If you're interested in building a simple API using Lithe, you've come to the right place! In this tutorial, we'll step by step create an API that allows sending and receiving messages in a chat. We'll use routers to organize our code modularly.

What You Will Learn

• Set up a PHP project with Lithe.
• Create a router to manage chat messages.
• Implement basic functionalities such as sending and receiving messages.
• Test the API using Postman or Insomnia.

Prerequisites

• Basic knowledge of Lithe and PHP.
• A PHP development environment installed (with Composer).
• A code editor (I recommend Visual Studio Code).

Installing Lithe

To create a new project with Lithe, run the following command:

composer create-project lithephp/lithephp chat-api

Project Structure

Create the following directory and file structure within the chat-api directory:

chat-api/
│
├── src/
│   ├── routes/
│   │   └── chat.php
│   └── App.php
└── composer.json

Starting the Application

In the src/App.php file, configure the application with the following code:

<?php 
use function Lithe\Orbis\Http\Router\{router};

$app = new \Lithe\App;

// Router to manage chat messages
$chatRoutes = router(__DIR__ . '/routes/chat');

$app->use('/api/chat', $chatRoutes);

$app->listen();

Creating the Routes File

In the src/routes directory, create the chat.php file to manage the routes related to the chat. Add the following code:

use function Lithe\Orbis\Http\Router\{get, post};

// Array to store messages
$messages = [];

// Route to get all messages
get('/', function ($req, $res) use (&$messages) {
    $res->json($messages);
});

// Route to send a new message
post('/', function ($req, $res) use (&$messages) {
    $user = $req->input('user');
    $text = $req->input('text');

    if (!$user || !$text) {
        return $res->status(400)->json(['error' => 'User and text are required']);
    }

    $timestamp = (new DateTime())->format('Y-m-d H:i:s');

    $message = compact('user', 'text', 'timestamp');
    $messages[] = $message;

    $res->status(201)->json($message);
});

Testing the API

Now that your API is set up, let's test it using a tool like Postman or Insomnia.

1. Start the Server

In the terminal, run the following command to start the server:

php line serve

You will see the message Server running on port 8000.

2. Test the Messages Route

2.1 Get All Messages

1. Open Postman.
2. Create a new GET request to http://localhost:8000/api/chat.
3. Click Send. You should see an empty array initially [].

2.2 Send a New Message

1. Create a new POST request to http://localhost:8000/api/chat.
2. Go to the Body tab and select the raw option. Choose the JSON type.
3. Add the following JSON in the body of the request:

{
    "user": "William",
    "text": "Hello, how is everyone?"
}

1. Click Send. You should receive the sent message as a response:

{
    "user": "William",
    "text": "Hello, how is everyone?",
    "timestamp": "2023-10-17 15:30:00"
}

3. Check All Messages

Make another GET request to http://localhost:8000/api/chat. You should see the message you just sent:

[
    {
        "user": "William",
        "text": "Hello, how is everyone?",
        "timestamp": "2023-10-17 15:30:00"
    }
]

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have created a simple chat API using Lithe. This API can be expanded with functionalities such as user authentication, data persistence in a database, and much more.

Next Steps

• Data Persistence: Use a database like MySQL or PostgreSQL to store messages permanently.
• Authentication: Add authentication so that only authenticated users can send messages.
• WebSockets: Explore using WebSockets to enable real-time communication.

Feel free to share your ideas and improvements in the comments! If you enjoyed this tutorial, consider leaving a reaction and sharing it with other developers.