CloudSpring | Deploying CakePHP apps on AppFog the right way

This tutorial demonstrates deploying a CakePHP application to AppFog, a Platform as a Service (PaaS), while highlighting best practices for PHP application structure. We'll build a simple note-taking app, then organize its components for efficient management.

Key Concepts:

• AppFog: A PaaS offering multi-provider deployment and language support. Its free tier provides 2GB RAM, 10 services, and 50GB data transfer.
• PHP Application Structure: Best practices involve separating application code, data/settings, and libraries/vendor code for easier updates and maintenance.
• AppFog Configuration: Crucial steps include binding a database service and setting environment variables (like APP_ENV) to control application behavior.
• AppFog Features: AppFog's cloning feature simplifies creating staging or debugging environments.

Getting Started with AppFog:

AppFog, based on Cloud Foundry, supports various languages and deployment targets (AWS, HP OpenStack, Azure, Rackspace). Registration requires only an email and password, granting access to the free plan. Create your account to proceed.

Local Application Development:

1. Setup: Download CakePHP, rename the directory (e.g., "FogNotes"), and make it accessible via a web server (e.g., http://fognotes.local). Create a MySQL database (e.g., fognotes_local).
2. Directory Structure: Create a data directory with config and logs subdirectories. Move the app/tmp directory into data and ensure the logs directory has web server write permissions. Create a symbolic link to CakePHP's console: ln -s lib/Cake/Console/cake cake. The resulting structure should resemble:

<code>FogNotes/
    app/
    data/
        config/
        logs/
        tmp/
            cache/
            logs/
            sessions/
            tests/
    lib/
        Cake/
    plugins/
    vendors/
    cake
    index.php</code>

This structure isolates application code, framework, libraries, and data for better management.

3. CakePHP Configuration: Edit app/webroot/index.php to define the custom TMP directory:

<code>FogNotes/
    app/
    data/
        config/
        logs/
        tmp/
            cache/
            logs/
            sessions/
            tests/
    lib/
        Cake/
    plugins/
    vendors/
    cake
    index.php</code>

4. Database Configuration: Modify app/Config/database.php to dynamically load database settings based on the environment:

<?php // Custom TMP directory
if (!defined('TMP')) {
    define('TMP', ROOT . DS . 'data' . DS . 'tmp' . DS);
}

5. Bootstrap Configuration: Edit app/Config/bootstrap.php to register the data/config path and determine the environment (using APP_ENV environment variable or defaulting to 'local'):

<?php class DATABASE_CONFIG {
    // ... (code to dynamically load database config based on APP_ENV) ...
}

6. Environment-Specific Configuration: Create data/config/local.php and data/config/prod.php files to hold environment-specific database settings and other configurations. Example local.php:

<?php // ... (code to register data/config path and set APP_ENV) ...

Deployment to AppFog:

1. App Creation: Create a new PHP application in the AppFog console, selecting your preferred infrastructure provider.
2. Service Binding: Bind a MySQL service (e.g., fognotes_prod).
3. Environment Variables: Set the APP_ENV variable to "prod".
4. Code Deployment: Use the af utility to push your local code to AppFog: af update FogNotes.
5. Database Setup: Use af tunnel to create a tunnel to your remote database and import the data/config/notes.sql schema.

Final Steps and Summary:

Create the notes table in your local database and use CakePHP's bake command (./cake bake) to generate the necessary model, view, and controller. Update app/Config/routes.php to direct the root URL to your notes index. Redeploy your application using af update FogNotes.

This structured approach simplifies development, deployment, and maintenance of your CakePHP applications on AppFog. AppFog's cloning feature adds further flexibility for managing different environments.

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