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Controller classnames are plural, CamelCased, and end in Controller. PeopleController and LatestArticlesController are both examples of conventional controller names.

The first function you write for a controller might be the index() function. When a request specifies a controller but not an action, the default CakePHP behavior is to execute the index() function of that controller. For example, a request for http://www.example.com/apples/ maps to a call on the index() function of the ApplesController, whereas http://www.example.com/apples/view/ maps to a call on the view() function of the ApplesController.

You can also change the visibility of controller functions in CakePHP by prefixing controller function names with underscores. If a controller function has been prefixed with an underscore, the function will not be accessible directly from the web but is available for internal use. For example:

<?php
class NewsController extends AppController {

	function latest() {
		$this->_findNewArticles();
	}
	
	function _findNewArticles() {
		//Logic to find latest news articles
	}
}

?>

1. <?php
2. class NewsController extends AppController {
3. function latest() {
4. $this->_findNewArticles();
5. }
7. function _findNewArticles() {
8. //Logic to find latest news articles
9. }
10. }
11. ?>

While the page http://www.example.com/news/latest/ would be accessible to the user as usual, someone trying to get to the page http://www.example.com/news/_findNewArticles/ would get an error, because the function is preceded with an underscore.

Controller classnames are plural, CamelCased, and end in Controller. PeopleController and LatestArticlesController are both examples of conventional controller names.

The first function you write for a controller might be the index() function. When a request specifies a controller but not an action, the default CakePHP behavior is to execute the index() function of that controller. For example, a request for http://www.example.com/apples/ maps to a call on the index() function of the ApplesController, whereas http://www.example.com/apples/view/ maps to a call on the view() function of the ApplesController.

You can also change the visibility of controller functions in CakePHP by prefixing controller function names with underscores. If a controller function has been prefixed with an underscore, the function will not be accessible directly from the web but is available for internal use. For example:

<?php
class NewsController extends AppController {

	function latest() {
		$this->_findNewArticles();
	}
	
	function _findNewArticles() {
		//Logic to find latest news articles
	}
}

?>

1. <?php
2. class NewsController extends AppController {
3. function latest() {
4. $this->_findNewArticles();
5. }
7. function _findNewArticles() {
8. //Logic to find latest news articles
9. }
10. }
11. ?>

While the page http://www.example.com/news/latest/ would be accessible to the user as usual, someone trying to get to the page http://www.example.com/news/_findNewArticles/ would get an error, because the function is preceded with an underscore.