Laravel Value Objects

Simply create value objects in Laravel.

 

Documentation | Contributing

_{Built with ❤︎ by Michael Ravedoni and contributors}

Introduction

A simple, lightweight Laravel package for creating value objects, including an Artisan command for generating them and a generic Eloquent casting system.

✨ Features

• Basic Value Object: An abstract class for structuring your value objects.
• Contractual interface: For strong typing and consistent implementation.
• Generic Eloquent Casting: Easily converts model attributes into instances of your custom value objects and vice versa.
• Artisan command: Quickly generates value object skeletons.
• Built-in validation: Add your validation logic directly into the constructor of your value objects.
• Extensive compatibility: Supports Laravel 10, 11, 12 and PHP 8.2, 8.3, 8.4.

🚀 Installation

This package can be installed through Composer :

composer require michaelravedoni/laravel-value-objects

The package will be automatically discovered by Laravel.

💡 Documentation

Creating a Value Object

The easiest way to create a new value object is to use the Artisan command provided by the :

php artisan make:value-object MyCustomValue

This will create an app/ValueObjects/MyCustomValue.php file with a code skeleton.

You then need to implement the constructor to define the value and add your validation logic, as well as the value() method to return the raw value.

Example: An Email value object.

// app/ValueObjects/Email.php
<?php

namespace App\ValueObjects;

use MichaelRavedoni\LaravelValueObjects\ValueObjects\BaseValueObject;
use InvalidArgumentException;

class Email extends BaseValueObject
{
    protected string $value;

    public function __construct(string $value)
    {
        if (!filter_var($value, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
            throw new InvalidArgumentException("Invalid email format: {$value}");
        }
        $this->value = $value;
    }

    public function value(): string
    {
        return $this->value;
    }

    public function getDomain(): string
    {
        return substr($this->value, strpos($this->value, '@') + 1);
    }
}

Casting with Eloquent

To use your value object with an Eloquent model, you can cast it directly using the package's generic ValueObjectCast in your $casts array.

// app/Models/User.php
<?php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use MichaelRavedoni\LaravelValueObjects\Casts\ValueObjectCast;
use App\ValueObjects\Email; // Importez votre objet valeur

class User extends Model
{
    protected $fillable = [
        'name',
        'email',
    ];

    protected $casts = [
        'email' => ValueObjectCast::class . ':' . Email::class,
    ];
}

Accessing Values and Methods

Once cast, you can access your attribute as an instance of your value object, by calling its methods or by treating it as a string (using the __toString() method inherited from BaseValueObject).

use App\Models\User;
use App\ValueObjects\Email;

// Create a user
$user = User::create([
    'name' => 'Alice',
    'email' => new Email('alice@example.com'), // Accepts a value object instance
]);

// Or directly a raw value (the cast will convert it)
$user2 = User::create([
    'name' => 'Bob',
    'email' => 'bob@test.com',
]);

// Access the value object
$user = User::find(1);

echo "Full email address : " . $user->email; // alice@example.com (via __toString())
echo "Email domain : " . $user->email->getDomain(); // example.com

// Update the
$user->email = 'new.email@domain.com'; // You can assign a string
$user->save();

$user->email = new Email('another@mail.org'); // Or a new instance of a value object
$user->save();

// Manage null values (if the column is nullable)
$userWithNullEmail = User::create(['name' => 'John', 'email' => null]);
if ($userWithNullEmail->email === null) {
    echo "The email is null.";
}

🎬 Usage

Let's take the example of `Gender' to illustrate a concrete case.

1. Create the Gender Value Object :.

php artisan make:value-object Gender

Edit the file app/ValueObjects/Gender.php :

// app/ValueObjects/Gender.php
<?php

namespace App\ValueObjects;

use MichaelRavedoni\LaravelValueObjects\ValueObjects\BaseValueObject;
use InvalidArgumentException;

class Gender extends BaseValueObject
{
    protected string $value; // 'm' ou 'w'

    public function __construct(string $value)
    {
        if (!in_array($value, ['m', 'w'])) {
            throw new InvalidArgumentException("Invalid gender value: {$value}. Must be 'm' or 'w'.");
        }
        $this->value = $value;
    }

    public function value(): string
    {
        return $this->value;
    }

    public function getLabel(): string
    {
        return match ($this->value) {
            'm' => 'Man',
            'w' => 'Woman',
            default => 'Not specified',
        };
    }

    public function getDescription(): string
    {
        return match ($this->value) {
            'm' => 'Type of athlete : Male',
            'w' => 'Type of athlete : Female',
            default => 'Gender not specified',
        };
    }
}

2. Use in the Athlete Model :

Make sure that your Athlete model has a gender column (type char(1) or string).

// app/Models/Athlete.php
<?php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use MichaelRavedoni\LaravelValueObjects\Casts\ValueObjectCast;
use App\ValueObjects\Gender;

class Athlete extends Model
{
    protected $fillable = [
        'name',
        'gender',
    ];

    protected $casts = [
        'gender' => ValueObjectCast::class . ':' . Gender::class,
    ];
}

3. Practical use :

use App\Models\Athlete;
use App\ValueObjects\Gender;

$athlete = Athlete::create([
    'name' => 'Alice Tremblay',
    'gender' => 'w',
]);

echo $athlete->gender; // Display : w
echo $athlete->gender->getLabel(); // Display : Woman
echo $athlete->gender->getDescription(); // Display : Gender of athlete : Woman

$athlete->gender = new Gender('m');
$athlete->save();

$updatedAthlete = Athlete::find($athlete->id);
echo $updatedAthlete->gender->getLabel(); // Display : Man

🤝 Contribute

Please see CONTRIBUTING for details.

📜 Credits

• Michael Ravedoni - Initial work - michaelravedoni
• Inspired form Michael Rubel package.

See also the list of contributors who participated in this project.

📄 Licence

MIT License. Please see License File for more information.