode of applying layout files. On by default. Setting to off means that layouts will not be automatically applied to rendered templates.
blocks() public

Get the names of all the existing blocks.
cache() public

Create a cached block of view logic.
cell() protected

Renders the given cell.
createView() public

Constructs the view class instance based on the current configuration.
disableAutoLayout() public

Turns off CakePHP's conventional mode of applying layout files.
dispatchEvent() public

Wrapper for creating and dispatching events.
element() public

Renders a piece of PHP with provided parameters and returns HTML, XML, or any other string.
elementExists() public

Checks if an element exists
enableAutoLayout() public

Turns on or off CakePHP's conventional mode of applying layout files. On by default. Setting to off means that layouts will not be automatically applied to rendered views.
end() public

End a capturing block. The compliment to View::start()
eventManager() public deprecated

Returns the Cake\Event\EventManager manager instance for this object.
exists() public

Check if a block exists
extend() public

Provides template or element extension/inheritance. Views can extends a parent view and populate blocks in the parent template.
fetch() public

Fetch the content for a block. If a block is empty or undefined '' will be returned.
get() public

Returns the contents of the given View variable.
getCurrentType() public

Retrieve the current view type
getEventManager() public

Returns the Cake\Event\EventManager manager instance for this object.
getLayout() public

Get the name of the layout file to render the template inside of. The name specified is the filename of the layout in /src/Template/Layout without the .ctp extension.
getLayoutPath() public

Get path for layout files.
getName() public

Returns the View's controller name.
getPlugin() public

Returns the plugin name.
getRequest() public

Gets the request instance.
getResponse() public

Gets the response instance.
getSubDir() public

Get sub-directory for this template files.
getTemplate() public

Get the name of the template file to render. The name specified is the filename in /src/Template/ without the .ctp extension.
getTemplatePath() public

Get path for templates files.
getTheme() public

Get the current view theme.
getVars() public

Returns a list of variables available in the current View context
helpers() public

Get the helper registry in use by this View class.
initialize() public

Initialization hook method.
isAutoLayoutEnabled() public

Returns if CakePHP's conventional mode of applying layout files is enabled. Disabled means that layouts will not be automatically applied to rendered views.
layout() public deprecated

Get/set the name of the layout file to render the template inside of. The name specified is the filename of the layout in /src/Template/Layout without the .ctp extension.
layoutPath() public deprecated

Get/set path for layout files.
loadHelper() public

Loads a helper. Delegates to the HelperRegistry::load() to load the helper
loadHelpers() public

Load helpers only if serialization is disabled.
log() public

Convenience method to write a message to Log. See Log::write() for more information on writing to logs.
pluginSplit() public

Splits a dot syntax plugin name into its plugin and filename. If $name does not have a dot, then index 0 will be null. It checks if the plugin is loaded, else filename will stay unchanged for filenames containing dot
prepend() public

Prepend to an existing or new block.
render() public

Render a JSON view.
renderLayout() public

Renders a layout. Returns output from _render(). Returns false on error. Several variables are created for use in layout.
requestAction() public deprecated

Calls a controller's method from any location. Can be used to connect controllers together or tie plugins into a main application. requestAction can be used to return rendered views or fetch the return value from controller actions.
reset() public

Reset the content for a block. This will overwrite any existing content.
set() public

Saves a variable or an associative array of variables for use inside a template.
setElementCache() public

Set The cache configuration View will use to store cached elements
setEventManager() public

Returns the Cake\Event\EventManager manager instance for this object.
setLayout() public

Set the name of the layout file to render the template inside of. The name specified is the filename of the layout in /src/Template/Layout without the .ctp extension.
setLayoutPath() public

Set path for layout files.
setPlugin() public

Sets the plugin name.
setRequest() public

Sets the request objects and configures a number of controller properties based on the contents of the request. The properties that get set are:
setResponse() public

Sets the response instance.
setSubDir() public

Set sub-directory for this template files.
setTemplate() public

Set the name of the template file to render. The name specified is the filename in /src/Template/ without the .ctp extension.
setTemplatePath() public

Set path for templates files.
setTheme() public

Set the view theme to use.
start() public

Start capturing output for a 'block'
template() public deprecated

Get/set the name of the template file to render. The name specified is the filename in /src/Template/ without the .ctp extension.
templatePath() public deprecated

Get/set path for templates files.
theme() public deprecated

The view theme to use.
uuid() public deprecated

Generates a unique, non-random DOM ID for an object, based on the object type and the target URL.
viewBuilder() public

Get the view builder being used.
viewOptions() public deprecated

Get/Set valid view options in the object's _validViewOptions property. The property is created as an empty array if it is not set. If called without any parameters it will return the current list of valid view options. See createView().

Method Detail

__construct() ¶ public

__construct(Cake\Http\ServerRequest|null $request = null, Cake\Http\Response|null $response = null, Cake\Event\EventManager|null $eventManager = null, array $viewOptions = [])

Constructor

Parameters

Cake\Http\ServerRequest|null $request optional: Request instance.
Cake\Http\Response|null $response optional: Response instance.
Cake\Event\EventManager|null $eventManager optional: EventManager instance.
array $viewOptions optional: An array of view options

__get() ¶ public

__get(string $name): mixed

Magic accessor for helpers.

Parameters

string $name: Name of the attribute to get.

Returns

mixed

__set() ¶ public

__set(string $name, mixed $value): void

Magic setter for deprecated properties.

Parameters

string $name: Name to property.
mixed $value: Value for property.

Returns

void

_checkFilePath() ¶ protected

_checkFilePath(string $file, string $path): string

Check that a view file path does not go outside of the defined template paths.

Only paths that contain .. will be checked, as they are the ones most likely to have the ability to resolve to files outside of the template paths.

Parameters

string $file: The path to the template file.
string $path: Base path that $file should be inside of.

Returns

string

Throws

InvalidArgumentException

_createCell() ¶ protected

_createCell(string $className, string $action, string $plugin, array $options): Cake\View\Cell

Create and configure the cell instance.

Parameters

string $className: The cell classname.
string $action: The action name.
string $plugin: The plugin name.
array $options: The constructor options for the cell.

Returns

Cake\View\Cell

_dataToSerialize() ¶ protected

_dataToSerialize(array|string|bool $serialize = true): mixed

Returns data to be serialized.

Parameters

array|string|bool $serialize optional: The name(s) of the view variable(s) that need(s) to be serialized. If true all available view variables will be used.

Returns

mixed

_elementCache() ¶ protected

_elementCache(string $name, array $data, array $options): array

Generate the cache configuration options for an element.

Parameters

string $name: Element name
array $data: Data
array $options: Element options

Returns

array

_evaluate() ¶ protected

_evaluate(string $viewFile, array $dataForView): string

Sandbox method to evaluate a template / view script in.

Parameters

string $viewFile: Filename of the view
array $dataForView: Data to include in rendered view.

Returns

string

_getElementFileName() ¶ protected

_getElementFileName(string $name, bool $pluginCheck = true): string|false

Finds an element filename, returns false on failure.

Parameters

string $name

The name of the element to find.

bool $pluginCheck optional

if false will ignore the request's plugin if parsed plugin is not loaded

Returns

string|false

_getLayoutFileName() ¶ protected

_getLayoutFileName(string|null $name = null): string

Returns layout filename for this template as a string.

Parameters

string|null $name optional: The name of the layout to find.

Returns

string

Throws

Cake\View\Exception\MissingLayoutException
when a layout cannot be located

_getSubPaths() ¶ protected

_getSubPaths(string $basePath): array

Find all sub templates path, based on $basePath If a prefix is defined in the current request, this method will prepend the prefixed template path to the $basePath, cascading up in case the prefix is nested. This is essentially used to find prefixed template paths for elements and layouts.

Parameters

string $basePath: Base path on which to get the prefixed one.

Returns

array

_getViewFileName() ¶ protected

_getViewFileName(string|null $name = null): string

Returns filename of given action's template file (.ctp) as a string. CamelCased action names will be under_scored by default. This means that you can have LongActionNames that refer to long_action_names.ctp views. You can change the inflection rule by overriding _inflectViewFileName.

Parameters

string|null $name optional: Controller action to find template filename for

Returns

string

Throws

Cake\View\Exception\MissingTemplateException
when a view file could not be found.

_inflectViewFileName() ¶ protected

_inflectViewFileName(string $name): string

Change the name of a view template file into underscored format.

Parameters

string $name: Name of file which should be inflected.

Returns

string

_paths() ¶ protected

_paths(string|null $plugin = null, bool $cached = true): string[]

Return all possible paths to find view files in order

Parameters

string|null $plugin optional: Optional plugin name to scan for view files.
bool $cached optional: Set to false to force a refresh of view paths. Default true.

Returns

string[]

_render() ¶ protected

_render(string $viewFile, array $data = []): string

Renders and returns output for given template filename with its array of data. Handles parent/extended templates.

Parameters

string $viewFile: Filename of the view
array $data optional: Data to include in rendered view. If empty the current View::$viewVars will be used.

Returns

string

Throws

LogicException
When a block is left open.

_renderElement() ¶ protected

_renderElement(string $file, array $data, array $options): string

Renders an element and fires the before and afterRender callbacks for it and writes to the cache if a cache is used

Parameters

string $file: Element file path
array $data: Data to render
array $options: Element options

Returns

string

_serialize() ¶ protected

_serialize(array|string $serialize): string|false

Serialize view vars

Special parameters

_jsonOptions You can set custom options for json_encode() this way, e.g. JSON_HEX_TAG | JSON_HEX_APOS.

Parameters

array|string $serialize: The name(s) of the view variable(s) that need(s) to be serialized. If true all available view variables.

Returns

string|false

append() ¶ public

append(string $name, mixed $value = null): $this

Append to an existing or new block.

Appending to a new block will create the block.

Parameters

string $name: Name of the block
mixed $value optional: The content for the block. Value will be type cast to string.

Returns

$this

assign() ¶ public

assign(string $name, mixed $value): $this

Set the content for a block. This will overwrite any existing content.

Parameters

string $name: Name of the block
mixed $value: The content for the block. Value will be type cast to string.

Returns

$this

autoLayout() ¶ public

autoLayout(bool|null $autoLayout = null): bool|null

Turns on or off CakePHP's conventional mode of applying layout files. On by default. Setting to off means that layouts will not be automatically applied to rendered templates.

Parameters

bool|null $autoLayout optional: Boolean to turn on/off. If null returns current value.

Returns

bool|null

blocks() ¶ public

blocks(): string[]

Get the names of all the existing blocks.

Returns

string[]

cache() ¶ public

cache(callable $block, array $options = []): string

Create a cached block of view logic.

This allows you to cache a block of view output into the cache defined in elementCache.

This method will attempt to read the cache first. If the cache is empty, the $block will be run and the output stored.

Parameters

callable $block: The block of code that you want to cache the output of.
array $options optional: The options defining the cache key etc.

Returns

string

Throws

RuntimeException
When $options is lacking a 'key' option.

cell() ¶ protected

cell(string $cell, array $data = [], array $options = []): Cake\View\Cell

Renders the given cell.

Example:

// Taxonomy\View\Cell\TagCloudCell::smallList()
$cell = $this->cell('Taxonomy.TagCloud::smallList', ['limit' => 10]);

// App\View\Cell\TagCloudCell::smallList()
$cell = $this->cell('TagCloud::smallList', ['limit' => 10]);

The display action will be used by default when no action is provided:

// Taxonomy\View\Cell\TagCloudCell::display()
$cell = $this->cell('Taxonomy.TagCloud');

Cells are not rendered until they are echoed.

Parameters

string $cell: You must indicate cell name, and optionally a cell action. e.g.: TagCloud::smallList will invoke View\Cell\TagCloudCell::smallList(), display action will be invoked by default when none is provided.
array $data optional: Additional arguments for cell method. e.g.: cell('TagCloud::smallList', ['a1' => 'v1', 'a2' => 'v2']) maps to View\Cell\TagCloud::smallList(v1, v2)
array $options optional: Options for Cell's constructor

Returns

Cake\View\Cell

Throws

Cake\View\Exception\MissingCellException
If Cell class was not found.
BadMethodCallException
If Cell class does not specified cell action.

createView() ¶ public

createView(string|null $viewClass = null): Cake\View\View

Constructs the view class instance based on the current configuration.

Parameters

string|null $viewClass optional: Optional namespaced class name of the View class to instantiate.

Returns

Cake\View\View

Throws

Cake\View\Exception\MissingViewException
If view class was not found.

disableAutoLayout() ¶ public

disableAutoLayout(): $this

Turns off CakePHP's conventional mode of applying layout files.

Layouts will not be automatically applied to rendered views.

Returns

$this

dispatchEvent() ¶ public

dispatchEvent(string $name, array|null $data = null, object|null $subject = null): Cake\Event\Event

Wrapper for creating and dispatching events.

Returns a dispatched event.

Parameters

string $name: Name of the event.
array|null $data optional: Any value you wish to be transported with this event to it can be read by listeners.
object|null $subject optional: The object that this event applies to ($this by default).

Returns

Cake\Event\Event

element() ¶ public

element(string $name, array $data = [], array $options = []): string

Renders a piece of PHP with provided parameters and returns HTML, XML, or any other string.

This realizes the concept of Elements, (or "partial layouts") and the $params array is used to send data to be used in the element. Elements can be cached improving performance by using the cache option.

Parameters

string $name

Name of template file in the /src/Template/Element/ folder, or MyPlugin.template to use the template element from MyPlugin. If the element is not found in the plugin, the normal view path cascade will be searched.

array $data optional

Array of data to be made available to the rendered view (i.e. the Element)

array $options optional

Array of options. Possible keys are:

cache - Can either be true, to enable caching using the config in View::$elementCache. Or an array If an array, the following keys can be used:
- config - Used to store the cached element in a custom cache configuration.
- key - Used to define the key used in the Cache::write(). It will be prefixed with element_
callbacks - Set to true to fire beforeRender and afterRender helper callbacks for this element. Defaults to false.
ignoreMissing - Used to allow missing elements. Set to true to not throw exceptions.
plugin - setting to false will force to use the application's element from plugin templates, when the plugin has element with same name. Defaults to true

Returns

string

Throws

Cake\View\Exception\MissingElementException
When an element is missing and `ignoreMissing` is false.

elementExists() ¶ public

elementExists(string $name): bool

Checks if an element exists

Parameters

string $name: Name of template file in the /src/Template/Element/ folder, or MyPlugin.template to check the template element from MyPlugin. If the element is not found in the plugin, the normal view path cascade will be searched.

Returns

bool

enableAutoLayout() ¶ public

enableAutoLayout(bool $enable = true): $this

Turns on or off CakePHP's conventional mode of applying layout files. On by default. Setting to off means that layouts will not be automatically applied to rendered views.

Parameters

bool $enable optional: Boolean to turn on/off.

Returns

$this

end() ¶ public

end(): $this

End a capturing block. The compliment to View::start()

Returns

$this

eventManager() ¶ public

eventManager(Cake\Event\EventManager|null $eventManager = null): Cake\Event\EventManager

Returns the Cake\Event\EventManager manager instance for this object.

You can use this instance to register any new listeners or callbacks to the object events, or create your own events and trigger them at will.

Parameters

Cake\Event\EventManager|null $eventManager optional: the eventManager to set

Returns

Cake\Event\EventManager

exists() ¶ public

exists(string $name): bool

Check if a block exists

Parameters

string $name: Name of the block

Returns

bool

extend() ¶ public

extend(string $name): $this

Provides template or element extension/inheritance. Views can extends a parent view and populate blocks in the parent template.

Parameters

string $name: The template or element to 'extend' the current one with.

Returns

$this

Throws

LogicException
when you extend a template with itself or make extend loops.
LogicException
when you extend an element which doesn't exist

fetch() ¶ public

fetch(string $name, string $default = ''): string

Fetch the content for a block. If a block is empty or undefined '' will be returned.

Parameters

string $name: Name of the block
string $default optional: Default text

Returns

string

get() ¶ public

get(string $var, mixed $default = null): mixed

Returns the contents of the given View variable.

Parameters

string $var: The view var you want the contents of.
mixed $default optional: The default/fallback content of $var.

Returns

mixed

getCurrentType() ¶ public

getCurrentType(): string

Retrieve the current view type

Returns

string

getEventManager() ¶ public

getEventManager(): Cake\Event\EventManager

initialize(): void

Initialization hook method.

Properties like $helpers etc. cannot be initialized statically in your custom view class as they are overwritten by values from controller in constructor. So this method allows you to manipulate them as required after view instance is constructed.

Returns

void

isAutoLayoutEnabled() ¶ public

isAutoLayoutEnabled(): bool

Returns if CakePHP's conventional mode of applying layout files is enabled. Disabled means that layouts will not be automatically applied to rendered views.

Returns

bool

layout() ¶ public

layout(string|null $name = null): string|null

Get/set the name of the layout file to render the template inside of. The name specified is the filename of the layout in /src/Template/Layout without the .ctp extension.

Parameters

string|null $name optional: Layout file name to set. If null returns current name.

Returns

string|null

layoutPath() ¶ public

layoutPath(string|null $path = null): string|null

Get/set path for layout files.

Parameters

string|null $path optional: Path for layout files. If null returns current path.

Returns

string|null

loadHelper() ¶ public

loadHelper(string $name, array $config = []): Cake\View\Helper

Loads a helper. Delegates to the HelperRegistry::load() to load the helper

Parameters

string $name: Name of the helper to load.
array $config optional: Settings for the helper

Returns

Cake\View\Helper

loadHelpers() ¶ public

loadHelpers(): $this

Load helpers only if serialization is disabled.

Returns

$this

log() ¶ public

log(mixed $message, int|string $level = LogLevel::ERROR, string|array $context = []): bool

Convenience method to write a message to Log. See Log::write() for more information on writing to logs.

Parameters

mixed $message: Log message.
int|string $level optional: Error level.
string|array $context optional: Additional log data relevant to this message.

Returns

bool

pluginSplit() ¶ public

pluginSplit(string $name, bool $fallback = true): array

Splits a dot syntax plugin name into its plugin and filename. If $name does not have a dot, then index 0 will be null. It checks if the plugin is loaded, else filename will stay unchanged for filenames containing dot

Parameters

string $name: The name you want to plugin split.
bool $fallback optional: If true uses the plugin set in the current Request when parsed plugin is not loaded

Returns

array

prepend() ¶ public

prepend(string $name, mixed $value): $this

Prepend to an existing or new block.

Prepending to a new block will create the block.

Parameters

string $name: Name of the block
mixed $value: The content for the block. Value will be type cast to string.

Returns

$this

render() ¶ public

render(string|false|null $view = null, string|null $layout = null): string|null

Render a JSON view.

Special parameters

_serialize To convert a set of view variables into a JSON response. Its value can be a string for single variable name or array for multiple names. If true all view variables will be serialized. It unset normal view template will be rendered. _jsonp Enables JSONP support and wraps response in callback function provided in query string.

Setting it to true enables the default query string parameter "callback".
Setting it to a string value, uses the provided query string parameter for finding the JSONP callback name.

Parameters

string|false|null $view optional: The view being rendered.
string|null $layout optional: The layout being rendered.

Returns

string|null

renderLayout() ¶ public

renderLayout(string $content, string|null $layout = null): string|false

Renders a layout. Returns output from _render(). Returns false on error. Several variables are created for use in layout.

Parameters

string $content: Content to render in a template, wrapped by the surrounding layout.
string|null $layout optional: Layout name

Returns

string|false

Throws

Cake\Core\Exception\Exception
if there is an error in the view.

requestAction() ¶ public

requestAction(string|array $url, array $extra = []): mixed

Calls a controller's method from any location. Can be used to connect controllers together or tie plugins into a main application. requestAction can be used to return rendered views or fetch the return value from controller actions.

Under the hood this method uses Router::reverse() to convert the $url parameter into a string URL. You should use URL formats that are compatible with Router::reverse()

Examples

A basic example getting the return value of the controller action:

$variables = $this->requestAction('/articles/popular');

A basic example of request action to fetch a rendered page without the layout.

$viewHtml = $this->requestAction('/articles/popular', ['return']);

You can also pass the URL as an array:

$vars = $this->requestAction(['controller' => 'articles', 'action' => 'popular']);

Passing other request data

You can pass POST, GET, COOKIE and other data into the request using the appropriate keys. Cookies can be passed using the cookies key. Get parameters can be set with query and post data can be sent using the post key.

$vars = $this->requestAction('/articles/popular', [
  'query' => ['page' => 1],
  'cookies' => ['remember_me' => 1],
]);

Sending environment or header values

By default actions dispatched with this method will use the global $_SERVER and $_ENV values. If you want to override those values for a request action, you can specify the values:

$vars = $this->requestAction('/articles/popular', [
  'environment' => ['CONTENT_TYPE' => 'application/json']
]);

Transmitting the session

By default actions dispatched with this method will use the standard session object. If you want a particular session instance to be used, you need to specify it.

$vars = $this->requestAction('/articles/popular', [
  'session' => new Session($someSessionConfig)
]);

Parameters

string|array $url: String or array-based url. Unlike other url arrays in CakePHP, this url will not automatically handle passed arguments in the $url parameter.
array $extra optional: if array includes the key "return" it sets the autoRender to true. Can also be used to submit GET/POST data, and passed arguments.

Returns

mixed

reset() ¶ public

reset(string $name): $this

Reset the content for a block. This will overwrite any existing content.

Parameters

string $name: Name of the block

Returns

$this

set() ¶ public

set(string|array $name, mixed $value = null): $this

Saves a variable or an associative array of variables for use inside a template.

Parameters

string|array $name: A string or an array of data.
mixed $value optional: Value in case $name is a string (which then works as the key). Unused if $name is an associative array, otherwise serves as the values to $name's keys.

Returns

$this

setElementCache() ¶ public

setElementCache(string $elementCache): $this

Set The cache configuration View will use to store cached elements

Parameters

string $elementCache: Cache config name.

Returns

$this

setEventManager() ¶ public

setEventManager(Cake\Event\EventManager $eventManager): $this

Returns the Cake\Event\EventManager manager instance for this object.

You can use this instance to register any new listeners or callbacks to the object events, or create your own events and trigger them at will.

Parameters

Cake\Event\EventManager $eventManager: the eventManager to set

Returns

$this

setLayout() ¶ public

setLayout(string $name): $this

Set the name of the layout file to render the template inside of. The name specified is the filename of the layout in /src/Template/Layout without the .ctp extension.

Parameters

string $name: Layout file name to set.

Returns

$this

setLayoutPath() ¶ public

setLayoutPath(string $path): $this

Set path for layout files.

Parameters

string $path: Path for layout files.

Returns

$this

setPlugin() ¶ public

setPlugin(string $name): $this

Sets the plugin name.

Parameters

string $name: Plugin name.

Returns

$this

setRequest() ¶ public

setRequest(Cake\Http\ServerRequest $request): $this

Sets the request objects and configures a number of controller properties based on the contents of the request. The properties that get set are:

$this->request - To the $request parameter
$this->plugin - To the value returned by $request->getParam('plugin')
$this->passedArgs - Same as $request->params['pass]

Parameters

Cake\Http\ServerRequest $request: Request instance.

Returns

$this

setResponse() ¶ public

setResponse(Cake\Http\Response $response): $this

Sets the response instance.

Parameters

Cake\Http\Response $response: Response instance.

Returns

$this

setSubDir() ¶ public

setSubDir(string $subDir): $this

Set sub-directory for this template files.

Parameters

string $subDir: Sub-directory name.

Returns

$this

setTemplate() ¶ public

setTemplate(string $name): $this

Set the name of the template file to render. The name specified is the filename in /src/Template/ without the .ctp extension.

Parameters

string $name: Template file name to set.

Returns

$this

setTemplatePath() ¶ public

setTemplatePath(string $path): $this

Set path for templates files.

Parameters

string $path: Path for template files.

Returns

$this

setTheme() ¶ public

setTheme(string|null $theme): $this

Set the view theme to use.

Parameters

string|null $theme: Theme name.

Returns

$this

start() ¶ public

start(string $name): $this

Start capturing output for a 'block'

You can use start on a block multiple times to append or prepend content in a capture mode.

// Append content to an existing block.
$this->start('content');
echo $this->fetch('content');
echo 'Some new content';
$this->end();

// Prepend content to an existing block
$this->start('content');
echo 'Some new content';
echo $this->fetch('content');
$this->end();

Parameters

string $name: The name of the block to capture for.

Returns

$this

template() ¶ public

template(string|null $name = null): string|null

Get/set the name of the template file to render. The name specified is the filename in /src/Template/ without the .ctp extension.

Parameters

string|null $name optional: Template file name to set. If null returns current name.

Returns

string|null

templatePath() ¶ public

templatePath(string|null $path = null): string|null

Get/set path for templates files.

Parameters

string|null $path optional: Path for template files. If null returns current path.

Returns

string|null

theme() ¶ public

theme(string|null $theme = null): string|null

The view theme to use.

Parameters

string|null $theme optional: Theme name. If null returns current theme.

Returns

string|null

uuid() ¶ public

uuid(string $object, string $url): string

Generates a unique, non-random DOM ID for an object, based on the object type and the target URL.

Parameters

string $object: Type of object, i.e. 'form' or 'link'
string $url: The object's target URL

Returns

string

viewBuilder() ¶ public

viewBuilder(): Cake\View\ViewBuilder

Get the view builder being used.

Returns

Cake\View\ViewBuilder

viewOptions() ¶ public

viewOptions(string|array|null $options = null, bool $merge = true): array

Get/Set valid view options in the object's _validViewOptions property. The property is created as an empty array if it is not set. If called without any parameters it will return the current list of valid view options. See createView().

Parameters

string|array|null $options optional: string or array of string to be appended to _validViewOptions.
bool $merge optional: Whether to merge with or override existing valid View options. Defaults to true.

Returns

array

Property Detail

array

`$_stack` ¶ protected

Content stack, used for nested templates that all use View::extend();

Type

string[]

Type

string[]

`$view` ¶ public @property

Type

Constants

Property Summary

Method Summary

__construct() public

__get() public

__set() public

_checkFilePath() protected

_createCell() protected

_dataToSerialize() protected

_elementCache() protected

_evaluate() protected

_getElementFileName() protected

_getLayoutFileName() protected

_getSubPaths() protected

_getViewFileName() protected

_inflectViewFileName() protected

_paths() protected

_render() protected

_renderElement() protected

_serialize() protected

append() public

assign() public

autoLayout() public deprecated

blocks() public

cache() public

cell() protected

createView() public

disableAutoLayout() public

dispatchEvent() public

element() public

elementExists() public

enableAutoLayout() public

end() public

eventManager() public deprecated

exists() public

extend() public

fetch() public

get() public

getCurrentType() public

getEventManager() public

getLayout() public

getLayoutPath() public

getName() public

getPlugin() public

getRequest() public

getResponse() public

getSubDir() public

getTemplate() public

getTemplatePath() public

getTheme() public

getVars() public

helpers() public

initialize() public

isAutoLayoutEnabled() public

layout() public deprecated

layoutPath() public deprecated

loadHelper() public

loadHelpers() public

log() public

pluginSplit() public

prepend() public

render() public

renderLayout() public

requestAction() public deprecated

reset() public

set() public

setElementCache() public

setEventManager() public

setLayout() public

setLayoutPath() public

setPlugin() public

setRequest() public

setResponse() public

setSubDir() public

setTemplate() public

setTemplatePath() public

setTheme() public

start() public