Working directly with libraries instead of bundles in Symfony2

Question

How can I use a library directly inside an existing Symfony2 project. I am, for instance, trying to add the faker library. I installed it via composer but I don't know how and where to put the code I need.

According to documentation:

// require the Faker autoloader
require_once '/path/to/Faker/src/autoload.php';
// alternatively, use another PSR-0 compliant autoloader (like the Symfony2 ClassLoader for instance)

What is a simple explanation of auto loader? How to use a library directly without a bundle? Is it a requirement for a library to have an autoload.php file so that it can be integrated inside a php project? Where to put the above code?

Any links explaining such notions for newbies? Thank you very much for your usual guidance.

Answer 1

You do not need to config nothing. Faker library is PSR-4 (see composer.json, this line) compliant so just install it (through composer) and use the proper namespace. Symfony automatically loads PSR-4 / PSR-0 libraries/components. Like this:

<?php # src/AppBundle/Controller/DefaultController.php
namespace AppBundle\Controller;

use Symfony\Bundle\FrameworkBundle\Controller\Controller;
use Faker;

class DefaultController extends Controller
{   
    public function indexAction()
    {

        $faker = Faker\Factory::create();
        var_dump($faker); die;
        // ...
    }
}

Helpful links:

• Composer schema, "autoload" key
• What is the difference between PSR-0 and PSR-4?
• PSR-0
• PSR-4