ai.txt

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updated: 2026-01-25
scope: /
parent: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/markc/Dev/main/ai.txt
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# Simple PHP Engine (SPE)

A progressive PHP 8.5 micro-framework tutorial in 11 chapters. Each chapter builds on the previous, demonstrating modern PHP features and design patterns.

## About

SPE is an educational project showcasing modern PHP 8.1-8.5 capabilities through a progressive tutorial series. Starting from a simple single-file framework, it advances to a full-featured CMS with database, authentication, and plugin architecture.

Perfect for developers wanting to learn current PHP best practices without heavyweight frameworks like Laravel or Symfony.

- Website: https://markc.github.io/spe/
- GitHub: https://github.com/markc/spe
- License: MIT

## Quick Start

```bash
git clone https://github.com/markc/spe
cd spe
composer install
php -S localhost:8000
```

Open http://localhost:8000 to see the chapter index.

## Requirements

- PHP 8.5+ (for pipe operator `|>`)
- Composer (for chapters 05-10)
- SQLite (for chapters 07-10)

## Chapters

- 00-Tutorial: Video generation pipeline (Playwright + Piper TTS)
- 01-Simple: Single-file anonymous class with pipe operator basics
- 02-Styled: Custom CSS, dark mode, toast notifications
- 03-Plugins: Plugin architecture, CRUDL pattern
- 04-Themes: Model/View separation, multiple layouts
- 05-Autoload: PSR-4 autoloading via Composer
- 06-Session: PHP session management
- 07-PDO: SQLite database with type-safe PDO queries
- 08-Users: User management with full CRUDL operations
- 09-Blog: Complete CMS (Auth, Blog, Pages, Categories, Docs)
- 10-Htmx: HTMX integration for dynamic UI
- 11-HCP: Hosting Control Panel (includes `hcp-legacy/` reference code)

## Modern PHP Features

- **Pipe Operator (8.5)**: Elegant data transformation chains using `|>`
- **Asymmetric Visibility (8.4)**: `public private(set)` property declarations
- **Typed Constants (8.3)**: `const string DEFAULT = 'value'`
- **Override Attribute (8.3)**: `#[\Override]` for class inheritance clarity
- **Readonly Classes (8.2)**: Immutable class definitions
- **Enums (8.1)**: Type-safe enum patterns (QueryType: All, One, Column)
- **First-Class Callables (8.1)**: `fn(...)` syntax for function references

## Architecture

- **URL Pattern**: `?o=PluginName&m=action&t=Theme&id=1`
- **Request Flow**: `index.php → Init(Ctx) → {Plugin}Model→method() → {Plugin}View→method() → HTML`
- **Core Framework**: Init (bootstrap), Ctx (request context), Db (SQLite PDO), Plugin (base class), Theme (view rendering)
- **Themes**: Simple (minimal), TopNav (horizontal nav), SideBar (left sidebar)

## CSS Architecture

Custom framework (~270 lines) without Bootstrap:
- No color definitions in base.css (enables theme swapping)
- CSS custom properties for light/dark theming
- Auto dark mode via `@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark)`
- Manual theme toggle via localStorage
- Responsive mobile-first design