Chapter 4: Views & Templates in Zend Framework 3

✅ Introduction to Views

In Zend Framework 3, the view layer is responsible for rendering the final HTML output. Views are written in .phtml files (PHP-based templates) and are located inside the view/ folder of a module.

Each module can have its own view folder.
Views are mapped based on the controller and action being called.
Zend uses the PhpRenderer by default for rendering templates.

✅ View File Structure

Inside the view/ folder of a module, templates are organized by namespace (controller) and action:


/module
  /Application
    /view
      /application
        /index
          index.phtml

application → matches the controller namespace (Application\Controller).
index → matches the controller name (IndexController).
index.phtml → matches the action method (indexAction()).

✅ Creating a Simple View

Suppose you have an IndexController with an indexAction. The corresponding view file will be:


// File: module/Application/src/Controller/IndexController.php
<?php
namespace Application\Controller;

use Zend\Mvc\Controller\AbstractActionController;
use Zend\View\Model\ViewModel;

class IndexController extends AbstractActionController
{
    public function indexAction()
    {
        return new ViewModel([
            'message' => 'Welcome to Zend Framework 3!',
        ]);
    }
}


// File: module/Application/view/application/index/index.phtml
<h1><?= $this->message; ?></h1>

✅ Passing Variables to Views

You can pass data from a controller to a view using ViewModel:


return new ViewModel([
    'username' => 'John Doe',
    'email' => 'john@example.com',
]);


// index.phtml
<p>User: <?= $this->username; ?></p>
<p>Email: <?= $this->email; ?></p>

✅ Layouts

A layout is a master template that wraps around your views. It usually contains the common HTML structure like header, footer, and navigation.

Default layout is stored in: module/Application/view/layout/layout.phtml
You can define multiple layouts for different modules.


// layout.phtml
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>My Zend App</title>
</head>
<body>
  <header><h1>Site Header</h1></header>

  <main>
    <?= $this->content; ?>
  </main>

  <footer><p>Copyright 2025</p></footer>
</body>
</html>

✅ Changing Layout Dynamically

You can change the layout for a controller action:


$this->layout('layout/custom');

This will load:


module/Application/view/layout/custom.phtml

✅ Using Partials

Partials are reusable view snippets. Example: a sidebar, navigation, or footer.


// Inside a view file
<?= $this->partial('application/partial/sidebar', [
    'categories' => ['PHP', 'Zend', 'Laminas']
]); ?>


// File: module/Application/view/application/partial/sidebar.phtml
<ul>
  <?php foreach ($this->categories as $cat): ?>
    <li><?= $cat; ?></li>
  <?php endforeach; ?>
</ul>

✅ Best Practices for Views

Keep views simple (avoid complex logic inside .phtml).
Use layouts for common page structure.
Use partials for reusable UI blocks.
Pass only necessary data from controllers to views.

✅ Exercises

Create a new layout blog-layout.phtml and apply it to your Blog module.
Create a partial view for navigation and include it in your layout.
Pass an array of posts to a view and display them in an HTML list.

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Chapter 4: Views & Templates in Zend Framework 3