Zend Hydrator Laravel Package

Getting Started

This package provides hydrators for converting between arrays and objects — crucial for data transfer (e.g., form input → domain objects, Doctrine entities → API responses). Despite being archived and last updated in 2019, it remains stable and compatible with modern Laravel via Composer (via zendframework/zend-hydrator or its successor laminas/laminas-hydrator). Start by installing it:

composer require laminas/laminas-hydrator

Use the built-in hydrators:

• ArraySerializable: For classes implementing ArraySerializable
• ClassMethods: getter/setter-based (default convention: getFoo()/setFoo())
• DelegateBased: Use custom extraction/dehydration callbacks
• ObjectProperty: Direct property access (less common in Laravel models)

Minimal example:

use Laminas\Hydrator\ClassMethods;

$hydrator = new ClassMethods();
$entity = new User(); // with getUserName(), setUserName()
$data = $hydrator->extract($entity); // ['user_name' => 'Jane']
$newEntity = $hydrator->hydrate($data, new User());

Implementation Patterns

In Laravel, common use cases include:

• API Resource Hydration: Convert incoming JSON requests into Eloquent models or DTOs before validation.

  // In a custom FormRequest or Service
  $hydrator = new ClassMethods();
  $user = $hydrator->hydrate($request->all(), new User());
  $user->save();
  

• DTO <-> Database Mapping: Use hydrators in repository or service layers to isolate persistence concerns.
• Custom Extraction for API Responses: Extract only needed fields (e.g., with ClassMethods(true) to use underscore-case names for array keys matching Laravel’s naming).
• Hydrator Delegates: Combine hydrators for nested structures:

  $hydrator->addDelegate('posts', new ClassMethods());
  

• Integration with Laravel Collections: Pipe extracted arrays into collections for further processing:

  $data = collect($hydrator->extract($entities))->map(...);
  

Gotchas and Tips

• Underscore vs. CamelCase: ClassMethods uses lowercase with underscores (e.g., first_name) by default. Set constructor flag true to preserve camelCase (new ClassMethods(true)). Ensure this matches your API/DB conventions.
• Legacy Package Name: This package is archived. Use laminas/laminas-hydrator (Laminas Project fork) to avoid autoloader warnings. Update use Zend\... → use Laminas\....
• Eloquent Compatibility: Eloquent models don’t follow strict getter/setter patterns — ClassMethods may miss attributes. Prefer ArraySerializable or custom hydrators for models.
• Performance: Avoid instantiating hydrators on every request. Register as singleton or inject via Laravel’s container:

  // In a Service Provider
  $this->app->singleton(\Laminas\Hydrator\ClassMethods::class, fn () => new ClassMethods(true));
  

• Debugging: Use extract($object, []) or hydrate([], $object) to test hydrator behavior.
• Extension: Extend ClassMethods to override naming strategies or add custom logic:

  class AppClassMethods extends ClassMethods
  {
      protected function extractByName($object, $propertyName, $extraFields = [])
      {
          // Custom logic: e.g., camelCase-to-snake_case conversion
          return parent::extractByName($object, $propertyName, $extraFields);
      }
  }