AngularJS and PHP backend

You might want to consider this type of application as actually TWO applications.

The first is the backend, the API. You can use your PHP framework to build an API that will allow you to have data persistency, validation (business logic), etc... and forget about the front end for now, you are only building an API for the backend data.

The second part of the app is the AngularJS frontend. This includes all of the views and everything that the client sees. None of that is coming from the backend.

This allows you to use the backend API (the PHP bit) to act as the data store, with it's own validation for safety, while having the seamless user experience and basic client side validation from AngularJS.

Routing is AngularJS, as that is the actual frontend that the client is using.

Caching can be done (if needed) in the backend, your API.

Validation will happen in both the frontend and the backend, although they can be slightly different if need be.

Remember, you build the backend strictly as an API, without consideration for the frontend (as if there will be more than one app using it), so it will have it's own validation rules and logic.

Hope that helps.

I have found a very simple structure that allows me to utilize Angular with PHP and restful api's. I use Angularjs for all views. I use a restful PHP API framework called slim to facilitate the communications between Angular and the PHP models which I use Doctorine2 for.

85% of my coding is done with Angular(Views). 5% done with the API(controller) and the remaining 10% configuring business logic in the Models. Great separation of concerns and not much overhead. Simple and concise.