Laminas Serializer Laravel Package

Getting Started

Start by installing the package via Composer:

composer require laminas/laminas-serializer

Then, create a serializer instance with your preferred adapter. The most common choice is Json for interoperability (especially in APIs), or PhpSerialized for performance in internal storage (e.g., caching):

use Laminas\Serializer\Serializer;

// For JSON (safe for API payloads and cross-language compatibility)
$serializer = new Serializer(Serializer::ADAPTER_JSON);

// For PHP-specific serialization (e.g., Redis cache, internal storage)
$serializer = new Serializer(Serializer::ADAPTER_PHP_SERIALIZE);

Your first use case? Storing complex PHP arrays or objects in a cache:

$data = ['user' => 'alice', 'permissions' => ['read', 'write']];
$cache->save($serializer->serialize($data), 'user_perms_alice');

Implementation Patterns

• Adapter Abstraction: Inject SerializerInterface as a dependency (e.g., via a factory) to keep your code decoupled from the underlying format. Configure the adapter in config/autoload/serializer.global.php.
• Caching Layer Integration: Wrap cache adapters (e.g., Redis, APCu) with your serializer—avoid calling serialize()/unserialize() manually.
• API Response Handling: Use Json adapter for APIs, but always set Json::encodeOptions to exclude JSON_PRESERVE_ZERO_FRACTION and include JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR (if using laminas/laminas-serializer ≥ v2.18):

  $serializer = new Serializer(Serializer::ADAPTER_JSON, [
      'adapterOptions' => [
          'encodeOptions' => JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR,
      ],
  ]);
  

• Custom Adapters: Extend Laminas\Serializer\Adapter\AdapterInterface for niche needs (e.g., Protocol Buffers, MessagePack). Register via the AdapterManager or directly instantiate with setAdapter().

Gotchas and Tips

• Igbinary is Optional: Though supported, Igbinary requires manual installation. Don’t assume it’s available—catch RuntimeException on instantiation or fallback gracefully.
• PHP Serialized ≠ JSON: PhpSerialized stores stdClass and internal class names. If you unmarshal into different class versions (e.g., after refactor), you’ll get __PHP_Incomplete_Class. Prefer Json for long-lived storage or microservice boundaries.
• Unserialize() is Unsafe: Never pass untrusted input directly to unserialize(). The package mitigates this somewhat via exceptions, but always validate or decode via Json for public-facing endpoints.
• Empty Arrays vs Objects: JSON adapter serializes empty arrays as [] (JSON), but with PhpSerialized, empty arrays are a:0:{}—watch for this in cache key collisions or diff tools.
• Exception Handling: Catch Laminas\Serializer\Exception\RuntimeException for format errors (e.g., corrupted cache entries) and Laminas\Serializer\Exception\LogicException for misconfiguration (e.g., unsupported adapter name). Log the raw payload in dev environments for debugging.
• PHP 8.2+ Compatibility: Avoid serialize()-compatible adapters for objects with __serialize() if you need strict type fidelity—PhpSerialized adapter preserves __sleep()/__wakeup() semantics, but JSON loses class identity by design.