Joomla4 Component Dev - subdirectory for views

[quasiman]

Is it possible to develop a component with subdirectories for the views? And if so, how is that handled in the real URL such as:
localhost/joomla/index.php?option=com_helloworld&view=tops

Just for an example, say I have a shop that sells clothing, and I want to categorize the different types:

• Tops
  • Shirts
    • Business
    • Casual
    • Dress
  • Collared
  • Casual
  • Tshirts
• Pullovers
• Hoodies

With this logic, I'm hoping I can have a structure like:

• site/src/Views/tops/shirts/business/casual/HtmlView.php
• site/src/Views/tops/shirts/business/dress/HtmlView.php
• site/src/Views/tops/shirts/collared/HtmlView.php
• site/src/Views/tops/shirts/casual/HtmlView.php
• site/src/Views/tops/pullovers/HtmlView.php
• site/src/Views/tops/hoodies/HtmlView.php

• site/tmpl/Views/tops/shirts/business/casual/default.php
• site/tmpl/Views/tops/shirts/business/dress/default.php
• site/tmpl/Views/tops/shirts/collared/default.php
• site/tmpl/Views/tops/shirts/casual/default.php
• site/tmpl/Views/tops/pullovers/default.php
• site/tmpl/Views/tops/hoodies/default.php

I know this would typically be handled by categories, but for my needs I think it would simplify things if I create separate views for each.

[SharkyKZ]

Yes, it's possible. But I don't see how this would simplify things. You're mixing content with code which kind of beats the purpose using a CMS. What if your category structure changes? You'll have to rewrite the code.

And if so, how is that handled in the real URL such as:

That's up to you to decide. You'll probably have to write a custom router anyways. Although the default router does support nested views via Joomla\CMS\Component\Router\RouterViewConfiguration::setNestable(). So you can give it a try first. You'll also need to handle the view class and layout file lookup yourself.

[ceford]

Is it possible to develop a component with subdirectories for the views? And if so, how is that handled in the real URL such as:
localhost/joomla/index.php?option=com_helloworld&view=tops

Each 'view' is already a sub-directory. You should read some of the articles on component development from the Joomla Tutorials Project page:

https://docs.joomla.org/JDOC:Joomla_4_Tutorials_Project

Look in the For Developers section. You should aim to use the architecture provided and not build your own.

[SharkyKZ]

Look in the For Developers section. You should aim to use the architecture provided and not build your own.

Why? Core MVC is hardly an example of good architecture.

[ceford]

Look in the For Developers section. You should aim to use the architecture provided and not build your own.

Why? Core MVC is hardly an example of good architecture.

I don't understand what you mean by this comment! Is it helpful to the OP?

[quasiman]

Each 'view' is already a sub-directory.

Yes, but only at one level. Organization of the many sub-views becomes harder to maintain if they can't be categorized in more of a parent/children relationship.

[ceford]

Each 'view' is already a sub-directory.

Yes, but only at one level. Organization of the many sub-views becomes harder to maintain if they can't be categorized in more of a parent/children relationship.

There are no Joomla core components that use a tmpl hierarchy. The nearest comparable structure is layouts, for example as seen in com_users.

Each View requires a Controller and Model. Coding that for each product would be a nightmare!

It would be perfectly OK to have a tmpl/default.php file that looks for some input parameter and then includes the appropriate layout. For example:

if ($product = 'tops-shirts-business-casual') { include 'tsbc.php'}
else if ($product = ...) { ...}

You could put your product layout wherever you want. 10 products is maybe not to much work. 1000 products is another matter. Think again!

[quasiman]

10 products is maybe not to much work. 1000 products is another matter. Think again!

I think you're focusing too much on the example I gave, and I apologize if I gave the impression that is exactly what I'm doing. I was just trying to simplify my question with a common illustration.
To clarify, I have a fixed number of pages with each of them in layouts specific to their requirement.

There are no Joomla core components that use a tmpl hierarchy. The nearest comparable structure is layouts, for example as seen in com_users.

This is what I'm talking about:

[SharkyKZ]

You can add as many layouts to a view as you want. Maybe instead of hardcoding anything, you could make the category layout configurable in backend. Or do you need something more for your use case?

[quasiman]

Thanks to all for your support; I'm going to figure out a different way to do this. It seems pretty clear from the responses (or lack thereof) that going down this path will just make it more convoluted than it needs to be.