TBD, see also [Component.md](../api/base/Component.md).
There is no longer the need to define an `on`-method in order to define an event in Yii 2.0.
Instead, you can use whatever event names. To attach a handler to an event, you should
use the `on` method now:
[[ADD INTRODUCTION]]
Creating Event Handlers
-----------------------
In Yii 1, events were defined using the `onEventName` method syntax, such as `onBeforeSave`. This is no longer necessary in Yii 2, as event handling is now assigned using the `on` method. The method's first argument is the name of the event to watch for; the second is the handling method to be called when that event occurs:
```php
$component->on($eventName,$handler);
// To detach the handler, use:
```
[[LINK TO LIST OF EVENTS]]
The handler must be a valid PHP callback. This could be represented as:
* The name of a global function
* An array consisting of a model name and method name
* An array consisting of an object and a method name
As shown in the anonymous function example, the event handling function must be defined so that it takes one argument. This will be an [[Event]] object.
Removing Event Handlers
-----------------------
The correspondoing `off` method removes an event handler:
```php
// $component->off($eventName);
```
Yii supports the ability to associate multiple handlers with the same event. When using `off` as in the above, every handler is removed. To remove only a specific handler, provide that as the second argument to `off`:
```php
// $component->off($eventName, $handler);
```
The `$handler` should be presented in the `off` method in the same way as was presented in `on` in order to remove it.
Event Parameters
----------------
When you attach a handler, you can now associate it with some parameters which can be later
accessed via the event parameter by the handler:
You can make your event handlers easier to work with and more powerful by passing additional values as parameters.
```php
$component->on($eventName,$handler,$params);
```
The passed parameters will be available in the event handler through `$event->data`, which will be an array.
Because of this change, you can now use "global" events. Simply trigger and attach handlers to
an event of the application instance:
[[NEED TO CONFIRM THE ABOVE]]
Global Events
-------------
Thanks to the change in Yii 2 as to how event handlers are created, you can now use "global" events. To create a global event, simply attach handlers to an event on the application instance:
```php
Yii::$app->on($eventName,$handler);
....
// this will trigger the event and cause $handler to be invoked.
```
You can use the `trigger` method to trigger these events manually:
```php
// this will trigger the event and cause $handler to be invoked:
Yii::$app->trigger($eventName);
```
If you need to handle all instances of a class instead of the object you can attach a handler like the following:
Class Events
------------
You can also attach event handlers to all instances of a class instead of individual instances. To do so, use the static `Event::on` method: