🧩 17. MVC Architecture (PHP)

🔹 What is MVC?

MVC = Model + View + Controller

It is a design pattern used to organize code into 3 parts:

1️⃣ Model (Data Layer)

• Handles database & business logic
• Fetches, inserts, updates data
• Example:

class UserModel {
    public function getUsers() {
        // fetch data from database
    }
}

---

2️⃣ View (UI Layer)

• Responsible for frontend / UI
• Displays data to user
• Example:

<h1>Welcome <?= $name ?></h1>

---

3️⃣ Controller (Logic Layer)

• Connects Model + View
• Handles user request
• Example:

class UserController {
    public function index() {
        $model = new UserModel();
        $data = $model->getUsers();
        include 'views/users.php';
    }
}

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🔄 How MVC Works (Flow)

1. User opens URL → /users
2. Request goes to Controller
3. Controller calls Model
4. Model fetches data from DB
5. Controller sends data to View
6. View shows result to user

👉 Simple Flow:

User → Controller → Model → Controller → View → User

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📁 Folder Structure (Basic MVC in PHP)

/project
│
├── /app
│   ├── /controllers
│   │     └── UserController.php
│   │
│   ├── /models
│   │     └── UserModel.php
│   │
│   └── /views
│         └── users.php
│
├── /core
│   └── Router.php
│
├── /config
│   └── database.php
│
├── /public
│   └── index.php   (Entry point)
│
└── .htaccess

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🛠️ Basic MVC Project (Simple Example)

📍 1. public/index.php (Entry Point)

require_once '../app/controllers/UserController.php';$controller = new UserController();
$controller->index();

---

📍 2. Controller (UserController.php)

require_once '../app/models/UserModel.php';class UserController {
    public function index() {
        $model = new UserModel();
        $users = $model->getUsers();        require '../app/views/users.php';
    }
}

---

📍 3. Model (UserModel.php)

class UserModel {
    public function getUsers() {
        return [
            ['name' => 'Aditya'],
            ['name' => 'Rahul']
        ];
    }
}

---

📍 4. View (users.php)

<h2>User List</h2><ul>
<?php foreach($users as $user): ?>
    <li><?= $user['name'] ?></li>
<?php endforeach; ?>
</ul>

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🔥 Why Use MVC?

✔ Clean code
✔ Easy to maintain
✔ Scalable projects
✔ Team-friendly (frontend + backend separation)

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⚡ Pro Tips (Real-World Use)

• Use Router for clean URLs (/users, /products)
• Add Database connection class
• Use autoloading (PSR-4) instead of manual require
• Use frameworks like:
  • Laravel (Best for MVC in PHP)
  • CodeIgniter (Lightweight)

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🚀 Simple Summary

Part	Work
Model	Data + Database
View	UI / Design
Controller	Logic + Flow Control