What is MVC?

What is MVC?

MVC, or Model-View-Controller is a software architecture, or design pattern, that is used in software engineering, whose fundamental principle is based on the idea that the logic of an application should be separated from its presentation. Put simply, I would say that MVC is simply a better way of separating the logic of your application from the display.

The MVC principle is to separate the application into 3 main parts, known as the Model, the View, and the Controller. Apparent from the diagram are the direct associations (solid lines) and the inferred associations (dashed lines). The inferred associations are associations that might seem apparent from the point of view of the user, and not from the actual software design.

A simple way to think of this would be to consider the following:

• A user interacts with the view - by clicking on a link or submitting a form.
• The Controller handles the user input, and transfers the information to the model
• The Model receives the information and updates it's state (adds data to a database, for example, or calculates todays date)
• The View checks the state of the Model and responds accordingly (listing the newly entered data, maybe)
• The View waits for another interaction from the user.

But what does this mean to you and why should you consider using it?

Well, for starters, MVC has a really good philosophy. The idea that you are separating the logic from the display is not new, but MVC presents the idea nicely. Code presentation and layout are simpler, making your application more maintainable. The view is in the view files, the logic in the template, and the controller handles them all.