smtech/reflexive-canvas-lti

LTI tool provider class that includes the "reflexive" reach back into Canvas via the API

ReflexiveCanvasLTI

, _(*1)

Abandoned

This project has not been actively maintained since the spring of 2017, when Seth Battis changed roles and was no longer working in a Canvas (or other LTI-capable) environment. Other interested developers are welcome to take up the torch, if interested., _(*2)

Meanwhile, I observe that Steven Vickers has released an updated version of his PHP LTI Tool Provider that can serve as a base for further LTI development using PHP., _(*3)

About

LTI tool provider class that includes the \"reflexive\" reach back into Canvas via the API., _(*4)

Full documentation in repository., _(*5)

This is one of two packages that are meant to facilitate and accelerate LTI development in PHP, allowing for built-in "reflexive" access to the Canvas APIs from the LTI Tool Provider., _(*6)

1. This package, smtech/reflexive-canvas-lti is the "plain vanilla" version. That is: it's pure object-oriented goodness with no GUI to add any idiosyncratic flavoring to the process. That makes it a touch more limited, but also (one hopes) more reusable in the grand scheme of things.
2. The other package, smtech/stmarks-reflexive-canvas-lti provides a bunch of handy GUI add-ons, including Smarty templating (via smtech/stmarkssmarty, the St. Mark's-styled extension of my generic battis/bootstrapsmarty package that provides easy access to Bootstrap within Smarty templates). Additionally, this package, as it provides a GUI inherently, also provides some handy interactive control panels:
   • Toolbox::interactiveGetAccessToken() is pretty much what it sounds like: it handles acquiring an API access token from Canvas interactively (providing a well-configured config.xml, of course).
   • Toolbox::interactiveConsumersControlPanel() provides an interactive control panel for managing LTI tool consumer keys and secrets.

How to choose?

It comes down to whether you like building web pages the way I like building web pages (striving for real Model-View-Controller separation, to make my code easier to read/understand), or if you have another paradigm that you prefer. If you like my way, I would recommend extending smtech/stmarks-reflexive-canvas-lti to including branding appropriate for your own institution and using that. If not, or if you are trying to avoid GUI-entanglements, this "plain vanilla" package fits the bill., _(*7)

Sample code

In the examples directory you will find two example tool providers:, _(*8)

1. tool-provider shows an example of an LTI Tool Provider constructed with the "plain vanilla" package (this one).
2. stmarks-tool-provider shows the same example, tweaked to use smtech/stmarks-reflexive-canvas-lti instead -- which I think is cleaner, easier and simpler. But I'm biased.

Composer Fiddly-bits

Nota bene: Because Stephen Vickers hasn't yet published his LTI_Tool_Provider via Composer, I think the best way to incorporate his code is to replicate the following within your own composer.json file. (That way, when smtech/reflexive-canvas-lti depends on spvsoftwareproducts/LTI_Tool_Provider, Composer will know what we're all taking about.), _(*9)

Also: to download the spvsoftwareproducts/LTI_Tool_Provider package from its central repository, you have to allow non-HTTPS downloads, which is a bit of a security hole. Not the end of the world, but not Best Practices, either., _(*10)

"config": {
    "secure-http": false
},
"repositories": [
    {
        "type": "package",
        "package": {
            "name": "spvsoftwareproducts/LTI_Tool_Provider",
            "version": "2.5.01",
            "dist": {
                "url": "http://projects.oscelot.org/gf/download/frsrelease/956/6025/LTI_Tool_Provider-2.5.01.zip",
                "type": "zip"
            },
            "license": "LGPL-3.0",
            "authors": [
                {
                    "name": "Stephen Vickers"
                }
            ],
            "homepage": "http://spvsoftwareproducts.com/php/lti_tool_provider/",
            "autoload": {
                "classmap": [""]
            }
        }
    }
]

And also:, _(*11)

"require": {
    "smtech/reflexive-canvas-lti": "~1.0"
}