Spyc Laravel Package

Getting Started

1. Install via Composer: composer require mustangostang/spyc
2. Load YAML from a file or string using Spyc::YAMLLoad() or Spyc::YAMLLoadFile()
3. Dump PHP arrays to YAML using Spyc::YAMLDump()

First use case: Load a simple config.yaml into your app:

$config = Spyc::YAMLLoadFile('config.yaml');
echo $config['app']['name'];

Implementation Patterns

• Configuration Loading: Use YAML files for app/server config (e.g., config.local.yaml)—especially useful in CLI tools or microservices.
• Dynamic Config Generation: In build/deployment scripts, generate YAML config from PHP arrays using YAMLDump().
• Partial Parsing: Parse inline YAML strings (e.g., from database or environment variables) for flexible runtime configuration.
• Versioned Configs: Use YAMLLoad() to read multiple YAML versions (2.0-style keys, basic inline comments, simple anchors) without needing symfony/yaml.

New in v0.6.3: Control how empty hashes ({}) are parsed:

$config = Spyc::YAMLLoadFile('config.yaml', [
    'setting_empty_hash_as_object' => true,
]);
// Now {} loads as stdClass instead of [] (empty array)

Integration Tip: Wrap Spyc in a ConfigLoader class for centralized parsing and fallback handling (e.g., try config.yaml, then config.yml, then defaults).

Gotchas and Tips

• No YAML 1.2 support: Avoid complex features like multi-document streams (--- + ...), inline anchors/aliases, or numeric keys with trailing spaces—they may misparse.
• Scalar quoting: Prefer unquoted scalars; quoted strings ("123", '0') parse as strings, but unquoted 123 becomes integer. Beware of 007 → integer 7.
• Whitespace sensitivity: Indentation matters. Mixing tabs/spaces may cause parsing errors. Enforce consistent indentation (2-space recommended).
• Last commit in 2019: Not actively maintained. For new projects, prefer symfony/yaml unless dependency size is critical. For legacy, Spyc is stable for basic configs.
• Null/False handling: null, ~, NULL, false, FALSE are supported—but Off/On are not boolean aliases (unlike some YAML parsers).
• Empty hash parsing: By default, {} loads as an empty array ([]). Set 'setting_empty_hash_as_object' => true in options to get new \stdClass() instead—useful for objects expecting JSON compatibility (e.g., APIs returning YAML from JavaScript sources).
• Custom keys: Avoid special keys like &anchor or *ref unless you’re certain of compatibility—Spike fails silently with non-matching anchors.