Flexible Data Containers for PHP

A collection of specialized PHP data containers that provide different levels of structure and validation, from simple bags to schema-validated stores.

Features

• 🎯 Purpose-built containers for different needs.
• 🔍 Validation with a simple schema (Vault) or with JSON Schema (Store).
• 🛡️ Validation on every change: a container never holds data that breaks its schema.
• 🔤 Typed getters (getString(), requireInt(), getList(of: 'string')…) that PHPStan understands.
• 📦 Simple to complex data structures, with dot notation.
• 🔄 Sequential data handling.
• 🧩 Common interface across containers.
• 🌐 Translatable exceptions.
• 🪶 Minimal dependencies.
• 🧪 Comprehensive test coverage.

Why Derafu\Container?

Unlike generic data structures, Derafu\Container provides specialized containers each designed for specific use cases:

• Bag: Simple, flexible data storage without restrictions.
• Vault: Structured data validated with a simple schema (types, required keys, choices, defaults, normalizers).
• Store: Structured data validated with JSON Schema.
• Journal: Sequential data storage with LIFO access.

All of them share the same interface, so code that reads data does not care which container it received.

Installation

Install via Composer:

composer require derafu/container

A Quick Tour

use Derafu\Container\Vault;

$options = new Vault(
    ['host' => 'imap.example.com'],
    [
        'host' => ['types' => 'string', 'required' => true],
        'port' => ['types' => 'int', 'default' => 993],
    ]
);

$host = $options->requireString('host'); // string: "imap.example.com"
$port = $options->requireInt('port');    // int: 993 (the default of the schema).

$options->set('port', 'abc');            // Throws: the port must be an int.
$options->getInt('port');                // Still 993: the failed change did nothing.

Container Comparison

Where to Go Next

• Containers: Bag, Vault, Store and Journal one by one.
• Typed Getters: read values with the type you expect.
• Validation: schemas, when they are checked and what happens when they fail.
• Translations: the exceptions of the package and how to translate them.