ColdBox HMVC Documentation
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5.x
5.x
  • Introduction
  • Intro
    • Introduction
      • What's New With 5.6.0
      • What's New With 5.5.0
      • What's New With 5.4.0
      • What's New With 5.3.0
      • What's New With 5.2.0
      • What's New With 5.1.4
      • What's New With 5.1.3
      • What's New With 5.1.2
      • What's New With 5.1.1
      • What's New With 5.1.0
      • What's New With 5.0.0
      • Upgrading to ColdBox 5
      • About This Book
      • Author
  • For Newbies
    • 60 Minute Quick Start
      • Installing ColdBox
      • My First ColdBox Application
      • My First Handler & View
      • Linking Events Together
      • Working With Event Handlers
      • Adding A Layout
      • Adding A Model
      • RESTFul Data
      • Next Steps
  • Getting Started
    • Getting Started Guide
    • Installation
    • Conventions
    • Configuration
      • ColdBox.cfc
        • Configuration Directives
          • CacheBox
          • ColdBox
          • Conventions
          • Environments
          • Flash
          • InterceptorSettings
          • Interceptors
          • Layouts
          • LayoutSettings
          • LogBox
          • Modules
          • ModuleSettings
          • Settings
          • WireBox
        • System Settings (Java Properties and Environment Variables)
      • Using Settings
      • Bootstrapper - Application.cfc
  • The Basics
    • Request Context
    • Routing
      • Requirements
        • Rewrite Rules
      • Application Router
      • Routing DSL
        • Routing By Convention
        • Pattern Placeholders
        • Routing Methods
        • Resourceful Routes
        • Named Routes
        • Routing Groups
        • Routing Namespaces
      • Building Routable Links
      • RESTFul Extension Detection
      • HTTP Method Spoofing
      • HTML Base Tag
      • Pathinfo Providers
    • Event Handlers
      • How are events called?
      • Getting & Setting Values
      • Setting Views
      • Relocating
      • Rendering Data
      • Sending Files
      • Interception Methods
        • Pre Advices
        • Post Advices
        • Around Advices
      • Model Integration
        • Model Data Binding
      • HTTP Method Security
      • Implicit Methods
      • Executing Events
      • Executing Routes
      • Viewlets - Reusable Events
      • Event Caching
      • Validation
    • Layouts & Views
      • Views
        • Rendering Views
        • Rendering External Views
        • Rendering With Local Variables
        • Rendering Collections
        • View Caching
        • View Helpers
        • View Events
      • Layouts
        • Basic Layouts
        • Default Layout
        • Nested Layouts
        • Overriding Layouts
        • Layouts From A Module
        • Layout Helpers
        • Layout Events
      • Implicit Layout-View Declarations
      • Helpers UDF's
      • ColdBox Elixir
    • Models
      • Domain Modeling
        • Service Layer
        • Data Layers
        • Book
      • Conventions Location
      • WireBox Binder
      • Super Type Usage Methods
      • Injection DSL
        • Model Object Namespace
        • ColdBox Namespace
        • CacheBox Namespace
        • LogBox Namespace
        • WireBox Namespace
        • EntityService Namespace
      • Object Scopes
      • Coding: Solo Style
        • Datasource
        • Contact.cfc
        • ContactDAO.cfc
        • ContactService.cfc
        • Contacts Handler
      • Coding: ActiveEntity Style
        • ORM
        • Contact.cfc
        • Contacts Handler
        • Views
      • Coding: Virtual Service Layer
        • ORM
        • Contacts.cfc
        • Contacts Handler
        • Views
      • Coding: ORM Scaffolding
        • ORM
        • Contacts.cfc
        • Scaffold
  • HMVC
    • Modules
      • Core Modules
      • Locations
      • Parent Configuration
      • Module Layout
        • Changing The Module Layout
      • Module Service
        • Module Lifecycle
        • Module Registration
        • Module Activation
        • Module Unloading
        • Common Methods
        • Loading New Modules
        • Loading A-la-carte Modules
        • Module Events
      • ModuleConfig
        • Public Module Properties\/Directives
        • The Decorated Variables
        • The configure() Method
        • Module Settings
        • Environment Control
        • Interceptor Events
      • Module Event Executions
      • URL Routing
        • Default Route Execution
        • Module Routes Files
      • Request Context Module Methods
      • Layout and View Renderings
        • Layout\/View Discovery
        • Overriding Views
        • Overriding Layouts
        • Default Module Layout
        • Explicit Module Renderings
      • Models
      • Module CF Mappings
      • Module Dependencies
      • Module Helpers
      • Module Bundles
      • Module Inception
  • Testing
    • Testing Quick Start
    • Testing ColdBox Applications
      • Test Harness
      • ColdBox Testing Classes
      • Integration Testing
        • Test Annotations
        • Common Methods
        • Life-Cycle Events
        • Test Setup
        • The execute() Method
        • The Handler To Test
        • The Integration Test
        • Handler Returning Results
        • Testing Without Virtual Application
        • Rendering Results
        • HTTP Method Mocking
      • Interceptor Testing
      • Model Object Testing
      • Tips & Tricks
  • Digging Deeper
    • Interceptors
      • How do they work?
        • Conventions
      • Interceptor Declaration
      • Interceptor Registration
      • Core Interception Points
        • Application Life Cycle Events
        • Object Creating Events
        • Layout-View Events
        • Module Events
        • CacheBox Events
      • Restricting Execution
      • Interceptor Output Buffer
      • Custom Events
        • Configuration Registration
        • Programmatic Registration
        • Listening
        • Announcing Interceptions
      • Unregistering Interceptors
      • Reporting Methods
      • Interceptor Asynchronicity
        • Async Announcements
        • Async Listeners With Join
        • Async Listeners No Join
        • Asynchronous Annotations
    • Flash RAM
      • Flash Storage
      • Using Flash RAM
      • Creating Your Own Flash Scope
    • HTML Helper
    • ColdBox Proxy
      • Getting Started
      • The Base Proxy Object
      • The Event Handlers
        • Distinguishing Request Types
        • RenderData()
      • Proxy Events
      • Standard Return Types
      • Caveats & Gotchas
    • Request Context Decorator
    • Controller Decorator
    • Recipes
      • Building REST APIs
      • Application Templates
      • ColdBox Exception Handling
      • Debugging ColdBox Apps
      • Clearing the View Cache
      • Building a simple Basic HTTP Authentication Interceptor
  • Architecture Concepts
    • What is MVC
    • What is ColdBox
    • How ColdBox Works
    • Testing Concepts
      • Functional Testing
      • Non-Functional Testing
      • Bugs Cost Money
      • Static Testing
      • Dynamic Testing
      • Developer Focus
      • Testing Vocabulary
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  • Alphanumeric Placeholders
  • Optional Placeholders
  • Numeric Placeholders
  • Alpha Placeholders
  • Regular Expression Placeholders
  • Regular Expression Constraints

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  1. The Basics
  2. Routing
  3. Routing DSL

Pattern Placeholders

Alphanumeric Placeholders

In your URL pattern you can also use the : syntax to denote a variable placeholder. These position holders are alphanumeric by default:

route( "blog/:year/:month?/:day?", "blog.index" );

Once a URL is matched to the route above, the placeholders (:year/:month?/:day?) will become request collection (RC) variables:

http://localhost/blog/2012/12/22 -> rc.year=2012, rc.month=12, rc.day=22
http://localhost/blog/2012/12-> rc.year=2012, rc.month=12
http://localhost/blog/2012-> rc.year=2012

Optional Placeholders

Sometimes we will want to declare routes that are very similar in nature and since order matters, they need to be delcared in the right order. Like this one:

route( "/blog/:year-numeric/:month-numeric/:day-numeric" );
route( "/blog/:year-numeric/:month-numeric" );
route( "/blog/:year-numeric/" );
route( "/blog/" );

However, we just wrote 4 routes for this approach when we can just use optional variables by using the ? symbol at the end of the placeholder. This tells the processor to create the routes for you in the most detailed manner first instead of you doing it manually.

route( "/blog/:year-numeric?/:month-numeric?/:day-numeric?" );

Caution Just remember that an optional placeholder cannot be followed by a non-optional one. It doesn't make sense.

Numeric Placeholders

ColdBox gives you also the ability to declare numerical only routes by appending -numeric to the variable placeholder so the route will only match if the placeholder is numeric. Let's modify the route from above.

route( "blog/:year-numeric/:month-numeric?/:day-numeric?", "blog.index" );

This route will only accept years, months and days as numbers.

Alpha Placeholders

ColdBox gives you also the ability to declare alpha only routes by appending -alpha to the variable placeholder so the route will only match if the placeholder is alpha only.

route( "wiki/:page-alpha", "wiki.show" );

This route will only accept page names that are alpha only.

There are two ways to place a regex constraint on a placeholder, using the -regex: placeholder or adding a constraints structure to the route declaration.

Regular Expression Placeholders

You can also have the ability to declare a placeholder that must match a regular expression by using the -regex( {regex_here} ) placeholder.

// route with regex placeholders
route(
    pattern="/api/:format-regex:(xml|json)/",
    target="api.execute"
);

The rc variable format must match the regex supplied: (xml|json)

Regular Expression Constraints

You can also apply a structure of regular expressions to a route instead of inlining the regular expressions in the placeholder location. You will do this using the constraints() method of the router.

The key in the structure must match the name of the placeholder and the value is a regex expression that must be enclosed by parenthesis ().

// route with custom constraints
route(
    pattern = "/api/:format/:entryID",
    target  = "api.execute"
).constraints( {
    format  = "(xml|json)",
    entryID = "([0-9]{4})" 
} );

Last updated 7 years ago

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