Weave Code
Specification Laravel Package
innmind/specification
Innmind's specification package brings the Specification pattern to PHP, letting you compose business rules with and/or/not operators and reuse them for validation, filtering, or query building. Small immutable objects keep domain logic expressive, decoupled, and testable.
innmind/specification provides composable specification objects for modelling business rules as reusable, testable predicates. Rules can be evaluated against values and combined with logical operators, keeping domain decisions explicit instead of scattering conditionals across services.
- Framework-agnostic Specification contract
- Compose rules with and, or, and not
- Reusable predicates for domain validation
- Small API suited to clean/hexagonal architectures
Frequently asked questions about Specification
- What is innmind/specification used for in a Laravel application?
- innmind/specification is a PHP library for expressing business rules as reusable, composable specifications. It provides interfaces for building a tree of specifications so you can combine rules with and, or, and not logic. In Laravel, it is useful when you want domain decision logic to stay expressive and independent from controllers, Eloquent, or infrastructure code.
- How do I install innmind/specification with Composer?
- Install it as a normal Composer dependency with composer require innmind/specification. Because it is a PHP library rather than a Laravel package, no additional installation command or asset publishing step is described. After installation, autoloading is handled by Composer in your Laravel application.
- Does innmind/specification work with Laravel?
- The package is framework-agnostic PHP, so it can be used inside a Laravel application without requiring Laravel-specific integration. The provided context does not describe a service provider, facade, or Laravel configuration file. You can use its specification interfaces directly in your domain or application layer alongside Laravel components.
- How do I combine specifications with and, or, and not?
- The package is built around interfaces that allow you to compose a tree of specifications. You combine individual rules using and, or, and not style composites so complex business decisions remain readable and reusable. The exact class or method names should be checked in the package source or API documentation, but the intended model is composition rather than duplicated conditional logic.
- Can I use specifications to validate Eloquent models or domain objects?
- Yes, specifications are well suited to validating domain objects consistently, and Eloquent models can be treated as domain objects if that fits your architecture. The library itself is independent of infrastructure, so it does not depend on Eloquent to evaluate rules. Keeping specifications focused on domain data helps avoid mixing persistence concerns with business decision logic.
- How should I test specifications in a Laravel application?
- Specifications are plain PHP objects designed to be expressive and testable, so they can be unit tested without booting the full Laravel application. Test each rule against representative domain objects and test composite specifications by checking the combined and, or, and not outcomes. Laravel's PHPUnit or Pest setup can run these tests normally.
- Does innmind/specification require configuration or a Laravel service provider?
- The provided context describes only interfaces for composing specifications, not configuration files, service providers, or facades. Treat it as a lightweight Composer library that you wire into your own application code. If you need dependency injection for specifications, you can bind them in a Laravel service provider yourself.
- What production concerns should I consider when using specifications?
- Keep specifications deterministic and free of hidden I/O so they remain easy to test and safe to reuse. Avoid letting a specification tree grow into an unreadable monolith by naming rules clearly and composing small specifications. If rules depend on expensive data, resolve that data before evaluating the specification or cache it appropriately in your Laravel application.
- What alternatives to innmind/specification exist for Laravel developers?
- Laravel's built-in validation rules and custom rule objects are common alternatives for request-oriented validation. For richer domain decision logic, developers often implement the specification pattern directly or use other specification-pattern libraries. Choose innmind/specification when you want reusable, composable rule trees that stay independent of Laravel infrastructure.
- How is innmind/specification maintained and which PHP versions does it support?
- The provided context does not include repository details, release history, or exact PHP version constraints. Check the package on Packagist and its source repository for current maintenance activity, supported PHP versions, and compatibility notes. Before adopting it in production, review its composer.json constraints and recent releases against your Laravel project's PHP version.
Weaver
How can I help you explore Laravel packages today?