Create a Twig Extension¶

Create a Twig directory inside EventBundle and a new class called EventExtension:

// src/Yoda/EventBundle/Twig/EventExtension.php
namespace Yoda\EventBundle\Twig;

class EventExtension
{
}

The name and location of this class aren’t important and you’ll see why. Make the new class extend Twig_Extension and add the required getName method:

// src/Yoda/EventBundle/Twig/EventExtension.php
namespace Yoda\EventBundle\Twig;

class EventExtension extends \Twig_Extension
{
    public function getName()
    {
        return 'event';
    }
}

This isn’t important - just make sure getName returns something unique to your project.

The mission, if you choose to accept it, is to create an ago filter: something that’ll turn a date into a friendlier phrase like “5 minutes ago”.

Use the Non-Existent Filter¶

In _upcomingEvents.html.twig, add a new line that takes the createdAt time of each event and pushes it through this imaginary ago filter:

{# src/Yoda/EventBundle/Resources/views/Event/_upcomingEvents.html.twig #}
{# ... #}

<dt>posted:</dt>
<dd>{{ event.createdAt|ago }}</dd>

Adding a Custom Filter¶

To add the filter, create a new method called getFilters and return an array with a single ago entry:

// src/Yoda/EventBundle/Twig/EventExtension.php
// ...

public function getFilters()
{
    return array(
        new \Twig_SimpleFilter('ago', array($this, 'calculateAgo')),
    );
}

This says: “Hey, whenever someone uses an ago filter in Twig, call a calculateAgo function”. Create that function and give it a DateTime argument:

// src/Yoda/EventBundle/Twig/EventExtension.php
// ...

public function calculateAgo(\DateTime $dt)
{
    // todo
}

To do the heavy lifting, I’ll use a DateUtil class that I have in the code download. Creat a new Util directory and paste it there:

// src/Yoda/EventBundle/Util/DateUtil.php

namespace Yoda\EventBundle\Util;

use DateTime;

class DateUtil
{
    static public function ago(DateTime $dt)
    {
        // ... check the code download for the source of this class
    }
}

Inside EventExtension, just call this function statically and return it:

// src/Yoda/EventBundle/Twig/EventExtension.php
// ...
use Yoda\EventBundle\Util\DateUtil;
// ...

public function ago(\DateTime $dt)
{
    return DateUtil::ago($dt);
}

Tags: Telling Symfony about your Twig Extension¶

Ok, try going to the homepage. It says the filter still doesn’t exist.

We have created a valid Twig extension with the filter, but we haven’t actually told Twig about it. Services to the rescue!

First, create a new service for our Twig extension:

# src/Yoda/EventBundle/Resources/config/services.yml
services:
    # ...

    twig.event_extension:
        class: Yoda\EventBundle\Twig\EventExtension
        arguments: []

Hey, this look familiar! The only difference is that arguments is empty, because we don’t even have a constructor in this case.

At this point, our Twig extension is a service, but Twig still doesn’t know about it. Somehow, we need to raise our hand and say “Hey Symfony, this isn’t a normal service, it’s a Twig Extension!”.

Add a tags key with a funny-looking twig.extension below it:

# src/Yoda/EventBundle/Resources/config/services.yml
services:
    # ...

    yoda_event.twig.event_extension:
        class: Yoda\EventBundle\Twig\EventExtension
        arguments: []
        tags:
            - { name: twig.extension }

You know how a blog post can have tags? The idea is the same here. When Symfony boots, Twig looks for all services with the twig.extension tag and includes those as extensions.

Refresh! The new “posted” text looks fantastic. If you want this functionality in real life, check out the KnpTimeBundle, which is even more powerful.

More on Tags¶

What other tags are there? Well I’m so glad you asked. In the reference section of the docs, we have a fantastic page called The Dependency Injection Tags. If you’re doing something really custom, or awesome, in Symfony, you’re probably using a dependency injection tag. You won’t use them too often, but they’re key to unlocking really powerful features.

A very important tag is kernel.event_listener, which allows you to register “hooks” inside Symfony at various stages of the request lifecycle. That topic is for another screencast, but we’ll cover a very similar subject next: Doctrine events.