Specification: the expcomponents packages and what the kernel uses them for #

This page is the reference for each library of expcomponents, Exponential's fork of the Zeta Components (Apache License 2.0): what the package does, which kernel classes, files and features use it, which upstream package it replaces and where its repository is. The overview, the history and the reasons for the fork are on the feature page Exponential Components (expcomponents); what an upgrade means is in the upgrade notes.

The usage lists were taken from the kernel's own code (kernel/, lib/, bin/, update/, index_webdav.php) by searching for each component's class prefix, for example grep -rlE '\bezcMail' --include=*.php kernel lib. Repeat that search to check a list against your release. Extensions are named where a shipped extension depends on a component.

Contents #

1. Common rules for every package
2. Summary table
3. base
4. archive
5. authentication
6. cache
7. configuration
8. console-tools
9. database
10. debug
11. event-log
12. feed
13. image-analysis
14. image-conversion
15. mail
16. mvc-tools
17. persistent-object
18. signal-slot
19. system-information
20. webdav
21. Forks the kernel does not require
22. Upstream packages that are not forked

Common rules for every package #

Version state: every fork named on this page was released on 2026-11-06 (a tag, a GitHub release and the version on Packagist); archive 1.5.2 and webdav 1.2.2 were released a few days before. Each fork requires the others by their fork names (se7enxweb/expcomponents-base ~1.8, not zetacomponents/base).

Summary table #

base #

• Purpose: the infrastructure every component relies on: the base exception classes (ezcBaseException, ezcBaseValueException, ezcBasePropertyNotFoundException, ezcBaseFileNotFoundException ...), the options base class ezcBaseOptions, the struct base class, ezcBaseFile (recursive directory walks, relative paths) and the original autoloader ezcBase::autoload.
• Kernel use:
  • kernel/private/classes/ezautoloadgenerator.php, the engine of php bin/php/ezpgenerateautoloads.php, walks the directories with ezcBaseFile::findRecursive() and walkRecursive() and computes paths with calculateRelativePath();
  • lib/ezutils/classes/ezsys.php throws ezcBasePropertyNotFoundException for unknown properties;
  • option and struct classes in kernel/private/options/ and kernel/private/structs/, the public API's content classes (kernel/private/api/content/), the cluster exceptions (kernel/private/classes/exceptions/cluster/), the DFS MySQLi backend, the OAuth modules and the REST layer (kernel/private/rest/classes/).
  • The setup wizard's check setup.ini [ezcversion] (TestClass=ezcBaseFile, TestFunction=walkrecursive) tests that the library is installed.
• Autoload note: autoload.php registers ezcBase::autoload only when EZCBASE_ENABLED is defined as true; with Composer it is not needed and not registered.
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-base, repository, replaces zetacomponents/base. Every other fork requires it by this name (se7enxweb/expcomponents-base ~1.8).

archive #

• Purpose: create, change and extract tar archives (ustar, v7, pax, GNU) and zip archives.
• Kernel use:
  • kernel/classes/ezpackage.php: export writes .ezpkg files with ezcArchive::open( ..., ezcArchive::TAR_USTAR ) or ezcArchive::ZIP; import extracts them;
  • kernel/classes/exppackagearchive.php and kernel/classes/exppackagearchivemodes.php: reading package archives and the file modes of their entries;
  • kernel/classes/ezpackageuploadinspector.php: inspects an uploaded package before import;
  • kernel/classes/exppackagejson.php: the JSON package format reads the same archives.
• Features: Setup > Packages (import, export, upload), ezpm on the command line, site package installation.
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-archive, repository, replaces zetacomponents/archive. Required by the kernel since 2026-11-03 (~1.5.2, ~1.5.3 since 2026-11-06). Release 1.5.2 (from upstream 1.5.1): no deprecations on PHP 8.4 and 8.5, GNU tar entries with long names or long links extracted again, tests on PHP 7.4 to 8.5.

authentication #

• Purpose: identify and authenticate users with filters for different credentials and providers.
• Kernel use: the REST layer's authentication: kernel/private/rest/classes/auth/ (the authentication style base, the native user filter, the password filter, the API key filter and apikey_rest.php), the styles in kernel/private/rest/classes/auth/styles/ (basic_auth.php, no_auth.php, oauth.php) and kernel/private/rest/classes/oauth/oauth_filter.php. Classes used: ezcAuthentication, ezcAuthenticationFilter, ezcAuthenticationIdCredentials, ezcAuthenticationPasswordCredentials.
• Features: REST API v1 and v2 sign-in, API keys, OAuth.
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-authentication, repository, replaces zetacomponents/authentication.

cache #

• Purpose: a cache manager with several storage back ends (files, memory, APC and others).
• Kernel use: the REST layer's cache: kernel/private/rest/classes/cache/ (object.php, storage.php, apc.php, cluster.php with its options and exception, a cluster-aware storage of Exponential's own), the router (kernel/private/rest/classes/router.php) and the REST controller. Classes used: ezcCacheManager, ezcCacheStorage, ezcCacheStorageFile, ezcCacheStorageMemory, ezcCacheStorageOptions, ezcCacheInvalidDataException.
• Features: cached REST routes and responses.
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-cache, repository, replaces zetacomponents/cache.

configuration #

• Purpose: read configuration files in several formats (INI and array based).
• Kernel use: none; the kernel has its own INI system (eZINI). The package stays required because 7x SQLI Import 2.0.x throws one of its exception classes (behaviour changes of October 2026).
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-configuration, repository, replaces zetacomponents/configuration. The repository is new with the official fork; first fork release on 2026-11-06.

console-tools #

• Purpose: command line input (options and arguments), output with formats, progress bars, status bars and tables.
• Kernel use:
  • kernel/private/classes/commands/ezpgenerateautoloads.php and kernel/private/classes/ezpautoloadclioutput.php: the options and progress output of php bin/php/ezpgenerateautoloads.php (ezcConsoleInput, ezcConsoleOption, ezcConsoleOutput, ezcConsoleProgressbar, ezcConsoleStatusbar);
  • kernel/classes/help/exphelpexamplesgenerator.php: the help examples generator;
  • update/common/scripts/4.2/fixorphanimages.php: an update script.
• Features: class map generation (also run by ./console exp:velocity deploy and Composer's post-install hooks).
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-console-tools, repository, replaces zetacomponents/console-tools. The repository is new with the official fork; first fork release on 2026-11-06.

database #

• Purpose: a database layer on PDO with a query abstraction that hides differences between SQL dialects.
• Kernel use: kernel/private/rest/classes/lazy.php creates the REST layer's database handle with ezcDbFactory and ezcDbInstance (including ezcDbHandlerSqlite); kernel/private/modules/oauthadmin/list.php lists OAuth clients with ezcQuerySelect. The kernel's own database layer (eZDB) does not use it.
• Features: REST and OAuth storage; persistent-object needs it.
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-database, repository, replaces zetacomponents/database.

debug #

• Purpose: timers and structured debug output in several formats.
• Kernel use: kernel/private/rest/classes/debug/debug.php and kernel/private/rest/classes/debug/formatters/php_formatter.php: the REST layer's debug output (ezcDebug, ezcDebugStructure, ezcDebugOutputFormatter, ezcDebugStacktraceIterator, ezcDebugTimerStruct). The page debug output of the kernel (eZDebug, the Exp Debug bar) does not use it.
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-debug, repository, replaces zetacomponents/debug. The repository is new with the official fork; first fork release on 2026-11-06.

event-log #

• Purpose: log events to files or other stores, with severities (ezcLog::ERROR ...).
• Kernel use: kernel/private/rest/classes/router.php and kernel/private/rest/classes/controllers/rest_controller.php log REST errors with the ezcLog severities through the REST debug class. The kernel's own logs (eZLog, var/log/) do not use it.
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-event-log, repository, replaces zetacomponents/event-log. The repository is new with the official fork; first fork release on 2026-11-06.

feed #

• Purpose: parse and write RSS 1.0, RSS 2.0 and Atom feeds with their modules (Dublin Core, content, iTunes ...).
• Kernel use:
  • kernel/classes/ezrssexport.php: rssXmlContent() writes RSS 1.0, RSS 2.0 and Atom exports through generateFeed(), which builds an ezcFeed; Apple Podcasts and OPML are written by the kernel's own code;
  • kernel/private/rest/classes/views/feed_decorator.php: feed views of the REST layer (ezcFeedEntryElement).
• Features: RSS exports at /rss/feed/<address> (RSS, Atom and OPML feeds).
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-feed, repository, replaces zetacomponents/feed. The repository is new with the official fork; first fork release on 2026-11-06.

image-analysis #

• Purpose: find the MIME type and properties (size, EXIF for JPEG and TIFF) of an image file.
• Kernel use: none directly. image-conversion requires it, and the image editor extension ezie uses it (extension/ezie/classes/image_analyzer.php).
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-image-analysis, repository, replaces zetacomponents/image-analysis. Installed as a dependency of the image-conversion fork, not listed in the kernel's require.

image-conversion #

• Purpose: apply filters to images (scale, crop, colors, effects) through GD or ImageMagick.
• Kernel use: none in kernel/ or lib/; the kernel requires it for ezie, the image editor of the edit form, which does not declare it itself (extension/ezie/classes/image_converter.php, image_pre_action.php, image_tool_resize.php) (ezie). The kernel's image aliases use its own eZImageManager handlers, not this library.
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-image-conversion, repository, replaces zetacomponents/image-conversion. Release 1.5.2 includes upstream's change to run ImageMagick through the argument-list form of proc_open() (no shell parses the command) and fixes what that change broke: scaling and cropping with ImageMagick failed with "unrecognized option `-resize '" because the filters passed option names with a trailing blank. The fix is offered upstream as zetacomponents/ImageConversion pull request #9. The release also shows the command in the error message of a failed ImageMagick call, fails at once when the target directory cannot be written, refuses a JPEG that libjpeg reports an error for with every GD build, and prints no deprecations on PHP 8.5.

mail #

• Purpose: compose, parse and send e-mail: MIME parts, attachments, HTML mail, SMTP (with STARTTLS and authentication), sendmail, IMAP, POP3 and mbox.
• Kernel use:
  • lib/ezutils/classes/ezmail.php: eZMail builds every message on ezcMail, ezcMailAddress, ezcMailText and ezcMailPart;
  • lib/ezutils/classes/ezsmtptransport.php: eZSMTPTransport sends through ezcMailSmtpTransport with ezcMailSmtpTransportOptions; in that library tls means STARTTLS;
  • lib/ezutils/classes/ezsendmailtransport.php: the sendmail transport;
  • kernel/private/classes/ezpmail.php, kernel/classes/mail/expmailtemplatebody.php (bodies from templates);
  • kernel/classes/mailpreferences/expmailgate.php (the mail gate) and expmailbouncereader.php (bounces, read from a mailbox with ezcMailImapTransport or ezcMailPop3Transport and ezcMailTools).
• Features: every mail of the site: notifications, registration, password, forms, newsletters through cjw_newsletter (which extends ezcMail in CjwNewsletterMailComposer), the mail preferences and their gate.
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-mail, repository, replaces zetacomponents/mail. The repository is new with the official fork; first fork release on 2026-11-06. Release 1.10.2 includes upstream's changes after 1.10.1, among them protection against header injection: an address with whitespace or one of < > , ; " is refused before any header is written, header values, names and addresses can no longer add headers, empty header names and blank continuation lines are refused, ezcMailTools::validateEmailAddress() no longer accepts a trailing newline, and Content-IDs are random. ezpMailMessageIdTest (MI-04, MI-05) checks the kernel against it.

mvc-tools #

• Purpose: request parsing, routing, dispatching, views and response writing for an MVC application.
• Kernel use: the whole REST layer in kernel/private/rest/classes/ (router, routes, request parser, controllers, status objects, views, response writer, the authentication styles' interfaces), and the REST endpoints built on it: GraphQL (kernel/classes/graphql/rest/), help content (kernel/classes/help/content/rest/) and migrations (kernel/classes/migration/rest/). Classes used most: ezcMvcRequest, ezcMvcResult, ezcMvcRoutingInformation, ezcMvcInternalRedirect, ezcMvcController, ezcMvcResponseWriter, ezcMvcHttpResponseWriter.
• Features: REST API v1 and v2 with the ezprestapi extension.
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-mvc-tools, repository, replaces zetacomponents/mvc-tools. The repository is new with the official fork; first fork release on 2026-11-06.

persistent-object #

• Purpose: map PHP objects to database tables and fetch, store and delete them (on the database component).
• Kernel use: the OAuth server: kernel/private/oauth/classes/ (restclient.php, restauthorizedclient.php and the persistent object definitions in persistentobjects/), the REST tokens and authorization codes (kernel/private/rest/classes/models/, po_maps/, oauth/utility.php), and the OAuth modules (kernel/private/modules/oauth/authorize.php, kernel/private/modules/oauthadmin/). Classes used: ezcPersistentObjectDefinition, ezcPersistentObjectProperty, ezcPersistentObjectIdProperty. The kernel's own eZPersistentObject is a different class and does not use it.
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-persistent-object, repository, replaces zetacomponents/persistent-object.

signal-slot #

• Purpose: signals and slots: objects emit named signals, connected callbacks run.
• Kernel use: kernel/private/classes/ezpcontentpublishingqueue.php: ezpContentPublishingQueue keeps an ezcSignalCollection, connects the hooks configured for the asynchronous publishing queue and emits preQueue before a version is queued.
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-signal-slot, repository, replaces zetacomponents/signal-slot. The repository is new with the official fork; first fork release on 2026-11-06.

system-information #

• Purpose: read system values: CPU type and speed, memory, the operating system, the PHP accelerator.
• Kernel use: kernel/private/classes/views/setup/info.php: Setup > System information (/setup/info) reads ezcSystemInfo::getInstance(); when the operating system cannot be read (ezcSystemInfoReaderCantScanOSException) the page shows no system values and a debug notice is written.
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-system-information, repository, replaces zetacomponents/system-information. The repository is new with the official fork; first fork release on 2026-11-06.

webdav #

• Purpose: a WebDAV server (RFC 2518 and RFC 4918) with pluggable back ends, locking and authentication.
• Kernel use: index_webdav.php at the installation root runs ezcWebdavServer with the content back end kernel/private/classes/webdav/ezwebdavcontentbackend.php (eZWebDAVContentBackend extends ezcWebdavSimpleBackend implements ezcWebdavLockBackend), its authentication ezwebdavcontentbackendauth.php and the path factory expwebdavpathfactory.php.
• Features: editing content as files over WebDAV (WebDAV and SOAP).
• Fork: se7enxweb/expcomponents-webdav, repository, replaces zetacomponents/webdav and se7enxweb/zetacomponents-webdav. Required by the kernel since 1.2.2 (~1.2.2, ~1.2.3 since 2026-11-06). Release 1.2.1 was published as se7enxweb/zetacomponents-webdav (WebDAV on PHP 8); release 1.2.2, the first under the new name, keeps request paths and the destination of COPY and MOVE inside the back end's root, does not follow symbolic links out of it, refuses request bodies with a document type declaration, compares digest authentication in constant time and creates random lock tokens.

Forks the kernel does not require #

An extension that needs one of them requires the fork by its name.

Upstream packages that are not forked #

Related pages #

• Exponential Components (expcomponents)
• Upgrade notes: the switch to expcomponents
• Contributing to expcomponents
• APIs and protocols