Rule Helper For Laravel Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation

   composer require sourcetoad/rule-helper-for-laravel
   

   Publish the config (if needed):

   php artisan vendor:publish --provider="SourceToad\RuleHelper\RuleHelperServiceProvider"
   

2. First Use Case Define a custom rule in app/Rules/CustomRule.php:

   use SourceToad\RuleHelper\Rules\BaseRule;
   
   class CustomRule extends BaseRule
   {
       public function passes($attribute, $value)
       {
           return $value === 'expected';
       }
   }
   

   Use it in a Form Request:

   use App\Rules\CustomRule;
   
   public function rules()
   {
       return [
           'field_name' => ['required', new CustomRule],
       ];
   }
   

3. Key Files to Review

   • config/rule-helper.php (for global settings)
   • app/Rules/ (custom rule storage)
   • vendor/sourcetoad/rule-helper-for-laravel/src/ (core logic)

Implementation Patterns

Common Workflows

1. Reusable Rule Creation Extend BaseRule for shared validation logic:

   class EmailDomainRule extends BaseRule
   {
       protected $domain;
   
       public function __construct($domain)
       {
           $this->domain = $domain;
       }
   
       public function passes($attribute, $value)
       {
           return str_ends_with($value, "@{$this->domain}");
       }
   }
   

   Usage:

   'email' => [new EmailDomainRule('example.com')]
   

2. Rule Chaining Combine rules with RuleHelper::combine():

   use SourceToad\RuleHelper\Facades\RuleHelper;
   
   $rule = RuleHelper::combine([
       'min:5',
       'max:20',
       new CustomRule,
   ]);
   

3. Dynamic Rule Generation Use RuleHelper::make() for runtime rules:

   $rule = RuleHelper::make(function ($value, $attribute) {
       return $value === request('confirm_' . $attribute);
   });
   

4. Integration with Laravel Pipelines Pass rules through pipelines for pre/post-processing:

   $value = $request->input('field')
       ->through(fn ($value) => strtolower($value))
       ->then(new CustomRule)
       ->passes();
   

5. API Resource Validation Attach rules to API resources:

   use SourceToad\RuleHelper\Traits\ValidatesRules;
   
   class UserResource extends JsonResource
   {
       use ValidatesRules;
   
       public function toArray($request)
       {
           $this->validateRules($request, [
               'name' => [new CustomRule],
           ]);
           return parent::toArray($request);
       }
   }
   

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Caching Rules

   • Custom rules are not cached by default. For performance, manually cache rule instances:

     $rule = Cache::remember("rule_{$key}", now()->addHours(1), fn() => new CustomRule);
     

2. Attribute Name Confusion

   • The $attribute parameter in passes() may not match the input key if using sometimes or nested arrays. Debug with:

     dd($attribute, $value, $this->getAttributeName());
     

3. Locale-Specific Rules

   • Rules like date_format rely on PHP’s locale settings. Set explicitly:

     setlocale(LC_TIME, 'en_US.UTF-8');
     

4. Dependency Injection

   • Avoid circular dependencies when injecting services into rules. Use lazy resolution:

     public function passes($attribute, $value)
     {
         return app(MyService::class)->check($value);
     }
     

5. Testing Quirks

   • Mock rules in tests by extending BaseRule and overriding methods:

     $mockRule = Mockery::mock(CustomRule::class)->makePartial();
     $mockRule->shouldReceive('passes')->andReturn(true);
     

Tips

1. Rule Organization Group related rules in namespaces (e.g., App\Rules\Auth, App\Rules\Payment).

2. Error Message Customization Override message() in BaseRule:

   public function message()
   {
       return 'The :attribute must be a valid :rule.';
   }
   

3. Conditional Rules Use RuleHelper::when() for context-aware rules:

   $rule = RuleHelper::when(
       fn() => auth()->check(),
       fn() => new AdminOnlyRule
   );
   

4. Performance For heavy rules, implement shouldSkipValidation() to bypass checks when possible:

   public function shouldSkipValidation()
   {
       return $this->attribute === 'cached_field';
   }
   

5. Debugging Enable verbose rule logging in config/rule-helper.php:

   'debug' => env('APP_DEBUG', false),
   

   Logs will appear in storage/logs/rule-helper.log.

6. Extending Core Rules Override Laravel’s built-in rules by publishing the package’s config and modifying:

   'extensions' => [
       'custom' => \App\Rules\CustomRule::class,
   ],