how to get dynamic URL like mydomain.com/username using zend framework

Question

I am developing an application using zend framework. In the application I have to provide a URL for each user like mydomain.com/[username] then public will be able to view

Answer 1

This seems to come up quite a bit, there are a few options:

Option 1: custom route class

I've put up a blog post with a detailed example of how to achieve this in ZF using a custom route class, see:

http://tfountain.co.uk/blog/2010/9/9/vanity-urls-zend-framework

This might not be the simplest approach, but in my opinion it is the best, as it allows you to setup a username route like any other, and you can still use the standard ZF URL helpers and other routing toys.

Option 2: extending the router

Another approach is to extend the standard ZF router and then check for a username route before doing anything else. Something like:

class My_Router extends Zend_Controller_Router_Rewrite
{
    public function route(Zend_Controller_Request_Abstract $request)
    {
        $pathBits = explode('/', $request->getPathInfo());
        if (!empty($pathBits[0])) {
            // check whether $pathBits[0] is a username here
            // with a database lookup, if yes, set params and return
        }

        // fallback on the standard ZF router
        return parent::route($request);
    }
}

You then need to tell the front controller to use your router instead of the default one, so in your bootstrap:

protected function _initRoutes()
{
    Zend_Controller_Front::getInstance()->setRouter(new My_Router());
}

replace 'My' with your application's own namespace.

If you follow this approach you can't use the URL helper for your username routes, and things can become a bit messy if you start needing to add other custom functionality, so go with the custom route class instead.