How can i use a controller's method in every web page of the application in cake php 3

Question

I am using AdminLTE theme now i want to add a functionality in header in which i need data from database how can i get this done in cake php 3 . I have done it by calling query and getting data in view but that is violation of mvc. How can i get data from database and use this data in every view.

Answer 1

I think You can use Cake's Controller event beforeRender() inside AppController. Using this functionality, You can simply output data for every method in controllers which extends AppController. I use it quite often for this kind of functionalities.

<?php

// src\Controller\AppController.php
namespace App\Controller;

use Cake\Controller\Controller;
use Cake\Event\Event;

class AppController extends Controller
{
    /**
     * Before render callback.
     *
     * @param \Cake\Event\Event $event The beforeRender event.
     * @return \Cake\Network\Response|null|void
     */
    public function beforeRender(Event $event) {

        $this->loadModel('Notifications');
        $notifications = $this->Notifications->find('all' , [
                'conditions' => [
                    // get notifications for current user or default demo notification 
                    'user_id' => $this->Auth ? $this->Auth->user('id') : 0
                ]
            ])
        ->toArray();

        $this->set(compact('notifications'));
    }    
}

Then in your templates You have access to $notifications variable

<div class="list-group">
    <?php if(count($notifications)):foreach($notifications as $item): ?>
        <div class="list-group-item">
            <?= h($item->content) ?>
        </div>
    <?php endforeach;endif; ?>
</div>