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How do Models in MVC represent both data structure and business logic, and how does this differ from a Model being purely a simple database representation? How do Views in MVC separate presentation logic from application logic, and what role do templating engines like Blade play in this separation? How does a typical request flow through an MVC based PHP application, from the initial incoming HTTP request to the final rendered response? How does the concept of a Service Layer complement traditional MVC by providing an additional place for complex business logic that spans multiple models?
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How should a large, complex PHP application evolve its architecture beyond basic MVC to maintain organization and testability as the codebase and team grow significantly?

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As an application grows significantly in complexity, teams commonly introduce additional architectural layers beyond basic MVC, such as dedicated service classes for complex business logic, repositories for abstracting data access away from models directly, data transfer objects for clearly defined data structures passed between layers, and sometimes adopting broader architectural approaches like domain driven design or a more explicitly layered architecture, all aimed at keeping each individual piece of the codebase focused, testable, and manageable even as the overall application becomes substantially larger and more complex than a small MVC application originally designed for.
// Layered architecture example
// Controller -> Service -> Repository -> Model/Database
class OrderController {
    public function __construct(private OrderService $orderService) {}
}
Real-world example A company's application that started as a simple MVC structure gradually introduces a service layer and repository pattern as the codebase grows past a certain size, keeping the underlying architecture organized and testable despite now supporting significantly more complex business requirements than when the project first began.

Common follow-ups: At what point does introducing these additional architectural layers become genuinely worthwhile rather than unnecessary complexity?;How do you migrate an existing large MVC application toward this more layered architecture incrementally without a disruptive full rewrite?

Design Patterns in PHP;Dependency Injection & Service Containers
All 7 MVC Architecture in PHP questions