# NAME Kelp - A web framework light, yet rich in nutrients. # SYNOPSIS First ... # lib/MyApp.pm package MyApp; use parent 'Kelp'; sub build { my $self = shift; my $r = $self->routes; $r->add( "/hello", sub { "Hello, world!" } ); $r->add( '/hello/:name', 'greet' ); } sub greet { my ( $self, $name ) = @_; "Hello, $name!"; } 1; Then ... # app.psgi use MyApp; my $app = MyApp->new; $app->run; Finally ... > plackup app.psgi Or, for quick prototyping use [Kelp::Less](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Less): # app.psgi use Kelp::Less; get '/hello/?name' => sub { my ( $self, $name ) = @_; "Hello " . $name // 'world'; }; run; # DESCRIPTION If you're going to be deploying a Perl based web application, chances are that you will be using Plack. Plack has almost all necessary tools to create and maintain a healthy web app. Tons of middleware is written for it, and there are several very well tested high performance preforking servers, such as Starman. Plack, however, is not a web framework, hence its creators have intentionally omitted adding certain components. This is where Kelp gets to shine. It provides a layer on top of Plack and puts everything together into a complete web framework. Kelp provides: - **Advanced Routing**. Create intricate, yet simple ways to capture HTTP requests and route them to their designated code. Use explicit and optional named placeholders, wildcards, or just regular expressions. - **Flexible Configuration**. Use different configuration file for each environment, e.g. development, deployment, etc. Merge a temporary configuration into your current one for testing and debugging purposes. - **Enhanced Logging**. Log messages at different levels of emergency. Log to a file, screen, or anything supported by Log::Dispatcher. - **Powerful Rendering**. Use the built-in auto-rendering logic, or the template module of your choice to return rich text, html and JSON responses. - **JSON encoder/decoder**. Kelp comes with JSON, but you can easily plug in JSON::XS or any decoder of your choice. - **Extendable Core**. Kelp uses pluggable modules for everything. This allows anyone to add a module for a custom interface. Writing Kelp modules is easy. - **Sleek Testing**. Kelp takes Plack::Test and wraps it in an object oriented class of convenience methods. Testing is done via sending requests to your routes, then analyzing the response. # WHY KELP? What makes Kelp different from the other Perl micro web frameworks? There are a number of fine web frameworks on CPAN, and most of them provide a complete platform for web app building. Most of them, however, bring their deployment code, and aim to write their own processing mechanisms. Kelp, on the other hand, is heavily _Plack_-centric. It uses Plack as its foundation layer, and it builds the web framework on top of it. `Kelp::Request` is an extension of `Plack::Request`, `Kelp::Response` is an extension of `Plack::Response`. This approach of extending current CPAN code puts familiar and well tested tools in the hands of the application developer, while keeping familiar syntax and work flow. Kelp is a team player and it uses several popular, trusted CPAN modules for its internals. At the same time it doesn't include modules that it doesn't need, just because they are considered trendy. It does its best to keep a lean profile and a small footprint, and it's completely object manager agnostic. # CREATING A NEW WEB APP ## Using the `Kelp` script The easiest way to create the directory structure and a general application skeleton is by using the `Kelp` script, which comes with this package. > Kelp MyApp This will create `lib/MyApp.pm`, `app.psgi` and some other files (explained below). To create a [Kelp::Less](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Less) app, use: > Kelp --less MyApp Get help by typing: > Kelp --help ## Directory structure Before you begin writing the internals of your app, you need to create the directory structure either by hand, or by using the above described `Kelp` utility script. . |--/lib | |--MyApp.pm | |--/MyApp | |--/conf | |--config.pl | |--test.pl | |--development.pl | |--deployment.pl | |--/view |--/log |--/t |--app.psgi - **/lib** The `lib` folder contains your application modules and any local modules that you want your app to use. - **/conf** The `conf` folder is where Kelp will look for configuration files. You need one main file, named `config.pl`. You can also add other files that define different running environments, if you name them _environment_`.pl`. Replace _environment_ with the actual name of the environment. To change the running environment, you can specify the app `mode`, or you can set the `PLACK_ENV` environment variable. my $app = MyApp->new( mode => 'development' ); or > PLACK_ENV=development plackup app.psgi - **/view** This is where the `Template` module will look for template files. - **/log** This is where the `Logger` module will create `error.log`, `debug.log` and any other log files that were defined in the configuration. - **/t** The `t` folder is traditionally used to hold test files. It is up to you to use it or not, although we strongly recommend that you write some automated test units for your web app. - **app.psgi** This is the [PSGI](https://metacpan.org/pod/PSGI) file, of the app, which you will deploy. In it's most basic form it should look like this: use lib './lib'; use MyApp; my $app = MyApp->new; $app->run; ## The application classes Your application's classes should be put in the `lib/` folder. The main class, in our example `MyApp.pm`, initializes any modules and variables that your app will use. Here is an example that uses `Moose` to create lazy attributes and initialize a database connection: package MyApp; use parent Kelp; use Moose; has dbh => ( is => 'ro', isa => 'DBI', lazy => 1, default => sub { my $self = shift; my @config = @{ $self->config('dbi') }; return DBI->connect(@config); } ); sub build { my $self = shift; $self->routes->add("/read/:id", "read"); } sub read { my ( $self, $id ) = @_; $self->dbh->selectrow_array(q[ SELECT * FROM problems WHERE id = ? ], $id); } 1; What is happening here? - First, we create a lazy attribute and instruct it to connect to DBI. Notice that we have access to the current app and all of its internals via the `$self` variable. Notice also that the reason we define `dbh` as a _lazy_ attribute is that `config` will not yet be initialized. All modules are initialized upon the creation of the object instance, e.g. when we call `MyApp->new`; - Then, we override Kelp's ["build"](#build) subroutine to create a single route `/read/:id`, which is assigned to the subroutine `read` in the current class. - The `read` subroutine, takes `$self` and `$id` (the named placeholder from the path), and uses `$self->dbh` to retrieve data. _A note about object managers:_ The above example uses [Moose](https://metacpan.org/pod/Moose). It is entirely up to you to use Moose, another object manager, or no object manager at all. The above example will be just as successful if you used our own little [Kelp::Base](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Base): package MyApp; use Kelp::Base 'Kelp'; attr dbi => sub { ... }; 1; ## Routing Kelp uses a powerful and very flexible router. Traditionally, it is also light and consists of less than 300 lines of code (comments included). You are encouraged to read [Kelp::Routes](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Routes), but here are some key points. All examples are assumed to be inside the ["build"](#build) method and `$r` is equal to `$self->routes`: ### Destinations You can direct HTTP paths to subroutines in your classes or, you can use inline code. $r->add( "/home", "home" ); # goes to sub home $r->add( "/legal", "Legal::view" ); # goes to MyApp::Legal::view $r->add( "/about", sub { "Content for about" }); # inline ### Restrict HTTP methods Make a route only catch a specific HTTP method: $r->add( [ POST => '/update' ], "update_user" ); ### Named captures Using regular expressions is so Perl. Sometimes, however, it gets a little overwhelming. Use named paths if you anticipate that you or someone else will ever want to maintain your code. #### Explicit $r->add( "/update/:id", "update" ); # Later sub update { my ( $self, $id ) = @_; # Do something with $id } #### Optional $r->add( "/person/?name", sub { my ( $self, $name ) = @_; return "I am " . $name // "nobody"; }); This will handle `/person`, `/person/` and `/person/jack`. #### Wildcards $r->add( '/*article/:id', 'Articles::view' ); This will handle `/bar/foo/baz/500` and send it to `MyApp::Articles::view` with parameters `$article` equal to `bar/foo/baz` and `$id` equal to 500. ### Placeholder restrictions Paths' named placeholders can be restricted by providing regular expressions. $r->add( '/user/:id', { check => { id => '\d+' }, to => "Users::get" }); # Matches /user/1000, but not /user/abc ### Placeholder defaults This only applies to optional placeholders, or those prefixed with a question mark. If a default value is provided for any of them, it will be used in case the placeholder value is missing. $r->add( '/:id/?other', defaults => { other => 'info' } ); # GET /100; # { id => 100, other => 'info' } # GET /100/delete; # { id => 100, other => 'delete' } ### Bridges A _bridge_ is a route that has to return a true value in order for the next route in line to be processed. $r->add( '/users', { to => 'Users::auth', bridge => 1 } ); $r->add( '/users/:action' => 'Users::dispatch' ); See ["BRIDGES" in Kelp::Routes](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Routes#BRIDGES) for more information. ### URL building Each path can be given a name and later a URL can be built using that name and the necessary arguments. $r->add( "/update/:id", { name => 'update', to => 'User::update' } ); # Later my $url = $self->route->url('update', id => 1000); # /update/1000 ## Reblessing the app into a controller class All of the examples here show routes which take an instance of the web application as a first parameter. This is true even if those routes live in another class. To rebless the app instance into the controller class instance, use the custom router class [Kelp::Routes::Controller](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Routes::Controller). ### Step 1: Specify the custom router class in the config # config.pl { modules_init => { Routes => { router => 'Controller' } } } ### Step 2: Create a main controller class This class must inherit from Kelp. # lib/MyApp/Controller.pm package MyApp::Controller; use Kelp::Base 'MyApp'; # Now $self is an instance of 'MyApp::Controller'; sub service_method { my $self = shift; ...; } 1; ### Step 3: Create any number of controller classes They all must inherit from your main controller class. # lib/MyApp/Controller/Users.pm package MyApp::Controller::Users; use Kelp::Base 'MyApp::Controller'; # Now $self is an instance of 'MyApp::Controller::Users' sub authenticate { my $self = shift; ...; } 1; ## Quick development using Kelp::Less For writing quick experimental web apps and to reduce the boiler plate, one could use [Kelp::Less](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Less). In this case all of the code can be put in `app.psgi`: Look up the POD for `Kelp::Less` for many examples, but to get you started off, here is a quick one: # app.psgi use Kelp::Less; get '/api/:user/?action' => sub { my ( $self, $user, $action ) = @_; my $json = { success => \1, user => $user, action => $action // 'ask' }; return $json; }; run; ## Adding middleware Kelp, being Plack-centric, will let you easily add middleware. There are three possible ways to add middleware to your application, and all three ways can be used separately or together. ### Using the configuration Adding middleware in your configuration is probably the easiest and best way for you. This way you can load different middleware for each running mode, e.g. `Debug` in development only. Add middleware names to the `middleware` array in your configuration file and the corresponding initializing arguments in the `middleware_init` hash: # conf/development.pl { middleware => [qw/Session Debug/], middleware_init => { Session => { store => 'File' } } } The middleware will be added in the order you specify in the `middleware` array. ### In `app.psgi`: # app.psgi use MyApp; use Plack::Builder; my $app = MyApp->new(); builder { enable "Plack::Middleware::ContentLength"; $app->run; }; ### By overriding the ["run"](#run) subroutine in `lib/MyApp.pm`: Make sure you call `SUPER` first, and then wrap new middleware around the returned app. # lib/MyApp.pm sub run { my $self = shift; my $app = $self->SUPER::run(@_); $app = Plack::Middleware::ContentLength->wrap($app); return $app; } Note that any middleware defined in your config file will be added first. ## Deploying Deploying a Kelp application is done the same way any other Plack application is deployed: > plackup -E deployment -s Starman app.psgi ## Testing Kelp provides a test class called `Kelp::Test`. It is object oriented, and all methods return the `Kelp::Test` object, so they can be chained together. Testing is done by sending HTTP requests to an already built application and analyzing the response. Therefore, each test usually begins with the ["request" in Kelp::Test](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Test#request) method, which takes a single [HTTP::Request](https://metacpan.org/pod/HTTP::Request) parameter. It sends the request to the web app and saves the response as an [HTTP::Response](https://metacpan.org/pod/HTTP::Response) object. # file t/test.t use MyApp; use Kelp::Test; use Test::More; use HTTP::Request::Common; my $app = MyApp->new( mode => 'test' ); my $t = Kelp::Test->new( app => $app ); $t->request( GET '/path' ) ->code_is(200) ->content_is("It works"); $t->request( POST '/api' ) ->json_cmp({auth => 1}); done_testing; What is happening here? - First, we create an instance of the web application class, which we have previously built and placed in the `lib/` folder. We set the mode of the app to `test`, so that file `conf/test.pl` overrides the main configuration. The test configuration can contain anything you see fit. Perhaps you want to disable certain modules, or maybe you want to make DBI connect to a different database. - Second, we create an instance of the `Kelp::Test` class and tell it that it will perform all tests using our `$app` instance. - At this point we are ready to send requests to the app via the [request](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Test#request) method. It takes only one argument, an HTTP::Request object. It is very convenient to use the [HTTP::Request::Common](https://metacpan.org/pod/HTTP::Request::Common) module here, because you can create common requests using abridged syntax, i.e. `GET`, `POST`, etc. The line `$t->request( GET '/path' )` first creates a HTTP::Request GET object, and then passes it to the `request` method. - After we send the request, we can test the response using any of the `Test::` modules, or via the methods provided by [Kelp::Test](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Test). In the above example, we test if we got a code 200 back from `/path` and if the returned content was `It works`. Run the rest as usual, using `prove`: > prove -l t/test.t Take a look at the [Kelp::Test](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Test) for details and more examples. ## Building an HTTP response Kelp contains an elegant module, called [Kelp::Response](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Response), which extends `Plack::Response` with several useful methods. Most methods return `$self` after they do the required job. For the sake of the examples below, let's assume that all of the code is located inside a route definition. ### Automatic content type Your routes don't always have to set the `response` object. You could just return a simple scalar value or a reference to a hash, array or anything that can be converted to JSON. # Content-type automatically set to "text/html" sub text_route { return "There, there ..."; } # Content-type automatically set to "application/json" sub json_route { return { error => 1, message => "Fail" }; } ### Rendering text # Render simple text $self->res->text->render("It works!"); ### Rendering HTML $self->res->html->render("

It works!

"); ### Custom content type $self->res->set_content_type('image/png'); ### Return 404 or 500 errors sub some_route { my $self = shift; if ($missing) { return $self->res->render_404; } if ($broken) { return $self->res->render_500; } } ### Templates sub hello { my ( $self, $name ) = @_; $self->res->template( 'hello.tt', { name => $name } ); } The above example will render the contents of `hello.tt`, and it will set the content-type to `text/html`. To set a different content-type, use `set_content_type` or any of its aliases: sub hello_txt { my ( $self, $name ) = @_; $self->res->text->template( 'hello_txt.tt', { name => $name } ); } ### Headers $self->set_header( "X-Framework", "Kelp" )->render( { success => \1 } ); ### Serving static files If you want to serve static pages, you can use the [Plack::Middleware::Static](https://metacpan.org/pod/Plack::Middleware::Static) middleware that comes with Plack. Here is an example configuration that serves files in your `public` folder (under the Kelp root folder) from URLs that begin with `/public`: # conf/config.pl { middleware => [qw/Static/], middleware_init => { Static => { path => qr{^/public/}, root => '.', } } }; ### Uploading files File uploads are handled by [Kelp::Request](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Request), which inherits Plack::Request and has its `uploads|Plack::Request/uploads` property. The uploads property returns a reference to a hash containing all uploads. sub upload { my $self = shift; my $uploads = $self->req->uploads; # Now $uploads is a hashref to all uploads ... } For [Kelp::Less](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Less), then you can use the `req` reserved word: get '/upload' => sub { my $uploads = req->uploads; }; ### Delayed responses To send a delayed response, have your route return a subroutine. sub delayed { my $self = shift; return sub { my $responder = shift; $self->res->code(200); $self->res->text->body("Better late than never."); $responder->($self->res->finalize); }; } See the [PSGI](https://metacpan.org/pod/PSGI#Delayed-Response-and-Streaming-Body) pod for more information and examples. ## Pluggable modules Kelp can be extended using custom _modules_. Each new module must be a subclass of the `Kelp::Module` namespace. Modules' job is to initialize and register new methods into the web application class. The following is the full code of the [Kelp::Module::JSON](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Module::JSON) for example: package Kelp::Module::JSON; use Kelp::Base 'Kelp::Module'; use JSON; sub build { my ( $self, %args ) = @_; my $json = JSON->new; $json->property( $_ => $args{$_} ) for keys %args; $self->register( json => $json ); } 1; What is happening here? - First we create a class `Kelp::Module::JSON` which inherits `Kelp::Module`. - Then, we override the `build` method (of `Kelp::Module`), create a new JSON object and register it into the web application via the `register` method. If we instruct our web application to load the `JSON` module, it will have a new method `json` which will be a link to the `JSON` object initialized in the module. See more examples and POD at [Kelp::Module](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Module). ### How to load modules using the config There are two modules that are **always** loaded by each application instance. Those are `Config` and `Routes`. The reason behind this is that each and every application always needs a router and configuration. All other modules must be loaded either using the ["load\_module"](#load_module) method, or using the `modules` key in the configuration. The default configuration already loads these modules: `Template`, `Logger` and `JSON`. Your configuration can remove some and/or add others. The configuration key `modules_init` may contain hashes with initialization arguments. See [Kelp::Module](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Module) for configuration examples. # ATTRIBUTES ## hostname Gets the current hostname. sub some_route { my $self = shift; if ( $self->hostname eq 'prod-host' ) { ... } } ## mode Sets or gets the current mode. The mode is important for the app to know what configuration file to merge into the main configuration. See [Kelp::Module::Config](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Module::Config) for more information. my $app = MyApp->new( mode => 'development' ); # conf/config.pl and conf/development.pl are merged with priority # given to the second one. ## request\_obj Proide a custom package name to define the global ::Request object. Defaults to [Kelp::Request](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Request). ## response\_obj Proide a custom package name to define the global ::Response object. Defaults to [Kelp::Response](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Response). ## config\_module Sets of gets the class of the configuration module to be loaded on startup. The default value is `Config`, which will cause the `Kelp::Module::Config` to get loaded. See the documentation for [Kelp::Module::Config](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Module::Config) for more information and for an example of how to create and use other config modules. ## loaded\_modules A hashref containing the names and instances of all loaded modules. For example, if you have these two modules loaded: Template and JSON, then a dump of the `loaded_modules` hash will look like this: { Template => Kelp::Module::Template=HASH(0x208f6e8), JSON => Kelp::Module::JSON=HASH(0x209d454) } This can come in handy if your module does more than just registering a new method into the application. Then, you can use its object instance to access that additional functionality. ## path Gets the current path of the application. That would be the path to `app.psgi` ## name Gets or sets the name of the application. If not set, the name of the main class will be used. my $app = MyApp->new( name => 'Twittar' ); ## charset Sets of gets the encoding charset of the app. It will be `UTF-8`, if not set to anything else. The charset could also be changed in the config files. ## long\_error When a route dies, Kelp will by default display a short error message. Set this attribute to a true value if you need to see a full stack trace of the error. The `KELP_LONG_ERROR` environment variable can also set this attribute. ## req This attribute only makes sense if called within a route definition. It will contain a reference to the current [Kelp::Request](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Request) instance. sub some_route { my $self = shift; if ( $self->req->is_json ) { ... } } ## res This attribute only makes sense if called within a route definition. It will contain a reference to the current [Kelp::Response](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Response) instance. sub some_route { my $self = shift; $self->res->json->render( { success => 1 } ); } # METHODS ## build On its own, the `build` method doesn't do anything. It is called by the constructor, so it can be overridden to add route destinations and initializations. package MyApp; sub build { my $self = shift; my $r = $self->routes; # Load some modules $self->load_module("MongoDB"); $self->load_module("Validate"); # Add all route destinations $r->add("/one", "one"); ... } ## load\_module `load_module($name, %options)` Used to load a module. All modules must be under the `Kelp::Module::` namespace. $self->load_module("Redis", server => '127.0.0.1'); # Will look for and load Kelp::Module::Redis Options for the module may be specified after its name, or in the `modules_init` hash in the config. Precedence is given to the inline options. See [Kelp::Module](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Module) for more information on making and using modules. ## build\_request This method is used to create the request object for each HTTP request. It returns an instance of the class defined in the request\_obj attribute (defaults to [Kelp::Request](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Request)), initialized with the current request's environment. You can override this method to use a custom request module if you need to do something interesting. Though there is a provided attribute that can be used to overide the class of the object used. package MyApp; use MyApp::Request; sub build_request { my ( $self, $env ) = @_; return MyApp::Request->new( app => $app, env => $env ); } # Now each request will be handled by MyApp::Request ## before\_finalize Override this method to modify the response object just before it gets finalized. package MyApp; sub before_finalize { my $self = shift; $self->res->set_header("X-App-Name", "MyApp"); } ... The above is an example of how to insert a custom header into the response of every route. ## build\_response This method creates the response object, e.g. what an HTTP request will return. By default the object created is [Kelp::Response](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Response) though this can be overwritten via the respone\_obj attribute. Much like ["build\_request"](#build_request), the response can also be overridden to use a custom response object if you need something completely custom. ## run This method builds and returns the PSGI app. You can override it in order to include middleware. See ["Adding middleware"](#adding-middleware) for an example. ## param A shortcut to `$self->req->param`: sub some_route { my $self = shift; if ( $self->param('age') > 18 ) { $self->can_watch_south_path(1); } } See [Kelp::Request](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Request) for more information and examples. ## session A shortcut to `$self->req->session`. Take a look at ["session" in Kelp::Request](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Request#session) for more information and examples. ## stash Provides safe access to `$self->req->stash`. When called without arguments, it will return the stash hash. If called with a single argument, it will return the value of the corresponding key in the stash. See ["stash" in Kelp::Request](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Request#stash) for more information and examples. ## named Provides safe access to `$self->req->named`. When called without arguments, it will return the named hash. If called with a single argument, it will return the value of the corresponding key in the named hash. See ["named" in Kelp::Request](https://metacpan.org/pod/Kelp::Request#named) for more information and examples. ## url\_for A safe shortcut to `$self->routes->url`. Builds a URL from path and arguments. sub build { my $self = shift; $self->routes->add("/:name/:id", { name => 'name', to => sub { ... }}); } sub check { my $self = shift; my $url_for_name = $self->url_for('name', name => 'jake', id => 1003); $self->res->redirect_to( $url_for_name ); } # SUPPORT - GitHub: https://github.com/naturalist/kelp - Mailing list: https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/perl-kelp # AUTHOR Stefan Geneshky - minimal cpan.org # CONTRIBUTORS In no particular order: Julio Fraire Maurice Aubrey David Steinbrunner Gurunandan Bhat Perlover Ruslan Zakirov Christian Froemmel (senfomat) Ivan Baidakou (basiliscos) roy-tate Konstantin Yakunin (twinhooker) Benjamin Hengst (notbenh) # LICENSE This module and all the modules in this package are governed by the same license as Perl itself.