README

A strict, no-nonsense Data Transfer Object (DTO) library for PHP, following the OTAKU Philosophy.

It simplifies data transport between layers of your application, ensuring type safety and automatic mapping between snake_case (common in databases/APIs) and camelCase (standard in PHP).

Installation

composer require phprise/data-transfer-object

Usage

Basic Usage

Define your DTO by extending Phprise\DataTransferObject\TransferObject and adding public typed properties.

use Phprise\DataTransferObject\TransferObject;

class UserDto extends TransferObject
{
    public string $name;
    public int $age;
}

// Create from array
$data = ['name' => 'John Doe', 'age' => 30];
$dto = UserDto::fromArray($data);

echo $dto->name; // John Doe
echo $dto->age;  // 30

// Convert back to array
$array = $dto->toArray();
// ['name' => 'John Doe', 'age' => 30]

Snake Case Magic

The library automatically handles conversion between snake_case keys and camelCase properties.

class UserProfileDto extends TransferObject
{
    public string $firstName;
    public string $lastName;
}

$data = [
    'first_name' => 'Alice',
    'last_name' => 'Wonderland',
];

$dto = UserProfileDto::fromArray($data);

echo $dto->firstName; // Alice

// Export as snake_case array
$snakeArray = $dto->toSnakeCaseArray();
// ['first_name' => 'Alice', 'last_name' => 'Wonderland']

Nested DTOs

You can nest DTOs. The library will recursively hydrate them.

class AddressDto extends TransferObject
{
    public string $street;
    public string $city;
}

class CustomerDto extends TransferObject
{
    public string $name;
    public AddressDto $address;
}

$data = [
    'name' => 'Bob',
    'address' => [
        'street' => '123 Maker Lane',
        'city' => 'Buildtown',
    ],
];

$dto = CustomerDto::fromArray($data);

echo $dto->address->city; // Buildtown

DateTime Support

Strings in standard formats (ISO 8601 / RFC 3339) are automatically converted to DateTimeImmutable objects if typed as such.

class EventDto extends TransferObject
{
    public string $title;
    public \DateTimeImmutable $date;
}

$data = [
    'title' => 'Conference',
    'date' => '2023-10-27T10:00:00+00:00',
];

$dto = EventDto::fromArray($data);
echo $dto->date->format('Y-m-d'); // 2023-10-27

JSON Serialization

$json = $dto->toJson();
// or
$jsonSnake = $dto->toSnakeCaseJson();

$dto = UserDto::fromJson($json);

Philosophy

We follow The OTAKU Manifesto: Fluid Structure Design.

1. O - Own your Discipline (Be strict with yourself)
2. T - Tools for Composition (Compose like Unix)
3. A - Armor the Core (Protect the heart of the business)
4. K - Keep Infrastructure Silent (Infrastructure is just a detail)
5. U - Universal Language & Contracts (Speak the user's language via clear contracts)

Please read more about it in PHILOSOPHY.md.

License

MIT License. Free to use, modify, and distribute.

Contributing

See how to contribute in CONTRIBUTING.md.