Getting Started

Install the package as usual with Composer; until you have migrated, constrain to the previous minor line to avoid the 1.2.0 BC break, e.g. "vendor/package": "^1.1".
If you are already on 1.2.0, search the codebase for ZanAnnotation before doing anything else:
```
grep -R "ZanAnnotation" app config routes tests
```
Look first at the package README, CHANGELOG, and upgrade notes for 1.2.0. The release removes ZanAnnotation, so the migration guide or replacement class name should be your first reference.
A typical first use case is annotating a class or method with the package’s annotation classes, then resolving that metadata through the package’s reader/registry inside a service, middleware, or bootstrapping code.
After changing annotations or upgrading, clear Laravel caches:
```
php artisan optimize:clear
composer dump-autoload
```

Implementation Patterns

Use annotations as declarative metadata on controllers, models, jobs, or service classes, then resolve them through the package’s reader rather than reading docblocks manually.
Keep annotation parsing out of hot request paths where possible. Resolve metadata once during container boot, in a service provider, or through a cached registry.
Inject the package’s reader/registry through the container so tests can swap it or mock resolved metadata.
In production, enable any annotation cache the package provides and make cache clearing part of deploy steps.
For the 1.2.0 upgrade, replace every ZanAnnotation import and usage with the supported replacement. Update docblock annotations, use statements, config references, and tests in the same change.
Add a regression test that asserts the expected metadata is resolved after migration, not just that the class autoloads.
If you cannot migrate immediately, pin the package to the last 1.1.x release and add a dependency review check so a future composer update does not silently pull 1.2.0.

Breaking change: ZanAnnotation was removed in 1.2.0. Any use ...\ZanAnnotation;, @ZanAnnotation, or direct class reference will fail after upgrade.
Check transitive dependencies too. Another package may require this package and allow 1.2.0, so inspect composer why vendor/package and lock files before upgrading.
If annotation resolution seems stale after an upgrade, clear Laravel caches, Composer autoload, and any package-specific annotation cache.
Debug by dumping resolved metadata in a small artisan command or test rather than relying on production behavior. Confirm the reader sees the expected class/method annotations.
Watch for silent failures in docblock annotations: a removed class name may only fail when the annotation is actually parsed, not when the file is loaded.
Use static analysis or a codebase-wide search for ZanAnnotation in CI. This catches missed migration points in excluded directories, config files, and tests.
Extension points such as custom readers or resolvers should be reviewed against 1.2.0. If they referenced ZanAnnotation, update them to the new supported abstraction.
Test both parsing and runtime behavior after migration: annotation syntax, reader configuration, cache warmup, and the code paths that consume the resolved metadata.