What is the primary function of controllers in SFCC?

The primary function of controllers in Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFCC) is to handle request processing logic. Controllers are a crucial part of the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture in SFCC. They manage the flow of data between the model (which represents the data and business rules) and the view (which is the user interface). When a user interacts with an application, such as clicking a button or submitting a form, the request is directed to a controller that processes the request, executes any required business logic, and then returns the appropriate response, typically by rendering a template or providing data.

In the context of SFCC, this means that controllers are responsible for managing tasks such as retrieving product data, processing orders, or handling shopping cart actions. They ensure that the application behaves as expected based on user actions, which is vital for providing a seamless shopping experience.

In contrast, serving static content, managing user authentication, and designing front-end layouts are functions that involve other aspects of the SFCC platform. Static content delivery is more related to assets like images and stylesheets, user authentication typically involves services or integrated security mechanisms, and front-end design is primarily handled by templates and styles rather than the controller logic itself.