Symfony 1.4: autoload modules' lib folders - php

Question

how can I autoload my modules' lib folders in my Symfony 1.4 projects? Probably you know that problem:
If I create plugins, I store base-classes for my modules' actions in the lib folder. Each actions-class stored in actions/actions.class.php inherits from that base-class. This allows overriding the plugin-actions at project level:
myModule
actions
actions.class.php
lib
BasemyModuleActions.class.php
But unfortunately, Symfony doesn't autoload BasemyModuleActions and you have to include the respective file manually:
require_once(dirname(__FILE__) .'/lib/BasemyModuleActions.class.php');
class myModuleActions extends BasemyModuleActions
{
}
This works, but it is really annoying. Moreover I want to put more files in the modules' lib folders, e.g. forms.
Is there a way to add those directories to the autoloader?
Storing forms in their related modules would good for me, since I only reuse the same form for different modules in few cases.
Is your solution also compatible with the Doctrine form-generation task? I.e. is Symfony aware of the existing form, or will it be created again if it is moved out of lib/form/doctrine? (No problem, if you can't answer that. But it would be nice if you know a workaround in this case)

Answer 1

Take a look at this page:
http://www.symfony-project.org/reference/1_4/en/14-Other-Configuration-Files
It describes an autoload.yml file, which configures symfony to look for classes in different directories.
Symfony wouldn't autoload my /apps/app_name/lib/*.* classes, but does so after creating /config/autoload.yml file with the following content:
autoload:
# project
project:
name: project
path: %SF_LIB_DIR%
recursive: true
exclude: [model, symfony]
project_model:
name: project model
path: %SF_LIB_DIR%/model
recursive: true
# application
application:
name: application
path: %SF_APP_LIB_DIR%
recursive: true
modules:
name: module
path: %SF_APP_DIR%/modules/*/lib
prefix: 1
recursive: true
Which the above page describes as the default config.

Answer 2

As i understand it this is a chicken and egg issue with the autoloader and main controller flow.
The prefix: 1 in the default autoload.yml indicates that these classes are only available to be autoloaded if 'in' the current module.
The way the current module is determined is by looking at the actionStack.
The module/action is added to the actionStack after checking to see if it exists.
Unfortunately to determine if an action exists symfony loads the actions.class.php
Hence you need to have the explicit, require_once.
If you get rid of the prefix: 1 and your module is part of your application (not loaded from a plugin) you will not need the require once.
If the module is part of a plugin, you would need to mess with sfPluginConfiguration to have it load the appropriate classes without prefix.
Both methods are problematic as there could be clashes between class names in various modules.