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A toolbox to build webapps

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A development toolbox

Entryfield is a compact toolbox to make web sites and web applications.

... the most common term is "Framework" because it is a set of tools, and also a set of methods to use the tools.

We like the word "toolbox" because we don't intend to lock you in a frame :)

This toolbox allows to develop web applications from scratch,
taking advantage of the PHP language and of a SQL database. It is supplied with an example application, a simplified "to-do-list" management tool that everyone can adapt to make it their own tool.

For who

We developed this project to meet the needs of our customers.

We can guarantee that it is free and open source, as explained in the license (MIT)

We can not guarantee that it will be useful to you, as explained in the same license :)

The main concepts are MVC, lists, forms, ... entry fields

Generally, a website is based on lists : for example, a web page is a list of articles (more or less) ;) A catalog is a list of products, and a shopping basket is another list of products.

Entryfield also builds lists to update data : they are kind of updating grids.

An updating grid (click to enlarge)

Updating grid

These input grids are easy to change into web forms.

An updating form (click to enlarge)

Updating form

Why another PHP Toolbox

Our philosophy is to gather good practices such as

  • object orientation,
  • separation of roles between Data management, Processing, Presentation or so-called MVC : Model / View / Controller,
  • front controller (and therefore, readable URLs),
  • separation of pages into parts,
  • templating

But all this in a simple, concise way, in a KISS perspective

Keep it Simple and Smart.

We are surprised at the size and complexity of some common frameworks and we know that this complexity is likely to cost sooner or later.

The origin of the name

  • Entryfield may be understood in a poetic sense like "Entering a field of possibilities".

  • Among other features, the framework allows easy development of forms with many input fields (aka entry fields). There is an ease to build them, from nothing or by derivation from existing ones.

  • PHP is basically a server language, it does not have graphical components as such. So the name entryfield is available for something else !

Main Features

MVC : Entryfield structures the code between Model (Data Access), View (Presentation), Controller (Main Logic).

Productivity : The core component of Entryfield is Ef_List, a tool with list and form capability that makes it easy to view and update data of a SQL database.

Compactness : the Framework occupies 5000 lines of PHP code; The sample application takes 3000 lines; inside the download, the PHP code takes less than 1MB.

Modularity : The Framework can be used inside another project, for example to easily develop an administration interface.

Readability of the source code : Compliance with the PSR / 2 coding standard.

And... : structuration — the code of the applications is well organized ; adaptability — each component can be specialized to fit precisely your needs ; movability — applications can be moved without any changes.