Form Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation Add the package via Composer:

   composer require devture/form
   

   No service provider or package discovery needed—just autoload.

2. First Use Case: Basic Form Binding Define a form class:

   use Devture\Form\Form;
   
   class UserForm extends Form
   {
       public string $name;
       public int $age;
   }
   

   Bind request data:

   $form = new UserForm();
   $form->bind($_POST); // or request()->all() in Laravel
   

3. Where to Look First

   • Source Code (if available)
   • Form class docs (methods: bind(), validate(), errors())
   • Validation trait (if extended)

Implementation Patterns

Workflow: Request Handling

1. Instantiate Form

   $form = new UserForm();
   

2. Bind Input

   $form->bind(request()->all());
   

3. Validate

   if ($form->validate()) {
       // Process data
       $form->save(); // Custom method
   }
   

4. Render Errors

   @foreach ($form->errors() as $field => $messages)
       <div>{{ $field }}: {{ implode(', ', $messages) }}</div>
   @endforeach
   

Integration with Laravel

• Form Requests Extend FormRequest and use the form for validation:

  public function rules()
  {
      $form = new UserForm();
      $form->bind($this->all());
      return $form->rules(); // Hypothetical; check actual API
  }
  

• Blade Integration Create a helper macro:

  Blade::directive('form', function ($formClass) {
      return "<?php \$form = new {$formClass}(); \$form->bind(request()->all()); ?>";
  });
  

  Usage:

  @form(UserForm)
  <input name="name" value="{{ $form->name }}">
  

Dynamic Rules

Define rules in the form class:

class UserForm extends Form
{
    public string $email;

    protected function rules(): array
    {
        return [
            'email' => 'required|email',
        ];
    }
}

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. No Built-in CSRF Unlike Laravel’s FormRequest, this package doesn’t handle CSRF tokens. Add manually:

   if (!hash_equals($_POST['_token'], csrf_token())) {
       abort(419);
   }
   

2. Type Safety Binding raw input may cause type mismatches (e.g., "123" → int). Cast explicitly:

   $form->age = (int) $form->age;
   

3. Validation Messages Customize messages via messages() method (if supported):

   protected function messages(): array
   {
       return [
           'email.required' => 'We need your email address!',
       ];
   }
   

Debugging

• Dump Bound Data

  dd($form->toArray()); // Hypothetical; check actual API
  

• Validate Without Binding

  $form->validate(['name' => 'John', 'age' => '30']);
  

Extension Points

1. Custom Validation Extend the Form class to add logic:

   class UserForm extends Form
   {
       public function validateAge()
       {
           if ($this->age < 18) {
               $this->addError('age', 'Must be 18+');
           }
       }
   }
   

2. Sanitization Override bind() to sanitize input:

   public function bind(array $data): void
   {
       $data = array_map('trim', $data);
       parent::bind($data);
   }
   

3. Mass Assignment Whitelist fields explicitly:

   protected $fillable = ['name', 'email'];
   

Config Quirks

• No Config File All behavior is code-driven. Avoid expecting .env or config/form.php.
• Default Rules If no rules() method exists, the form assumes no validation. Define explicitly.