Making global helper functions in a php mvc - php

Question

I have been following a tutorial to develop a mvc using php.
In the framework all the configuration settings are stored in a Config.php(Config class) under App namespace. The properties are constant so If I want to access a property, I have to use the namespace first anywhere I want to access it. So now I can access it like below
Config::DB_NAME OR Config::DB_HOST
So, Is there any way I can define a global helper function say config() using which I can access those values?
Say, If I want to access DB_NAME , I would typeconfig('DB_NAME')
Also, If I want to define some other global helper functions, How can make it?
To make the question more clear. Take Laravel's hleper functions. There is a helper function config() which returns a value from various configuration files. Like config('app.name') will return the APP Name.
These helper functions can be accessed from anywhere, Vies, Models, and Controllers.
Here is what I think can be done.
I don't want to group the functions in a class, that way I have to use namespaces.
Maybe, I can use traits to group the functions.
But How to make it available in each class. I can use use Helpers, but then
How would I access the function from a view file which doesn't have a classs?
Any, idea or suggestion would be helpful.
Config.php
<?php
namespace App;
class Config
{
const DB_HOST = 'localhost';
const DB_NAME = 'mvc';
const DB_USER = 'root';
const DB_PASSWORD = '';
const SHOW_ERRORS = false;
}
The project is currently on github, If anyone want a look of the files structure can see here
Edit
Maybe I can have config.php file which just returns an associative array.
Yet I need a helper function to get the values from it. The file would be like this.
<?php
return [
'DB_HOST'=>'localhost',
'DB_NAME'=>'mvc',
'DB_USERNAME'=>'root',
'DB_PASSWORD' =>'',
];

Answer 1

Thanks to you all for your help and support.
I, finally, found a solution. It's working and good for now. Maybe there is some other way but It will work for me for now.
Here are the steps that I followed to solve it.
Defined all my configuration setting in a separate file called Configs.php This file just returns an associative array.
Configs.php
<?php
return [
'DB_HOST' => 'localhost',
'DB_NAME' => 'mvc',
'DB_USER' => 'root',
'DB_PASSWORD' => '',
'SHOW_ERRORS' => false
];
I used composer to autoload my Helpers.php file. I didn't give it any namespace so it is globally loaded.
Helpers.php (OLD)
<?php
if(!function_exists('config')) {
function config($key)
{
$config_array = include 'Configs.php';
if (array_key_exists($key,$config_array))
{
return $config_array[$key];
}
}
}
Helpers.php (Updated - Suggested by Magnus Erikkson)
<?php
if (!function_exists('config')) {
function config($key, $fallback = null)
{
static $config;
if (is_null($config)) {
$config = include 'Configs.php';
}
return array_key_exists($key, $config)
? $config[$key]
: $fallback;
}
}
Both files Config.php and Helpers.php are under App directory
and here is composer.json
{
"require": {
"twig/twig": "^2.0",
"phpmailer/phpmailer": "^6.0"
},
"autoload": {
"files": [
"app/helpers.php"
],
"psr-4": {
"Core\\":"Core/",
"App\\":"App/"
}
}
}
Now, I can access it in my controller like config('DB_NAME') and it is working!