# php-qml

A framework for building native desktop applications with a Symfony / FrankenPHP backend and a Qt/QML frontend, packaged as a single distributable per OS.

## Status

**Planning stage.** The architectural design lives in [PLAN.md](PLAN.md). No implementation exists yet — first code lands in Phase 0 (a throwaway transport spike). See the [roadmap](PLAN.md#13-roadmap-to-poc).

## What it is

php-qml lets a PHP developer write a desktop application using ordinary Symfony on the backend and ordinary QML on the frontend. The two halves run as a process pair inside one bundled binary:

- A Qt/QML host process owns the window, input, and rendering.
- A bundled FrankenPHP child runs a Symfony application in worker mode.
- They communicate over a local socket — HTTP for commands and queries, Mercure SSE for state push.

The framework provides the lifecycle, transport, reactive models, and scaffolding so application code stays idiomatic on both sides.

## What it is not

Not a PHP↔Qt language binding. It does not embed PHP into a Qt event loop and it does not generate Qt classes from PHP. The two languages run in separate processes; the bridge is a wire protocol, not an FFI layer.

If you've watched php-gtk and php-qt go quiet, that is the failure mode this project deliberately avoids — the framework owns the boring parts (lifecycle, transport, conventions) so it doesn't depend on a single maintainer keeping a language binding alive.

## Tech stack

- **Backend:** PHP 8.x, Symfony, Doctrine ORM, FrankenPHP (worker mode), Mercure
- **Frontend:** Qt 6 LTS, QML, C++ plugin where required
- **Build:** CMake, Composer
- **CI:** Gitea Actions, Gitea Releases
- **Targets:** Linux (AppImage), macOS (`.app` + `.dmg`), Windows (NSIS / MSIX)

## Getting started

Nothing to run yet. Once Phase 0 lands:

1. Clone the repository and check out the `dev` branch.
2. Install Qt 6 and PHP 8.x; the FrankenPHP runtime is fetched at build time.
3. `task dev` — starts FrankenPHP in watch mode and launches the Qt host pointed at it.

Detailed setup will be documented alongside the framework skeleton in Phase 1.

## Project structure

See [PLAN.md §9](PLAN.md#9-project-layout) for the intended layout. The repo currently contains only `PLAN.md` and this README.

## Roadmap

Six phases, each ending with something runnable. Detail in [PLAN.md §13](PLAN.md#13-roadmap-to-poc).

- **Phase 0** — throwaway spike, prove transport on Linux.
- **Phase 1** — framework skeleton, dev mode, single-instance lock, CI quality gate.
- **Phase 2** — reactive models, update semantics, headline maker (`make:bridge:resource`).
- **Phase 3** — POC todo application generated via the makers; testing infrastructure.
- **Phase 4** — bundled mode, per-OS packaging, release CI, auto-update.
- **Phase 5** — DX polish.

## Contributing

Active development happens on the `dev` branch; `main` only carries release commits. Pull requests target `dev`.

A `CONTRIBUTING.md` will be added with the framework skeleton in Phase 1.

## Versioning

Semantic Versioning — `MAJOR.MINOR.BUGFIX`. MAJOR for breaking changes, MINOR for backwards-compatible features, BUGFIX for backwards-compatible fixes.

## License

To be decided before the first release. The framework's own code will be permissively licensed; note that Qt is shipped under LGPL and that carries obligations for distributors — see [PLAN.md §12](PLAN.md#12-open-questions-and-risks) (Qt LGPL relinkability).