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Architecture overview

TorrentPier follows a modular architecture combining legacy compatibility with modern PHP practices.

Tech stack​

Backend​

  • Language: PHP 8.4+
  • Database: Nette Database (with legacy SqlDb compatibility)
  • Templates: Twig (with legacy syntax support)
  • Cache: Nette Caching (file, SQLite, Memcached)
  • Routing: League/Route
  • Migrations: Phinx

Infrastructure​

  • Web server: Apache / Nginx
  • Database: MySQL 8.0+ / MariaDB / Percona
  • Cache: File-based or Memcached

Directory structure​

torrentpier/
├── app/                    # Application code
│   ├── Http/
│   │   └── Controllers/   # Web controllers
│   └── Console/
│       └── Commands/      # CLI commands
├── src/                    # Core library classes (PSR-4)
│   ├── Cache/             # Caching system
│   ├── Database/          # Database layer
│   ├── Helpers/           # Utility classes (Slug, etc.)
│   ├── Router/            # Routing and URL handling
│   ├── Template/          # Twig integration
│   └── Tracker/           # BitTorrent tracker
├── library/               # Legacy application logic
│   └── includes/          # Legacy includes
├── config/                # Configuration files
│   ├── config.php         # Main configuration
│   └── config.local.php   # Local overrides (gitignored)
├── database/              # Database files
│   └── migrations/        # Phinx migrations
├── routes/                # Route definitions
│   └── web.php            # Web routes
├── resources/
│   └── views/             # Twig templates
├── public/                # Web root
│   ├── admin/             # Admin panel
│   └── bt/                # Tracker endpoints
├── storage/               # Runtime data
│   ├── app/
│   │   ├── public/        # Web-accessible (avatars, sitemap)
│   │   └── private/       # Protected files (uploads)
│   ├── logs/              # Application logs
│   └── framework/         # Cache, templates, triggers
└── install/               # Installation scripts

Key components​

Database layer​

The database system uses Nette Database internally while maintaining full backward compatibility:

// Modern approach
$result = DB()->query('SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ?', $id);

// Legacy approach (still works)
$result = DB()->sql_query($sql);

Template engine​

Twig templates with automatic legacy syntax conversion:

{# Modern Twig syntax #}
{% if user.is_admin %}
    {{ user.name }}
{% endif %}
<!-- Legacy syntax (auto-converted) -->
<!-- IF IS_ADMIN -->
    {USERNAME}
<!-- ENDIF -->

Cache system​

Unified caching with multiple backends:

// Using cache
$data = CACHE('my_key', function() {
    return expensive_operation();
}, 3600);

BitTorrent tracker​

Endpoints​

  • bt/announce.php — peer announcements
  • bt/scrape.php — torrent statistics

Features​

  • BitTorrent v1 & v2 protocol support
  • Compact peer responses
  • IPv4 and IPv6 support
  • Anti-cheat protection
  • Ratio enforcement

Security​

  • Input sanitization
  • CSRF protection
  • SQL injection prevention (prepared statements)
  • XSS protection
  • Rate limiting
  • IP-based restrictions

Performance​

Caching strategy​

  • Database query caching
  • Template compilation caching
  • Configuration caching

Database optimization​

  • Indexed columns for tracker queries
  • Optimized peer management
  • Connection pooling support

Configuration​

Main configuration in config/config.php with environment overrides via .env:

// Access configuration
$value = config('site.name');

Extending TorrentPier​

Adding routes​

Routes are defined using League/Route in routes/web.php. TorrentPier supports SEO-friendly semantic URLs:

// Generate URLs in PHP
url()->topic($id, $title);     // /topic/my-topic.123/
url()->forum($id, $name);      // /forum/hd-video.5/
url()->profile($id, $username); // /profile/admin.2/
{# Generate URLs in templates #}
{{ url.topic(t.TOPIC_ID, t.TOPIC_TITLE) }}

See Semantic URLs for detailed documentation.

Creating templates​

Place Twig templates in resources/views/{style_name}/ (e.g., resources/views/default/, resources/views/momo/).

Database changes​

Use Phinx migrations in the database/migrations/ directory.