Skip to main content

Quick Start

This guide walks through a complete working example: defining a User entity, writing its mapper, and performing basic persistence operations using EntityWorkspace.

Step 1 — Define the entity​

An entity is a plain PHP class. It imports nothing from Weaver\ORM.

<?php
// src/Entity/User.php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace App\Entity;

use DateTimeImmutable;

final class User
{
    public function __construct(
        public readonly ?int $id,
        public readonly string $name,
        public readonly string $email,
        public readonly bool $isActive,
        public readonly DateTimeImmutable $createdAt,
    ) {}

    public function withEmail(string $email): self
    {
        return new self(
            id:        $this->id,
            name:      $this->name,
            email:     $email,
            isActive:  $this->isActive,
            createdAt: $this->createdAt,
        );
    }

    public function deactivate(): self
    {
        return new self(
            id:        $this->id,
            name:      $this->name,
            email:     $this->email,
            isActive:  false,
            createdAt: $this->createdAt,
        );
    }
}

Notice: no use Doctrine\..., no #[ORM\...] attributes, no base class. The entity is a pure PHP value object that can be unit-tested without booting Symfony or connecting to a database.

Step 2 — Write the mapper​

The mapper is a separate class that tells Weaver how User maps to the users table. It extends AbstractMapper and implements four methods.

<?php
// src/Mapper/UserMapper.php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace App\Mapper;

use App\Entity\User;
use DateTimeImmutable;
use Weaver\ORM\Mapping\AbstractMapper;
use Weaver\ORM\Mapping\ColumnDefinition;
use Weaver\ORM\Mapping\SchemaDefinition;

final class UserMapper extends AbstractMapper
{
    public function table(): string
    {
        return 'users';
    }

    public function primaryKey(): string|array
    {
        return 'id';
    }

    public function schema(): SchemaDefinition
    {
        return SchemaDefinition::define(
            ColumnDefinition::integer('id')->autoIncrement()->unsigned(),
            ColumnDefinition::string('name', 120)->notNull(),
            ColumnDefinition::string('email', 254)->unique()->notNull(),
            ColumnDefinition::boolean('is_active')->notNull()->default(true),
            ColumnDefinition::datetime('created_at')->notNull(),
        );
    }

    public function hydrate(array $row): User
    {
        return new User(
            id:        (int) $row['id'],
            name:      $row['name'],
            email:     $row['email'],
            isActive:  (bool) $row['is_active'],
            createdAt: new DateTimeImmutable($row['created_at']),
        );
    }

    public function dehydrate(object $entity): array
    {
        /** @var User $entity */
        $data = [
            'name'       => $entity->name,
            'email'      => $entity->email,
            'is_active'  => $entity->isActive,
            'created_at' => $entity->createdAt->format('Y-m-d H:i:s'),
        ];

        if ($entity->id !== null) {
            $data['id'] = $entity->id;
        }

        return $data;
    }
}

Mappers that extend AbstractMapper are auto-detected and registered by Weaver when autoconfigure: true is enabled in config/services.yaml (the Symfony default).

Step 3 — Create the database table​

docker compose exec app bin/console weaver:schema:create

To preview the SQL without executing it:

docker compose exec app bin/console weaver:schema:create --dump-sql

Step 4 — Write a repository​

Extend AbstractRepository to get a typed, reusable query API for your entity.

<?php
// src/Repository/UserRepository.php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace App\Repository;

use App\Entity\User;
use App\Mapper\UserMapper;
use Weaver\ORM\Repository\AbstractRepository;

/** @extends AbstractRepository<User> */
final class UserRepository extends AbstractRepository
{
    protected function mapper(): UserMapper
    {
        return $this->get(UserMapper::class);
    }

    public function findByEmail(string $email): ?User
    {
        return $this->query()
            ->where('email', '=', $email)
            ->first();
    }

    /** @return User[] */
    public function findActive(): array
    {
        return $this->query()
            ->where('is_active', '=', true)
            ->orderBy('name', 'ASC')
            ->get();
    }
}

AbstractRepository provides findById(), findAll(), save(), delete(), and query() out of the box.

Step 5 — Use EntityWorkspace for persistence​

In a controller, command, or service, inject UserRepository (and optionally EntityWorkspace for direct unit-of-work control).

<?php
// src/Controller/UserController.php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace App\Controller;

use App\Entity\User;
use App\Repository\UserRepository;
use DateTimeImmutable;
use Symfony\Bundle\FrameworkBundle\Controller\AbstractController;
use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\JsonResponse;
use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Request;
use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Response;
use Symfony\Component\Routing\Attribute\Route;

#[Route('/users')]
final class UserController extends AbstractController
{
    public function __construct(
        private readonly UserRepository $users,
    ) {}

    // --- CREATE ---
    #[Route('', methods: ['POST'])]
    public function create(Request $request): JsonResponse
    {
        $data = $request->toArray();

        $user = new User(
            id:        null,
            name:      $data['name'],
            email:     $data['email'],
            isActive:  true,
            createdAt: new DateTimeImmutable(),
        );

        $this->users->save($user);

        return $this->json(['id' => $user->id], Response::HTTP_CREATED);
    }

    // --- READ ---
    #[Route('/{id}', methods: ['GET'])]
    public function show(int $id): JsonResponse
    {
        $user = $this->users->findById($id);

        if ($user === null) {
            return $this->json(['error' => 'Not found'], Response::HTTP_NOT_FOUND);
        }

        return $this->json([
            'id'         => $user->id,
            'name'       => $user->name,
            'email'      => $user->email,
            'is_active'  => $user->isActive,
            'created_at' => $user->createdAt->format('c'),
        ]);
    }

    // --- UPDATE ---
    #[Route('/{id}/email', methods: ['PATCH'])]
    public function updateEmail(int $id, Request $request): JsonResponse
    {
        $user = $this->users->findById($id);

        if ($user === null) {
            return $this->json(['error' => 'Not found'], Response::HTTP_NOT_FOUND);
        }

        // Entities are immutable — create a new version and save it
        $updated = $user->withEmail($request->toArray()['email']);
        $this->users->save($updated);

        return $this->json(['email' => $updated->email]);
    }

    // --- DELETE ---
    #[Route('/{id}', methods: ['DELETE'])]
    public function delete(int $id): Response
    {
        $user = $this->users->findById($id);

        if ($user === null) {
            return $this->json(['error' => 'Not found'], Response::HTTP_NOT_FOUND);
        }

        $this->users->delete($user);

        return new Response(null, Response::HTTP_NO_CONTENT);
    }
}

What happens under the hood​

When you call $this->users->save($user):

  1. Weaver calls dehydrate($user) on your mapper to get an array of column → value pairs.
  2. If id is null, it issues an INSERT and writes the generated ID back onto the entity.
  3. If id is set, it issues an UPDATE ... WHERE id = ?.
  4. No change-tracking, no dirty-check diff, no proxy classes. The semantics are explicit.

Next steps​

  • Entity Mapping — all column types, primary key options, and mapper configuration
  • Relations — HasOne, HasMany, BelongsTo, BelongsToMany, and more
  • Symfony Configuration — full weaver.yaml reference with read replicas and debug options