Eav Bundle Laravel Package

Getting Started

Read this first: it is a Symfony bundle, not a Laravel package. It ships Doctrine ORM entities, a DI extension, form types, and event subscribers. With 10 stars, zero dependents, and a last release of 2016-01-13, composer require opifer/eav-bundle will not resolve on any modern Laravel/PHP 8 stack (it pins Symfony 2.3/3.0-era constraints and PHP 5.x idioms). Treat it as a reference implementation of the EAV pattern and a source of copyable code (MIT), not a dependency.

If you're evaluating it, read in this order:

1. Model/AttributeInterface.php + Entity/Attribute.php — the schema: name, slug, type/storage type, options, required, group.
2. Model/ValueSetInterface.php + Entity/ValueSet.php — the bag that holds one entity's values.
3. Entity/AttributeValue.php — the actual EAV row: value_set_id, attribute_id, plus typed columns (string_value, text_value, integer_value, boolean_value, datetime_value).
4. AttributeType/* — the strategy layer deciding storage column, form type, and constraints per type.
5. DependencyInjection/ — service tags and opifer_eav.classes.* overrides.

First use case: a product catalog where the long tail of specs (color, weight, material, compliance flags, per-category extras) would otherwise mean a migration per attribute. Attach one ValueSet to the product; each spec becomes an AttributeValue. The pattern pays off exactly there and nowhere else.

Implementation Patterns

• ValueSet per entity, never entity_id on the value row. Keep a value_sets table and a nullable value_set_id FK on your model. This is the bundle's core design and it's correct — it makes cloning an entity a clone of the ValueSet and makes partial saves coherent.
• One strategy class per attribute type. Mirror AttributeTypeInterface: a class exposing storageType(), formType(), validationRules(), cast($value). In Laravel, back it with a registry (tagged services or a config/eav.php map) resolved through a small EavManager.
• Shared schemas. Group attributes into AttributeGroups (a template) attached to a category; a new product inherits a ValueSet seeded from the group. This is what makes EAV usable by admins instead of painful.
• Hydration layer. Write an AttributeBag that maps valueSet.values into slug => value with get($slug, $default) and back into rows on save. Controllers should never touch AttributeValue directly.
• Read path. Eager-load valueSet.values.attribute in a single query and cache the attribute definitions (they rarely change). Never build a multi-join query to filter on an EAV field.
• Write path. In a transaction: ensure ValueSet exists → diff incoming by attribute_id → insert/update/delete only the delta. This is the single biggest correctness win and the most common place reimplementations get it wrong.
• Hybrid model. Keep real columns for the 5 attributes you sort/filter on and sync them from the EAV layer via model events. EAV for the long tail, columns for the hot path.
• Laravel bridge. Realistically it's ~300 lines: three Eloquent models, a HasEav trait, a type registry. Faster and safer than dragging in a dead Symfony bundle through a Doctrine shim.

Gotchas and Tips

• It will not install. Expect to fork and strip DependencyInjection, Resources/config, and the form types. Budget for that or skip it.
• No uniqueness enforcement. Nothing prevents two AttributeValue rows for the same (value_set_id, attribute_id). Add a unique index and enforce it in the repository — the bundle leans on the form layer.
• Storage columns are not typed. Values land in whichever column getStorageType() names. Changing an attribute's type later orphans old data — always migrate values, never just flip the type.
• Cascade deletes. Deleting a parent entity must delete its ValueSet and values. Be explicit with onDelete('cascade'); ghost rows accumulate silently otherwise.
• Never hard-delete an attribute in use. Soft-delete and filter on read, or historical entities lose fields with no trace.
• Option lists are a trap. SelectType/MultiSelectType options are entities; deleting or reordering an option referenced by existing values corrupts meaning. Block delete when referenced, store a stable key.
• Debugging "missing field". Always check the same three things: (1) attribute attached to the group, (2) value_set_id actually set on the entity, (3) the row's populated typed column matches the attribute's storage type. That's ~90% of EAV bugs.
• Extension point worth copying. In the Symfony code, custom types register as services tagged opifer.eav.attribute_type; opifer_eav.classes.* swaps entity classes (any override must still satisfy the interface or Doctrine mappings break). Port the tagged-registry idea, not the YAML.
• Performance ceiling. EAV is an authoring/reporting pattern. If you're sorting a listing on an EAV field, stop and promote it to a column.
• Don't depend on it. Archived, 10 stars, 0 dependents, no maintainer since 2016. Cite it in your ADR as a reference design and ship your own three tables.