Request Component

Request Component

Overview

Phalcon\Http\Request is a component that encapsulates the actual HTTP request (usually originated by a browser) and sent to our application. The Phalcon\Http\Request object is a simple value object that is passed between the dispatcher and controller classes, wrapping the HTTP request environment. It also offers easy access to information such as header data, files, method, variables etc.

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
// POST
if (true === $request->isPost()) {
    // AJAX
    if (true === $request->isAjax()) {
        // ....
    }
}

Getting Values

PHP automatically fills the superglobal arrays $_GET, $_POST and $_REQUEST depending on the type of the request. These arrays contain the values present in forms submitted or the parameters sent via the URL. The variables in the arrays are never sanitized and can contain illegal characters or even malicious code, which can lead to SQL injection or Cross Site Scripting (XSS) attacks.

Phalcon\Http\Request allows you to access the values stored in the $_GET, $_POST and $_REQUEST arrays and sanitize or filter them with the filter service.

There are 5 methods that allow you to retrieve submitted data from a request:

get()
getQuery()
getPost()
getPut()
getServer()All (except getServer()) accept the following parameters:
name the name of the value to get
filters (array/string) the sanitizers to apply to the value
defaultValue returned if the element is not defined (null)
notAllowEmpty if set (default) and the value is empty, the defaultValue will be returned; otherwise null
noRecursive applies the sanitizers recursively in the value (if value is an array)

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
$request->get(
    $name = null,            // string
    $filters = null,         // mixed
    $defaultValue = null,    // mixed
    $notAllowEmpty = false,  // bool
    $noRecursive = false     // bool
): mixed

getServer() accepts only a name (string) variable, representing the name of the server variable that you need to retrieve.

$_REQUEST

The $_REQUEST superglobal contains an associative array that contains the contents of $_GET, $_POST and $_COOKIE. You can retrieve the data stored in the array by calling the get() method in the Phalcon\Http\Request object as follows:

ExamplesGet the userEmail field from the $_REQUEST superglobal:

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
$email = $request->get('userEmail');

Get the userEmail field from the $_REQUEST superglobal. Sanitize the value with the email sanitizer:

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
$email = $request->get('userEmail', 'email', '[email protected]');

Get the userEmail field from the $_REQUEST superglobal. Do not sanitize it. If the parameter is null, return the default value:

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
$email = $request->get('userEmail', null, '[email protected]');

$_GET

The $_GET superglobal contains an associative array that contains the variables passed to the current script via URL parameters (also known as the query string). You can retrieve the data stored in the array by calling the getQuery() method as follows:

ExamplesGet the userEmail field from the $_GET superglobal:

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
$email = $request->getQuery('userEmail');

Get the userEmail field from the $_GET superglobal. Sanitize the value with the email sanitizer:

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
$email = $request->getQuery('userEmail', 'email', '[email protected]');

Get the userEmail field from the $_GET superglobal. Do not sanitize it. If the parameter is null, return the default value:

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
$email = $request->getQuery('userEmail', null, '[email protected]');

$_POST

The $_POST superglobal contains an associative array that contains the variables passed to the current script via the HTTP POST method when using application/x-www-form-urlencoded or multipart/form-data as the HTTP Content-Type in the request. You can retrieve the data stored in the array by calling the getPost() method as follows:

ExamplesGet the userEmail field from the $_POST superglobal:

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
$email = $request->getPost('userEmail');

Get the userEmail field from the $_POST superglobal. Sanitize the value with the email sanitizer:

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
$email = $request->getPost('userEmail', 'email', '[email protected]');

Get the userEmail field from the $_POST superglobal. Do not sanitize it. If the parameter is null, return the default value:

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
$email = $request->getPost('userEmail', null, '[email protected]');

Put

The request object parses the PUT stream that has been received internally. You can retrieve the data stored in the array by calling the getPut() method as follows:

ExamplesGet the userEmail field from the PUT stream:

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
$email = $request->getPut('userEmail');

Get the userEmail field from the PUT stream. Sanitize the value with the email sanitizer:

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
$email = $request->getPut('userEmail', 'email', '[email protected]');

Get the userEmail field from the PUT stream. Do not sanitize it. If the parameter is null, return the default value:

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
$email = $request->getPut('userEmail', null, '[email protected]');

$_SERVER

The $_SERVER superglobal contains an array containing information such as headers, paths, and script locations. You can retrieve the data stored in the array by calling the getServer() method as follows:

ExamplesGet the SERVER_NAME value from the $_SERVER superglobal:

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
$name = $request->getServer('SERVER_NAME');

Preset sanitizers

It is relatively common that certain fields are using the same name throughout your application. A field posted from a form in your application can have the same name and function with another form in a different area. Examples of this behavior could be id fields, name etc.

To make the sanitization process easier, when retrieving such fields, Phalcon\Http\Request offers a method to define those sanitizing filters based on HTTP methods when setting up the object.

<?php
use Phalcon\Di;
use Phalcon\Filter;
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$container = new Di();
$container->set(
    'request',
    function () {
        $request = new Request();
        $request
            ->setParameterFilters('id', Filter::FILTER_ABSINT, ['post'])
            ->setParameterFilters('name', ['trim', 'string'], ['post'])
        ;
        return $request;
    }
);

The above will automatically sanitize any parameter that is POSTed from a form that has a name id or name with their respective filters. Sanitization takes place when calling the following methods (one per HTTP method)

getFilteredPost()
getFilteredPut()
getFilteredQuery()These methods accept the same parameters as the getPost(), getPut() and getQuery() but without the $filter parameter.

Controllers

If you use the Phalcon\Di\FactoryDefault container, the Phalcon\Http\Request is already registered for you. The most common place to access the request environment is in an action of a controller. To access the Phalcon\Http\Request object from a controller you will need to use the $this->request public property of the controller:

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
use Phalcon\Mvc\Controller;
/**
 * Class PostsController
 * 
 * @property Request $request
 */
class PostsController extends Controller
{
    public function saveAction()
    {
        // Check if request has made with POST
        if (true === $this->request->isPost()) {
            // Access POST data
            $customerName = $this->request->getPost('name');
            $customerBorn = $this->request->getPost('born', 'string', '1984');
        }
    }
}

Checking operations

The Phalcon\Http\Request component contains a number of methods that help you check the current operation. For instance if you want to check if a particular request was made using AJAX, you can do so by using the isAjax() method. All the methods are prefixed with is.

isAjax(): Checks whether request has been made using AJAX
isConnect(): Checks whether HTTP method is CONNECT
isDelete(): Checks whether HTTP method is DELETE
isGet(): Checks whether HTTP method is GET
isHead(): Checks whether HTTP method is HEAD
isMethod(): Check if HTTP method match any of the passed methods
isOptions(): Checks whether HTTP method is OPTIONS
isPatch(): Checks whether HTTP method is PATCH
isPost(): Checks whether HTTP method is POST
isPurge(): Checks whether HTTP method is PURGE (Squid and Varnish support)
isPut(): Checks whether HTTP method is PUT
isSecure(): Checks whether request has been made using any secure layer
isSoap(): Checks whether request has been made using SOAP
isTrace(): Checks whether HTTP method is TRACE
isValidHttpMethod(): Checks if a method is a valid HTTP method

Checking existence

There are a number of methods available that allow you to check the existence of elements in the request. These methods are prefixed with has. Depending on the method used, you can check if an element exists in the $_REQUEST, $_GET, $_POST, $_SERVER, $_FILES, PUT cache and the request headers.

has(): Checks whether the $_REQUEST superglobal has a certain element
hasFiles(): Checks whether the request has any uploaded files
hasHeader(): Checks whether the headers have a certain element
hasPost(): Checks whether $_POST superglobal has a certain element
hasPut(): Checks whether the PUT data has a certain element
hasQuery(): Checks whether $_GET superglobal has a certain element
hasServer(): Checks whether $_SERVER superglobal has a certain element

Request information

The Phalcon\Http\Request object offers methods that provide additional information regarding the request.

Authentication

getBasicAuth(): Gets auth info accepted by the browser/client
getDigestAuth(): Gets auth info accepted by the browser/client

Client

getClientAddress(): Gets most possible client IPv4 Address
getClientCharsets(): Gets a charsets array and their quality accepted by the browser/client
getUserAgent(): Gets HTTP user agent used to made the request
getHTTPReferer(): Gets web page that refers active request

Content

getAcceptableContent(): Gets an array with mime/types and their quality accepted by the browser/client
getBestAccept(): Gets best mime/type accepted by the browser/client
getContentType(): Gets content type which request has been made
getJsonRawBody(): Gets decoded JSON HTTP raw request body
getRawBody(): Gets HTTP raw request body

i18n

getBestCharset(): Gets best charset accepted by the browser/client
getBestLanguage(): Gets best language accepted by the browser/client
getLanguages(): Gets languages array and their quality accepted by the browser/client

Server

getPort(): Gets information about the port on which the request is made
getServerAddress(): Gets active server address IP
getServerName(): Gets active server name
getScheme(): Gets HTTP schema (http/https)
getURI(): Gets HTTP URI which request has been made

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
if ($request->isAjax()) {
    echo 'The request was made with Ajax';
}
// Check the request layer
if ($request->isSecure()) {
    echo 'The request was made using a secure layer';
}
// Get the servers's IP address. ie. 192.168.0.100
$ipAddress = $request->getServerAddress();
// Get the client's IP address ie. 201.245.53.51
$ipAddress = $request->getClientAddress();
// Get the User Agent (HTTP_USER_AGENT)
$userAgent = $request->getUserAgent();
// Get the best acceptable content by the browser. ie text/xml
$contentType = $request->getAcceptableContent();
// Get the best charset accepted by the browser. ie. utf-8
$charset = $request->getBestCharset();
// Get the best language accepted configured in the browser. ie. en-us
$language = $request->getBestLanguage();

Method

getMethod() returns the HTTP method which request has been made. If the X-HTTP-Method-Override header is set, and if the method is a POST, then it is used to determine the “real” intended HTTP method. The _method request parameter can also be used to determine the HTTP method, setHttpMethodParameterOverride(true) has been called. The method always returns an uppercase string.

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request();
// POST
$_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] = 'POST';
echo $request->getMethod();
// GET
/**
 * Assume
 * 
 * header('X-HTTP-Method-Override: GET');
 */ 
$_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] = 'POST';
$request->setHttpMethodParameterOverride(true);
echo $request->getMethod();
// GET
$_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] = 'POST';
$_REQUEST['_method']       = 'GET';
$request->setHttpMethodParameterOverride(true);
echo $request->getMethod();

Dependency Injection

The Phalcon\Http\Request object implements the Phalcon\Di\InjectionAwareInterface interface. As a result, the DI container is available and can be retrieved using the getDI() method. A container can also be set using the setDI() method.

Working with Headers

Request headers contain useful information, allowing you to take necessary steps to send the proper response back to the user. The Phalcon\Http\Request exposes the getHeader() and getHeaders() methods.

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$request = new Request;
$_SERVER["HTTP_HOST"] = "example.com";
$request->getHttpHost(); // example.com
$_SERVER["HTTP_HOST"] = "example.com:8080";
$request->getHttpHost(); // example.com:8080
$request->setStrictHostCheck(true);
$_SERVER["HTTP_HOST"] = "ex=am~ple.com";
$request->getHttpHost(); // UnexpectedValueException
$_SERVER["HTTP_HOST"] = "ExAmPlE.com";
$request->getHttpHost(); // example.com

The getHttpHost() method will return the host name used by the request. The method will try to find host name in following order:

$_SERVER["HTTP_HOST"]
$_SERVER["SERVER_NAME"]
$_SERVER["SERVER_ADDR"]Optionally getHttpHost() validates and performs a strict check on the host name. To achieve that you can use the setStrictHostCheck() method.

Uploaded Files

Another common task is file uploading. Phalcon\Http\Request offers an object-oriented way work with files. For the whole upload process to work, you will need to make the necessary changes to your php.ini (see php-uploads).

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
use Phalcon\Mvc\Controller;
/**
 * Class PostsController
 * 
 * @property Request $request
 */
class PostsController extends Controller
{
    public function uploadAction()
    {
        // Check if the user has uploaded files
        if ($this->request->hasFiles()) {
            $files = $this->request->getUploadedFiles();
            // Print the real file names and sizes
            foreach ($files as $file) {
                // Print file details
                echo $file->getName(), ' ', $file->getSize(), '\n';
                // Move the file into the application
                $file->moveTo(
                    'files/' . $file->getName()
                );
            }
        }
    }
}

Each object returned by Phalcon\Http\Request::getUploadedFiles() is an instance of the Phalcon\Http\Request\File which implements the Phalcon\Http\Request\FileInterface class. Using the $_FILES superglobal array offers the same behavior. Phalcon\Http\Request\File encapsulates only the information related to each file uploaded with the request.

The getUploadedFiles() accepts two parameters.

$onlySuccessful: Contains only successful uploads
$namedKeys: Returns the array with named keys obtained by the upload processThe method returns an array of Phalcon\Http\Request\File objects. Each object offers the following properties and methods, allowing you to work with uploaded files:
getError() (string) - Returns any error that happened with this file
getExtension() (string) - Returns the extension of the file
getKey() (string) - Returns the internal key of the file
getName() (string) -Returns the real name of the uploaded file
getRealType() (string) - Return the real mime type of the upload file using finfo
getSize() (int) - Returns the file size of the uploaded file
getTempName() (string) - Returns the temporary name of the uploaded file
getType() (string) - Returns the mime type reported by the browser. This mime type is not completely secure, use getRealType() instead
isUploadedFile() (bool) - Checks whether the file has been uploaded via POST.
moveTo(string $destination) (bool) - Moves the temporary file to a destination within the application

Dependency Injection

Events

The Phalcon\Http\Request object implements the Phalcon\Events\EventsAware interfaces. As a result getEventsManager() and setEventsManager() are available for you to use.

Event	Description	Can stop operation
`afterAuthorizationResolve`	Fires when the authorization has been resolved	No
`beforeAuthorizationResolve`	Fires before the authorization has been resolved	Yes

When using HTTP authorization, the Authorization header has the following format:

Authorization: <type> <credentials>

where <type> is an authentication type. A common type is Basic. Additional authentication types are described in IANA registry of Authentication schemes and Authentication for AWS servers (AWS4-HMAC-SHA256). In most use cases the authentication type is:

AWS4-HMAC-SHA256
Basic
Bearer
Digest
HOBA
Mutual
Negotiate
OAuth
SCRAM-SHA-1
SCRAM-SHA-256
vapidYou can use the request:beforeAuthorizationResolve and request:afterAuthorizationResolve events to perform additional operations before or after the authorization resolves.

The request:beforeAuthorizationResolve receives the SERVER array with the key server as the second parameter of the event.

The request:afterAuthorizationResolve receives the SERVER array with the key server as well as the headers with the hey headers.

A custom authorization resolver is required.

Example without using custom authorization resolver:

<?php
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
$_SERVER['HTTP_AUTHORIZATION'] = 'Enigma Secret';
$request = new Request();
print_r($request->getHeaders());

Result:

Array
(
    [Authorization] => Enigma Secret
)
Type: Enigma
Credentials: Secret

Example using custom authorization resolver:

<?php
use Phalcon\Di;
use Phalcon\Events\Event;
use Phalcon\Http\Request;
use Phalcon\Events\Manager;
class NegotiateAuthorizationListener
{
    public function afterAuthorizationResolve(Event $event, Request $request, array $data)
    {
        if (empty($data['server']['CUSTOM_KERBEROS_AUTH'])) {
            return false;
        }
        list($type,) = explode(' ', $data['server']['CUSTOM_KERBEROS_AUTH'], 2);
        if (!$type || stripos($type, 'negotiate') !== 0) {
            return false;
        }
        return [
           'Authorization'=> $data['server']['CUSTOM_KERBEROS_AUTH'],
        ];
    }
}
$_SERVER['CUSTOM_KERBEROS_AUTH'] = 'Negotiate a87421000492aa874209af8bc028';
$di = new Di();
$di->set(
    'eventsManager',
    function () {
        $manager = new Manager();
        $manager->attach(
            'request',
            new NegotiateAuthorizationListener()
        );
        return $manager;
    }
);
$request = new Request();
$request->setDI($di);
print_r(
    $request->getHeaders()
);

Result:

Array
(
    [Authorization] => Negotiate a87421000492aa874209af8bc028
)
Type: Negotiate
Credentials: a87421000492aa874209af8bc028