Building a Micro MVC Framework 🏛️

Build a router, dispatcher, and controller system from scratch — understand the architecture behind Laravel and Symfony.

What You'll Learn in This Lesson

• The MVC pattern: Model, View, Controller responsibilities
• Build a URL router with dynamic parameters (/users/:id)
• Create Request and Response objects for clean data flow
• Implement a controller base class with action methods
• Organize an MVC project with proper file structure

Note: PHP runs on a server. Our examples simulate PHP logic using JavaScript. To run real PHP, install PHP.

🎯 Real-World Analogy: MVC is like a restaurant. The Model is the kitchen — it knows the recipes and manages ingredients (data). The View is the plate presentation — making the food look beautiful for customers (HTML). The Controller is the waiter — taking orders from customers (requests), telling the kitchen what to cook, and delivering the result. The Router is the host who seats you at the right table based on your reservation (URL).

Building the Router

The router is the entry point of every MVC framework. It maps incoming URLs to controller actions, extracts dynamic parameters (like user IDs), and supports all HTTP methods. Every request passes through the router first — it's the traffic controller of your application.

Try It: URL Router

Build a router with dynamic parameters, HTTP methods, and 404 handling

Try it Yourself »

JavaScript

// Building a PHP Router from Scratch
console.log("=== MVC Architecture ===");
console.log();
console.log("Model      → Data & business logic (User, Order, Product)");
console.log("View       → HTML templates (what users see)");
console.log("Controller → Handles requests, coordinates M & V");
console.log();
console.log("Request Flow:");
console.log("  Browser → Router → Controller → Model → View → Response");
console.log();

console.log("=== Building the Router ===");
console.log();

class Route
...

Controllers & Request/Response

Controllers handle the business logic for each route. They receive a Request object (containing method, path, body, and query parameters) and return a Response object (with status code, headers, and body). This clean separation makes your code testable and maintainable.

Try It: Controllers

Build controllers with Request/Response objects and CRUD actions

Try it Yourself »

JavaScript

// Controllers & Request/Response Objects
console.log("=== Controller System ===");
console.log();

// Simple Request object
class Request {
  constructor(method, path, body = {}, query = {}) {
    this.method = method;
    this.path = path;
    this.body = body;
    this.query = query;
    this.params = {};
  }
  input(key) { return this.body[key] || this.query[key] || null; }
}

// Simple Response object
class Response {
  static json(data, status = 200) {
    return { status, headers: { "Cont
...

⚠️ Common Mistakes

⚠️

Fat controllers — putting business logic in controllers instead of models. Controllers should only coordinate — validate input, call the model, return the response.

⚠️

No front controller — all requests should go through public/index.php. Configure your web server to rewrite URLs to this single entry point.

⚠️

Mixing HTML in controllers — use a template engine (Twig, Blade) or at minimum separate view files. Never echo "<html>..." inside a controller.

💡

Pro Tip: Build your micro-framework to learn, then switch to Laravel or Symfony for production. Understanding the internals makes you 10x more effective with full frameworks.

📋 Quick Reference — MVC

Component	Responsibility
Router	Map URLs to controller actions
Controller	Handle request, coordinate model & view
Model	Data access, business logic, validation
View	Render HTML templates with data
Request	Encapsulate HTTP request data
Response	Encapsulate HTTP response (status, headers, body)

🎉 Lesson Complete!

You've built an MVC framework from scratch! Next, learn about middleware architecture and request pipelines.