What parameters to create REST API using CakePHP

Question

I was creating a REST API for logging in using CakePHP. My question is:

In routes.php, what do I fill in mapresources("xxx")?
POST /XXX.format XXXController::add() <= this is given in documentation. If my app folders are like this: /localhost/FC/app/webroot/ etc. What would the URL be for the post request through which I would send JSON format username and password? Currently I access index.php in webroot by typing localhost/FC.

If i name my controller Apis instead of recipes below, like ApisController.php, where do I do changes in the code below? And how do I use add? it's not given in the documentation:

class RecipesController extends AppController {

public $components = array('RequestHandler');

public function index() {
    $recipes = $this->Recipe->find('all');
    $this->set(array(
        'recipes' => $recipes,
        '_serialize' => array('recipes')
    ));
}

public function view($id) {
    $recipe = $this->Recipe->findById($id);
    $this->set(array(
        'recipe' => $recipe,
        '_serialize' => array('recipe')
    ));
}

public function edit($id) {
    $this->Recipe->id = $id;
    if ($this->Recipe->save($this->request->data)) {
        $message = 'Saved';
    } else {
        $message = 'Error';
    }
    $this->set(array(
        'message' => $message,
        '_serialize' => array('message')
    ));
}

public function delete($id) {
    if ($this->Recipe->delete($id)) {
        $message = 'Deleted';
    } else {
        $message = 'Error';
    }
    $this->set(array(
        'message' => $message,
        '_serialize' => array('message')
    ));
}

}

Lastly, if I send a user-id password in json to this url, what command do I do to return a 200 ok response?

I know its a bit much, but I'm really a novice and I'm not able to grasp this concept even though I've been at it for 3 days and am about to faint of exhaustion. Please help!

Right now, the controller is customer:

public function login() {
           if ($this->Session->check('Customer')) {  //to check if already logged in



            $this->Session->setFlash('You are already logged in as ' . $this->Session->read('Customer.Customer.fname') . ' ' . $this->Session->read('Customer.Customer.sname'));
            $this->redirect($this->Session->read('ref'));
        } else {
            if ($this->request->is('post')||$this->request->is('ajax')) {   //receives data by ajax from popup of login


                $name = $this->request->data('name');
                $pwd = $this->request->data('pwd');
                $pwd = md5($pwd);   //hashing of password
                $customer = $this->Customer->findByEmail($name);
                if (!$customer) {
                    $msg = 'Wrong Username or password/false';
                }   
                if ($customer['Customer']['active'] == 1) {


                    $customer = $this->Customer->findByEmailAndPassword($name, $pwd);

                    if (@$customer) {
                        $this->Session->write('Customer', $customer);
                      $msg = $customer['Customer']['fname'].'/true';

                        if ($this->Session->check('order')) {
                            $msg = $this->Session->read('loc_id').'/set';

                        } 
                    } else {
                        $msg = 'Wrong Username or password/false';
                    }
                } else {
                    $msg = 'Your account in not active. Please check your mails to get the activation link/false';
                }


            }
        }
        echo $msg;

Just FYI, I don't know how you do save passwords, but you seem to only md5 them. Please note that md5 is not a secure hashing and should only be used as an identifier (example file md5 checksum). Please check out bcrypt, scrypt or pbkdf2 hashings which are a lot more secure! CakePHP has a default implementation of bcrypt so it's not too hard to use! — Hugo Dozois
– Hugo Dozois, Commented Sep 10, 2013 at 20:39

Idipaolo · Accepted Answer · 2013-09-10 19:00:01Z

1

If you use a controller named ApisController, you have to fill mapresource with api. Example: Router::mapResources('api');
These are the default routes created:
- GET /apis.format RecipesController::index()
- GET /apis/123.format RecipesController::view(123)
- POST /apis.format RecipesController::add()
- PUT /apis/123.format RecipesController::edit(123)
- DELETE/apis/123.format RecipesController::delete(123)
- POST /apis/123.format RecipesController::edit(123)

So if your homepage is at: http://localhost/FC/, you can access the resources at http://localhost/FC/apis.format .

You have to substitute format with json or xml. If you want to use XML or JSON you have to declare it in routes.php adding Router::parseExtensions();

You have to rename your controller in ApisController and change every occurence of $this->Recipe in $this->Api, also you have to create a Model for Api and a table on the db. For xml and json you have to create views in /app/Views/Apis/xml/index.ctp and so on.

// app/View/Apis/xml/index.ctp // Do some formatting and manipulation on // the $recipes array. $xml = Xml::fromArray(array('response' => $apis)); echo $xml->asXML();

Last answer, your server normally answer with a 200 when there are no errors.

I suggest you to begin with something easier and to look to Cakephp conventions. http://book.cakephp.org/2.0/en/getting-started/cakephp-conventions.html

Good work!

answered Sep 10, 2013 at 19:00

Idipaolo

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3 Comments

Anugrah Pandey Over a year ago

Thanks so much! So if I'm sending a JSON request with data containing username and password, what do I declare in the controller? Also, what does the 123 represent? I've declared json in Router::parseextensions('json'); I've created a view in apis/json/index.ctp which has this: <?php echo json_encode ($url); ?> What do i fill in $url? is it gotten from the controller? I want to send uid and pwd and check, then if authenticated send a json response message saying "user authenticated". Thanks!

Idipaolo Over a year ago

123 is the id of the api. When in a controller you do $this->set('info',$user) in a view you can use a var $info with the value of the $user var. I think you need also login logic in the controller.

Anugrah Pandey Over a year ago

Edit in the answer is my current controller. Could you tell me how to modify that to send a json request back as a message? Does $user contain the message string?

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