Collections Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation

   composer require wp-starter/collections
   

   Ensure autoload is dumped:

   composer dump-autoload
   

2. Basic Usage Import the core class:

   use WpStarter\Collections\Collection;
   

   Initialize with an array:

   $collection = new Collection([1, 2, 3]);
   

3. First Use Case: Filtering Posts

   $posts = new Collection($wpdb->get_results("SELECT * FROM posts"));
   $published = $posts->where('post_status', 'publish');
   

Implementation Patterns

Common Workflows

1. Chaining Methods

   $filtered = $collection
       ->where('status', 'active')
       ->sortBy('created_at')
       ->take(10);
   

2. Integration with Eloquent

   $users = User::all()->toBase()->pipe(function ($users) {
       return new Collection($users);
   });
   

3. Custom Collections

   class PostCollection extends Collection {
       public function published() {
           return $this->where('post_status', 'publish');
       }
   }
   

Laravel-Specific Patterns

• Service Provider Binding

  $this->app->bind(Collection::class, function () {
      return new Collection();
  });
  

• Macro Extensions

  Collection::macro('activeOnly', function () {
      return $this->where('is_active', true);
  });
  

• API Response Formatting

  return response()->json($collection->map(fn ($item) => $item->toArray()));
  

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Immutable Operations Methods like where(), sortBy(), etc., return new instances. Use -> chaining or reassign:

   $filtered = $collection->where(...); // Correct
   $collection->where(...); // Silent failure (original unchanged)
   

2. Array vs. Object Handling Collections assume array-like access. For objects, ensure get()/set() methods exist or use ->toArray() first.

3. Performance with Large Datasets Avoid eager-loading entire tables into a Collection. Use database cursors or chunking:

   $collection = new Collection();
   $wpdb->get_results("SELECT * FROM large_table", ARRAY_A, $collection);
   

Debugging Tips

• Inspect Internals

  $collection->dump(); // Dumps the underlying array
  

• Check for Mutations Use tap() to debug intermediate steps:

  $collection->tap(fn ($c) => Log::debug($c->all()));
  

Extension Points

1. Custom Comparators

   Collection::macro('customSort', function () {
       return $this->sortBy(function ($item) {
           return $item->customProperty;
       });
   });
   

2. Override Default Behavior Extend the class and modify get(), set(), or offsetGet() methods.

3. Leverage Laravel’s Collection Synergy Use merge(), concat(), or crossJoin() for advanced operations:

   $merged = $collection->merge($anotherCollection);
   

Configuration Quirks

• No Built-in Config The package is lightweight; no config/collections.php exists. All logic is method-based.

• Type Safety No native type hints (e.g., array|object). Validate inputs manually if needed:

  if (!is_array($data)) {
      throw new \InvalidArgumentException('Expected array');
  }