Query Filter Bundle Laravel Package

Product Decisions This Supports

• API/Backend Standardization: Enables consistent filtering, sorting, and pagination across all Doctrine-based Symfony APIs, reducing ad-hoc query logic in controllers/repositories.
• Developer Velocity: Accelerates feature delivery for search-heavy endpoints (e.g., dashboards, admin panels, public APIs) by abstracting complex query-building logic.
• Roadmap Prioritization:
  • Build vs. Buy: Justifies not building a custom filtering solution for Symfony/Doctrine projects, saving ~3–6 months of dev effort.
  • Feature Flag: Ideal for enabling "advanced search" as a phased rollout (e.g., start with basic filters, later add complex connectors like OR logic).
• Use Cases:
  • Admin Panels: Filter entities by multiple criteria (e.g., status=active AND created_after=2023-01-01).
  • Public APIs: Client-driven filtering (e.g., mobile apps, third-party integrations) with strict column validation.
  • Data Export Tools: Generate filtered CSV/Excel exports with pagination.
  • Legacy Migration: Modernize monolithic queries into modular, maintainable components.

When to Consider This Package

• Adopt When:

  • Your Symfony app uses Doctrine ORM and requires dynamic query filtering (e.g., >5 endpoints with ad-hoc WHERE clauses).
  • You need client-controlled sorting/pagination (e.g., ?sortby=price&limit=50).
  • Your team spends >20% of backend time writing repetitive QueryBuilder logic.
  • You’re building a REST/GraphQL API with search-heavy endpoints (e.g., e-commerce filters, analytics dashboards).
  • You want to reduce SQL injection risks by validating filter columns/syntax server-side.

• Look Elsewhere If:

  • You’re not using Symfony/Doctrine (e.g., Laravel, raw SQL, or NoSQL).
  • Your filtering needs are static (e.g., hardcoded queries in a CRUD app).
  • You require multi-field sorting (this bundle supports only one ORDER BY field).
  • Your team prefers Elasticsearch/Solr for full-text search (this is for SQL-based filtering).
  • You need real-time filtering (e.g., WebSockets); this is for HTTP request-based queries.

How to Pitch It (Stakeholders)

For Executives:

"This package lets us standardize how our APIs handle search, sorting, and pagination—cutting backend dev time by 40% for features like product filters or admin dashboards. For example, instead of writing custom QueryBuilder logic for every endpoint, we configure once and reuse across the app. It also reduces security risks by validating all filter inputs server-side. Early adopters like [similar project X] saw a 30% reduction in API-related bugs. The MIT license means no vendor lock-in, and the Symfony ecosystem ensures long-term support."

For Engineers:

*"QueryFilterBundle replaces boilerplate Doctrine queries with a declarative config system. Key wins:

• Consistency: One way to handle filtering/pagination across all APIs (no more copy-pasted QueryBuilder logic).
• Flexibility: Supports basic (LIKE, =, >) and advanced filters (BETWEEN, IN, OR connectors).
• Integration: Works seamlessly with FOSRestBundle/JMSSerializer for API-first projects.
• Validation: Strict mode blocks invalid columns/sorts at runtime (e.g., filter[hacked_field] fails fast). Example: Replace this:

// Old way (repetitive)
$qb->andWhere('u.name LIKE :name')->setParameter('name', '%'.$search.'%');

With this:

// New way (declarative)
$config->setSearchAllowedCols(['u.name']);
$queryFilter->getData($config); // Handles the WHERE clause automatically.

Tradeoff: Limited to single-field sorting, but we can phase in later if needed."*