Serializer Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation

   composer require egeloen/serializer
   

   Add to config/app.php under providers:

   Egeloen\Serializer\SerializerServiceProvider::class,
   

2. Basic Usage Register the facade (optional but recommended):

   'aliases' => [
       'Serializer' => Egeloen\Serializer\SerializerFacade::class,
   ],
   

   Serialize an object to JSON:

   $data = new stdClass();
   $data->name = "Test";
   $serialized = Serializer::serialize($data, 'json');
   

3. First Use Case: API Response

   return response()->json(Serializer::serialize($model, 'json'), 200);
   

Implementation Patterns

Common Workflows

1. Model Serialization

   // Serialize a model to XML for legacy system integration
   $xml = Serializer::serialize($user, 'xml');
   

2. Request Deserialization

   // Parse incoming YAML payload (e.g., from a form)
   $data = Serializer::deserialize($request->yamlData, 'yaml', stdClass::class);
   

3. Nested Object Handling

   // Customize serialization of nested objects
   $serializer = Serializer::getInstance();
   $serializer->addNormalizer(new CustomNormalizer());
   

4. Conditional Serialization

   // Skip sensitive fields
   $serializer = Serializer::getInstance();
   $serializer->setIgnoredAttributes(['password', 'api_token']);
   

Integration Tips

• Laravel HTTP Middleware: Deserialize request bodies in middleware:

  public function handle($request, Closure $next) {
      $request->merge(Serializer::deserialize($request->body, 'json', []));
      return $next($request);
  }
  

• Form Requests: Extend FormRequest to auto-deserialize:

  protected function rules() {
      $data = Serializer::deserialize($this->input(), 'json', []);
      return [
          'name' => 'required',
          // ...
      ];
  }
  

• API Resources: Use in toArray() for complex transformations:

  public function toArray($request) {
      return Serializer::serialize($this->resource, 'json');
  }
  

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Circular References

   • Default behavior throws CircularReferenceException. Handle with:

     try {
         $serialized = Serializer::serialize($object, 'json');
     } catch (\Egeloen\Serializer\Exception\CircularReferenceException $e) {
         $serializer = Serializer::getInstance();
         $serializer->setMaxDepth(10); // Increase recursion limit
     }
     

2. Type Safety

   • Deserializing to incorrect classes may fail silently. Validate with:

     $data = Serializer::deserialize($json, 'json', stdClass::class);
     if (!$data instanceof stdClass) {
         throw new \InvalidArgumentException("Deserialization failed");
     }
     

3. XML Quirks

   • Namespaces in XML may cause issues. Use:

     $serializer = Serializer::getInstance();
     $serializer->setXmlRootName('root'); // Avoid default 'object'
     

Debugging

• Enable Verbose Errors

  $serializer = Serializer::getInstance();
  $serializer->setDebug(true); // Logs errors to storage/logs/serializer.log
  

• Inspect Normalizers

  $normalizers = Serializer::getInstance()->getNormalizers();
  // Check registered normalizers for conflicts
  

Extension Points

1. Custom Normalizers

   class CustomNormalizer implements \Egeloen\Serializer\Normalizer\NormalizerInterface {
       public function normalize($object, $format, array $context = []) {
           return ['custom' => $object->getCustomData()];
       }
       public function supportsNormalization($data, $format) {
           return $data instanceof CustomObject;
       }
   }
   Serializer::getInstance()->addNormalizer(new CustomNormalizer());
   

2. Override Default Formats

   // Replace JSON serializer with a custom one
   $serializer = Serializer::getInstance();
   $serializer->setEncoder('json', new CustomJsonEncoder());
   

3. Contextual Serialization

   $context = ['include_relations' => true];
   $serialized = Serializer::serialize($model, 'json', $context);