Zend Framework 1.6: Zend_Paginator

The new Zend Framework 1.6 release candidate includes a Zend_Paginator class, which is an excellent thing to have around because I know I’ve re-invented that wheel on every site I’ve developed. My only criticism of the new Zend_Paginator is it offers a daunting amount of possibilities.

To that end, here’s a quick cheat sheet to get things up and running:

First, we need to establish the data source and initialize the paginator

class EventController {
    public function listAction() {
        //get an array of events
        $arrEvents = Core::Event::fetch_by_filter(array('link' => array('child' => $objCharacter), 'eventExpire' => time()));
       //initialize the paginator using the handy factory method..
        $paginator = Zend_Paginator::factory($arrEvents);
        //tell the paginator which page we're on
	$paginator->setCurrentPageNumber($this->_getParam('page'));
        //pass the paginator into the view
	$this->view->paginator = $paginator;
    }
}

Then we need to put the paginator to use:

< ?php if (count($this->paginator)): ?>

< ?php foreach ($this->paginator as $item): ?>

< ?php echo $item->title; ?>
< ?php echo $item->message ?>


< ?php endforeach; ?>


< ?php endif; ?>

< ?= $this->paginationControl($this->paginator, 'Sliding', 'pagination_control.phtml'); ?>

Then, we need to create the pagination control (surely this could be a view helper?). The manual page for Zend_Paginator provides a number of different examples. I’ve chosen to use the sliding control just for aesthetic purposes:

< ?php if ($this->pageCount): ?>

< ?= $this->firstItemNumber; ?> - < ?= $this->lastItemNumber; ?>
of < ?= $this->totalItemCount; ?>

<a href="< ?= $this->url(array('page' => $this->first)); ?>">First</a> |


< ?php if (isset($this->previous)): ?>
  <a href="< ?= $this->url(array('page' => $this->previous)); ?>">< Previous</a> |
< ?php else: ?>
  <span class="disabled">< Previous</span> |
< ?php endif; ?>


< ?php if (isset($this->next)): ?>
  <a href="< ?= $this->url(array('page' => $this->next)); ?>">Next ></a> |
< ?php else: ?>
  <span class="disabled">Next ></span> |
< ?php endif; ?>

<a href="< ?= $this->url(array('page' => $this->last)); ?>">Last</a>


< ?php endif; ?>

Finally, a quick little Zend_Router route to pretty up the URL:

$router->addRoute('event_list', new Zend_Controller_Router_Route('event/list/:page', array('controller' => 'event', 'action' => 'list')));

Now, when you navigate to /event/list/1, you have a paginated list (unstyled):