Your first route#

This lesson turns an empty application into a small HTTP service.

Prepare a project#

Follow the installation guide to create a standalone application. Start it with php elang serve.

Define a route#

Replace the contents of routes/web.php with:

<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
use Elang\Http\Response;
$router->get('/', fn () => Response::html('<h1>Hello, Elang.</h1>'), 'home');
$router->get('/hello/{name}', fn (string $name) => ['message' => 'Hello, '.$name.'!'], 'hello');

Visit /hello/Ada. You should receive {"message":"Hello, Ada!"}.

Check the behavior#

Open an unknown URL and confirm a 404 response. Send POST to /hello/Ada and confirm 405. Run php elang routes to inspect the registered methods.

Try it yourself#

Add a /status route that returns an array containing status and your application name. Continue to the JSON API lesson when both routes work.

Where each line belongs#

The route definitions belong in your application's routes/web.php, not in the framework's source directory. The bootstrap file creates $router before loading that file. The development server sends requests through public/index.php.

You do not need to include vendor/autoload.php again inside the route file; the public entry point already loaded Composer. A use statement makes a class name shorter, while Composer locates the installed class.

Expected responses#

Opening / renders the HTML heading. Opening /hello/Ada returns JSON with Content-Type: application/json. The PHP source is executed by the server; the browser should never receive a directory listing or the raw route file.

If the browser downloads PHP source or displays it as text, stop and fix the web server's PHP handler. If the terminal server is not running, the browser cannot reach your local application.