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https://github.com/mindplay-dk/unbox
Fast, simple, easy-to-use DI container
https://github.com/mindplay-dk/unbox
dependency-injection di-container php
Last synced: 8 days ago
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Fast, simple, easy-to-use DI container
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/mindplay-dk/unbox
- Owner: mindplay-dk
- License: lgpl-3.0
- Created: 2015-07-16T11:22:35.000Z (over 9 years ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2024-05-28T15:35:00.000Z (7 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2024-12-07T08:50:21.856Z (20 days ago)
- Topics: dependency-injection, di-container, php
- Language: PHP
- Homepage:
- Size: 275 KB
- Stars: 46
- Watchers: 9
- Forks: 7
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
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README
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Unbox is a [fast](#benchmark), simple, [opinionated](#opinionated) dependency injection container,
with a gentle learning curve.
Compatible with [PSR-11](https://www.php-fig.org/psr/psr-11/).
To upgrade from an older (pre-3.x) version, please see the [upgrade guide](UPGRADING.md).
## Installation
With Composer: `require mindplay/unbox`
## Introduction
This library implements a dependency injection container with a very small footprint, a small number
of concepts and a reasonably short learning curve, good performance, and quick and easy configuration
relying mainly on the use of closures for IDE support.
The container is capable of resolving constructor arguments, often automatically, with as little
configuration as just the class-name. It will also resolve arguments to any callable, including
objects that implement `__invoke()`. It can also be used as a generic factory class, capable of
creating any object for which the constructor arguments can be resolved - the common use-case
for this is in your own factory classes, e.g. a controller factory or action dispatcher.
### Quick Overview
Below, you can find a complete guide and full documentation - but to give you an idea of what
this library does, let's open with a quick code sample.
For this basic example, we'll assume you have the following related types:
```php
interface CacheInterface {
// ...
}
class FileCache implements CacheInterface {
public function __construct($path) { ... }
}
class UserRepository {
public function __construct(CacheInterface $cache) { ... }
}
```
Unbox has a two-stage life-cycle. The first stage is the creation of a `ContainerFactory` - this
class provides bootstrapping and configuration facilities. The second stage begins with a call
to `ContainerFactory::createFactory()` which creates the actual `Container` instance, which
provides the facilities enabling client-code to invoke functions and constructors, etc.
Let's bootstrap a `ContainerFactory` with those dependencies, in a "bootstrap" file somewhere:
```php
use mindplay\unbox\ContainerFactory;
$factory = new ContainerFactory();
// register a component named "cache":
$factory->register("cache", function ($cache_path) {
return new FileCache($cache_path);
});
// register "CacheInterface" as a component referencing "cache":
$factory->alias(CacheInterface::class, "cache");
// register "UserRepository" as a component:
$factory->register(UserRepository::class);
```
Then configure the missing `$cache_path` for the `cache` component, add that to a "config" file somewhere:
```php
$factory->set("cache_path", "/tmp/cache");
```
Now that the `ContainerFactory` is fully bootstrapped, we're ready to create a `Container`:
```php
$container = $factory->createContainer();
```
In this simple example, we're now done with `ContainerFactory`, which can simply fall out of
scope. (In more advanced scenarios, such as long-running [React](http://reactphp.org/) or
[PHP-PM](https://github.com/php-pm/php-pm) applications, you might want to maintain a
reference to `ContainerFactory`, so you can create a fresh `Container` for each request.)
You can now take your `UserRepository` out of the `Container`, either by asking for it directly:
```php
$users = $container->get(UserRepository::class);
```
Or, by using a type-hinted closure for IDE support:
```php
$container->call(function (UserRepository $users) {
$users->...
});
```
To round off this quick example, let's say you have a controller:
```php
class UserController
{
public function __construct(UserRepository $users)
{
// ...
}
public function show($user_id, ViewEngine $view, FormHelper $form, ...)
{
// ...
}
}
```
Using the container as a factory, you can create an instance of any controller class:
```php
$controller = $container->create(UserController::class);
```
Finally, you can dispatch the `show()` action, with dependency injection - as a naive example,
we're simply going to inject `$_GET` directly as parameters to the method:
```php
$container->call([$controller, "show"], $_GET);
```
Using `$_GET` as parameters to the call, the `$user_id` argument to `UserController:show()` will
be resolved as `$_GET['user_id']`.
That's the quick, high-level overview.
#### API
If you're already comfortable with dependency injection, and just want to know what the API looks
like, below is a quick overview of the `ContainerFactory` API:
```php
register(string $type) # register a component (for auto-creation)
register(string $type, array $map) # ... with custom constructor arguments
register(string $name, string $type) # ... with a specific name for auto-creation
register(string $name, string $type, array $map) # ... and custom constructor arguments
register(string $name, callable $func) # ... with a custom creation function
register(string $name, callable $func, array $map) # ... and custom arguments to that closure
set(string $name, mixed $value) # directly insert an existing component
add(ProviderInterface $provider) # register a configuration provider
alias(string $new_name, string $ref_name) # make $ref_name available as $new_name
configure(callable $func) # manipulate a component upon creation
configure(callable $func, array $map) # ... with custom arguments to the closure
configure(string $name, callable $func) # ... for a component with a specific name
configure(string $name, callable $func, array $map) # ... with custom arguments
ref(string $name) : BoxedValueInterface # create a boxed reference to a component
registerFallback(ContainerInterface $container) # register a fallack container
requires(string $requirement, string $description) # defines a Requirement
provides(string $requirement, string $description) # fulfills an abstract Requirement
createContainer() : Container # create a bootstrapped Container instance
```
The following provides a quick overview of the `Container` API:
```php
get(string $name) : mixed # unbox a component
has(string $name) : bool # check if a component is defined/exists
isActive(string $name) : bool # check if a component has been unboxed
call(callable $func) : mixed # call any callable an inject arguments
call(callable $func, array $map) : mixed # ... and override or add missing params
create(string $class_name) : mixed # invoke a constructor and auto-inject
create(string $class_name, array $map) : mixed # ... and override or add missing params
```
If you're new to dependency injection, or if any of this baffles you, don't panic - everything is
covered in the guide below.
## Terminology
The following terminology is used in the documentation below:
* **Callable**: refers to the `callable` pseudo-type
as [defined in the PHP manual](http://php.net/manual/en/language.types.callable.php).
* **Component**: any object or value registered in a container, whether registered by class-name,
interface-name, or some other arbitrary name.
* **Singleton**: when we say "singleton", we mean there's only one component with a given name
within the same container instance; of course, you can have multiple container instances, so
each component is a "singleton" only within the same container.
* **Dependency**: in our context, we mean any registered component that is required by another
component, by a constructor (when using the container as a factory) or by any callable.
## Dependency Resolution
Any argument, whether to a closure being manually invoked, or to a constructor being automatically
invoked as part of resolving a longer chain of dependencies, is resolved according to a consistent
set of rules - in order of priority:
1. If you provide the argument yourself, e.g. when registering a component (or configuration
function, or when invoking a callable) this always takes precedence. Arguments can include
boxed values, such as (typically) references to other components, and these will be unboxed
as late as possible.
2. Type-hints is the preferred way to resolve singletons, e.g. types of which you have only one
instance (or one "preferred" instance) in the same container. Singletons are usually registered
under their class-name, or interface-name, or sometimes both.
3. Parameter names, e.g. components matching the precise argument name (without `$`) - this works
only when it's safe, which it is in most cases, the only exception being constructors invoked
via `create()` where component names in the Container happen to match parameter names in the
constructor. (constructor arguments given via the `$map` arguments are of course safe, too.)
4. A default parameter value, if provided, will be used as a last resort - this can be useful
in cases such as `function ($db_port = 3306) { ... }`, which allows for optional
configuration of simple values with defaults.
For dependencies resolved using type-hints, the parameter name is ignored - and vice-versa: if a
dependency is resolved by parameter name, the type-hint is ignored, but will of course be checked
by PHP when the function/method/constructor is invoked. Note that using type-hints either way is
good practice (when possible) as this provides self-documenting configurations with IDE support.
## Guide
In the following sections, we'll assume that a `ContainerFactory` instance is in scope, e.g.:
```php
use mindplay\unbox\ContainerFactory;
$factory = new ContainerFactory();
```
### Bootstrapping
The most commonly used method to bootstrap a container is `register()` - this is the method
that lets you register a component for dependency injection.
This method generally takes one of the following forms:
```php
register(string $type) # register a component (for auto-creation)
register(string $type, array $map) # ... with custom constructor arguments
register(string $name, string $type) # ... with a specific name for auto-creation
register(string $name, string $type, array $map) # ... and custom constructor arguments
register(string $name, callable $func) # ... with a custom creation function
register(string $name, callable $func, array $map) # ... and custom arguments to that closure
```
Where:
* `$name` is a component name
* `$type` is a fully-qualified class-name
* `$map` is a mixed list/map of parameters (see below)
* `$func` is a custom factory function
When `$type` is used without `$name`, the component name is assumed to also be the name
of the type being registered.
The `$map` argument is mixed list and/or map of parameters. That is, if you include
parameters without keys (such as `['apple', 'pear']`) these are taken as being positional
arguments, while parameters with keys (such as `['lives' => 9]`) are matched against
the parameter name of the callable or constructor being invoked.
When supplying custom arguments via `$map`, it is common to use `$factory->ref('name')`
to obtain a "boxed" reference to a component - when the registered component is created
(on first use) any "boxed" arguments will be "unboxed" at that time. In other words, this
enables you to supply other components as arguments "lazily", without activating them
until they're actually needed.
If the callable `$func` is supplied, this is registered as your custom component creation
function - dependency injection is done for this closure, so this is usually the best way
to specify how a component should be created, if you care about IDE support. (You should!)
#### Examples
The following examples are all valid use-cases of the above forms:
* `register(Foo::class)` registers a component by it's class-name, and will try to
automatically resolve all of it's constructor arguments.
* `register(Foo::class, ['bar'])` registers a component by it's class-name, and will
use `'bar'` as the first constructor argument, and try to resolve the rest.
* `register(Foo::class, [$factory->ref(Bar::class)])` creates a boxed reference to
a registered component `Bar` and provides that as the first argument.
* `register(Foo::class, ['bat' => 'zap'])` registers a component by it's class-name
and will use `'zap'` for the constructor argument named `$bat`, and try to resolve
any other arguments.
* `register(Bar::class, Foo::class)` registers a component `Foo` under another name
`Bar`, which might be an interface or an abstract class.
* `register(Bar::class, Foo::class, ['bar'])` same as above, but uses `'bar'` as the
first argument.
* `register(Bar::class, Foo::class, ['bat' => 'zap'])` same as above, but, well, guess.
* `register(Bar::class, function (Foo $foo) { return new Bar(...); })` registers a
component with a custom factory function.
* `register(Bar::class, function ($name) { ... }, [$factory->ref('db.name')]);`
registers a component creation function with a reference to a component "db.name"
as the first argument.
In effect, you can think of `$func` as being an optional argument.
The provided parameter values may include any `BoxedValueInterface`, such as (commonly) the boxed
component reference created by `ContainerFactory::ref()` - these will be unboxed as late as possible.
#### Aliasing
Sometimes you need to register the same component under two different names - one common
use-case, is to register the same component both for a concrete and abstract type, e.g.
for a class and an interface.
For example, it's ordinary to register a cache component twice:
```php
$factory->register(CacheInterface::class, function () {
return new FileCache();
});
$factory->alias("db.cache", CacheInterface::class); // "db.cache" becomes an alias!
$container = $factory->createContainer();
var_dump($container->get("db.cache") === $container->get(CacheInterface::class)); // => bool(true)
```
Using an alias, in this example, means that `"db.cache"` by default will resolve as
`CacheInterface`, but gives us the ability to [override](#overrides) the definition of
`"db.cache"` with a different implementation, without affecting other components which
might also be using `CacheInterface` as a default.
#### Direct Insertion
Not all dependencies are expensive to create - simple values (such as host-names and port-numbers)
do not benefit from deferred initialization with `register()`, and instead should be inserted
into the container directly:
```php
$factory->set("db.host", "localhost");
$factory->set("db.port", "12345");
```
Another common use-case for `set()` is to inject objects for which you can't defer creation.
#### Overrides
To override an existing component, simply call `register()` with an already-registered
component name - this will completely replace an existing component definition.
Note that overriding a component does *not* affect any registered configuration functions -
it is therefore important that, if you do override a component, the new component must be
compatible with the replaced component. Configuration in general is covered below.
#### Configuration
To perform additional configuration of a registered component, use the `configure()` method.
This method takes one of the following forms:
```php
configure(callable $func)
configure(callable $func, array $map)
configure(string $name, callable $func)
configure(string $name, callable $func, array $map)
```
Where:
* `$name` is the name of a component being configured
* `$func` is a function that configures the component in some way
* `$map` is a mixed list/map of parameters (as explained [above](#bootstrapping))
The callable `$func` will be called with dependency injection - the first argument of
this function is the component being configured; you should type-hint it (if possible, for
IDE support) although you're not strictly required to. Any additional arguments will be
resolved as well.
The optional array `$map` is a mixed list/map of parameters, as covered [above](#bootstrapping).
If no `$name` is supplied, the first argument from the given `$func` is used to infer the
component name from the type-hint.
As an example, let's say you've configured a `PDO` component:
```php
$factory->register(PDO::class, function ($db_host, $db_name, $db_user, $db_password) {
$connection = "mysql:host={$db_host};dbname={$db_name}";
return new PDO($connection, $db_user, $db_password);
});
```
In a configuration file, simple values like `$db_host` can be inserted directly, e.g. with
`$factory->set("db_host", "localhost")` - but suppose you need to do something *after*
the connection is created? Here's where `configure()` comes into play:
```php
$factory->configure(function (PDO $db) {
$db->exec("SET NAMES utf8");
});
```
Note that, in this example, `configure()` will infer the component name `"PDO"` from the
type-hint - in a scenario with multiple named `PDO` instances, you must explicitly specify
the component name as the first argument, e.g.:
```php
$factory->configure("logger.pdo", function (PDO $db) {
$db->exec("SET NAMES utf8");
});
```
##### Property or Setter Injection
This library doesn't support neither property nor setter injection, but both can be accomplished
by just doing those things in a call to `configure()` - for example:
```php
$factory->configure(function (Connection $db, LoggerInterface $logger) {
$db->setLogger($logger);
});
```
In this example, upon first use of `Connection`, a dependency `LoggerInterface` will be
unboxed and injected via setter-injection. (We believe this approach is much safer than
offering a function that accepts the method-name as an argument - closures are more powerful,
much safer, and provide full IDE support, inspections, automated refactoring, etc.)
##### Modification
You can use `configure()` to modify values (such as strings, numbers or arrays) in the container.
For example, let's say you have a middleware stack defined as an array:
```php
$factory->set("app.middleware", function () {
return [new RouterMiddleware, new NotFoundMiddleware];
);
```
If you need to append to the stack, you can do this:
```php
$factory->configure("app.middleware", function ($middleware) {
$middleware[] = new CacheMiddleware();
return $middleware;
});
```
Note the `return` statement - this is what causes the value to get updated in the container.
##### Decoration
The [decorator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decorator_pattern) pattern is another pattern
that can be implemented with `configure()` - for example, lets say you bootstrapped your
container with a product repository implementation and interface:
```php
$factory->register(ProductRepository::class, function () { ... });
$factory->alias(ProductRepositoryInterface::class, ProductRepository::class);
```
Now lets say you implement a cached product repository decorator - you can bootstrap this
by creating and returning the decorator instance like this:
```php
$factory->configure(function (ProductRepositoryInterface $repo) {
return new CachedProductRepository($repo);
});
```
Note that, when replacing components in this manner, of course you must be certain that the
replacement has a type that can pass a type-check in the recipient constructor or method.
#### Packaged Providers
You can package a set of `register()` and `configure()` calls for convenient reuse, by
implementing `ProviderInterface` - for example:
```php
class MyProvider implements ProviderInterface
{
public function register(ContainerFactory $factory)
{
$factory->register(...);
$factory->configure(...);
// ...
}
}
```
You can then easily bootstrap your projects with providers, e.g.:
```php
$factory->add(new MyProvider);
$factory->add(new TestDependenciesProvider);
$factory->add(new DevelopmentDebugProvider);
// ...
```
Providers of course can also call `ContainerFactory::add()` to bootstrap other providers - with
this in mind, you can make e.g. development or production setup for your app as easy as
calling e.g. `$container->add(new DevelopmentProvider)` to provide complete bootstrapping
for a quick development setup. Even if somebody wanted to override some of the registrations
in e.g. your default development setup, they can of course still do that, e.g. by calling
`register()` again to override components as needed.
##### Provider Requirements
In large, modular architectures, you may have many Providers with inter-dependencies, which
can become difficult to manage at scale.
Since Providers exist *outside* the realm of the Container, the concept of Requirements can
be used to define verifiable provider interdependencies, which will be checked at the time
when `createContainer()` is called.
Requirements may be defined by calling `requires()`, and more than one Provider may specify the
same Requirement - possibly for different reasons, which may be described using the optional
`$description` argument.
Requirements may be fulfilled by calling either `register()` or `provides()`.
###### Component Requirements
Providers may depend on the consumer to manually register a component.
For example, the following Provider requires you to register a `PDO` connection instance:
```php
class MyProvider implements ProviderInterface
{
public function register(ContainerFactory $factory)
{
$factory->requires(PDO::class, "a PDO instance connected to a MySQL database");
// ...
}
}
```
Attempting to bootstrap this Provider, without manually registering the `PDO` instance, will
generate an Exception, as soon as `createContainer()` is called - which is much easier to debug
than the `NotFoundException` you would otherwise get, and which might not occur until you try
to resolve a component that actually depends on the database connection.
###### Abstract Requirements
Providers may have abstract Requirements - something that can't be expressed by a simple
component dependency.
For example, the following Provider requires you to simply indicate that you've bootstrapped
a "payment gateway" - whatever that means to the Provider in question:
```php
class MyProvider implements ProviderInterface
{
public function register(ContainerFactory $factory)
{
$factory->requires("acme.payment-gateway", "please refer to acme's documentation");
// ...
}
}
```
Another provider needs to explicitly indicate fulfillment of this abstract Requirement:
```php
class MyPaymentProvider implements ProviderInterface
{
public function register(ContainerFactory $factory)
{
$factory->provides("acme.payment-gateway");
// ...
}
}
```
Note that abstract Requirements should be a last resort - component dependencies are
*generally* simpler and easier to understand. This feature exists primarily to support
complex, large-scale modular frameworks.
### Fallback Containers
You can use this feature to build layered architecture with different component life-cycles.
Note that this type of architecture is less about reuse (which in most cases could be
achieved more simply by just reusing providers) and more about separating dependencies
into architectural layers.
The most common use-case for this feature is in long-running "daemons", such as web-hosts,
where this feature can be used to achieve separation of short-lived, request-specific
components from long-lived services. For example, controllers or session-models might be
registered in containers that get created and disposed with each request - while a database
connection or an SMTP client might be registered in a single fallback container that exists
for as long as the application is running, eliminating redundant start-up overhead.
This kind of separation is also useful in terms of architecture, where it forces you to be
deliberate and aware of dependencies on request-specific components, since these will not
be available in the long-lived container. Similarly, maybe your project has a console-based
front-end as well, where this type of architecture can be used to ensure your command-line
dependencies are not available to the components of your web-host - and so on.
In practical terms, to register a fallback container, use the `registerFallback` method on
a `ContainerFactory` instance. Containers created by a factory with one or more registered
fallbacks, will internally query fallbacks (in the order they were added) for any components
that haven't been registered in the container itself - effectively, this means that calls
to `has` and `get` will propagate to any registered fallback containers.
A typical approach is to register the container factory for short-lived services as a component
in the long-lived main service container - for example:
```php
$app_factory = new ContainerFactory();
// components we can reuse across many requests:
$app_factory->register(DatabaseConnection::class);
// factory for containers for individual requests:
$app_factory->register("request-context", function (ContainerInterface $app_container) {
$request_container_factory = new ContainerFactory();
// enable request-specific containers to look up long-lived services in the main container:
$request_container_factory->registerFallback($app_container);
return $request_container_factory;
});
// we can now register short-lived components against the `request-context` container factory:
$app_factory->configure("request-context", function (ContainerFactory $request_container_factory) {
$request_container_factory->register(LoginController::class); // depends on DatabaseConnection
});
// now create the long-lived app container, e.g. in your "index.php" or CLI daemon script:
$app_container = $app_factory->createContainer();
```
With this bootstrapping in place, you can now create instances of the `request-context` container
as needed, e.g. in a long-lived component that handles incoming web-requests:
```php
$request_container = $app_container->get("request-context")->createContainer();
$controller = $request_container->get(LoginController::class);
```
When the `$request_container` falls out of scope, any short-lived components such as the `LoginController`
will be released along with the container - while any long-lived components such as `DatabaseConnection`
will remain in the `$app_container`, with the same instance being passed to every new instance of the
controller.
### Using Containers
Obtaining the contents of a container by simply pulling components out of it can *seem* very convenient, and is therefore
tempting - but usually wrong! You should [inform yourself](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11316688/inversion-of-control-vs-dependency-injection-with-selected-quotes-is-my-unders/11319026#11319026)
about the difference and **avoid** using the container as a [service locator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_locator_pattern).
**Rule of Thumb:**
> ***Never* use a Container to look up a component's own *direct* dependencies.**
Conversely, using a Container to look up dependencies on behalf of *other* components is usually okay.
In the following sections, we'll assume that a `Container` instance is in scope, e.g.:
```php
$factory = new ContainerFactory();
// ... bootstrapping ...
$container = $factory->createContainer();
```
The most basic form of component access, is a direct lookup:
```php
$cache = $container->get(CacheInterface::class);
$db_name = $container->get("db_name");
```
The more indirect form of component access, is an indirect lookup, by resolving parameters:
```php
$container->call(function (CacheInterface $cache, $db_name) {
// ...
});
```
The result in these two examples, is the same - but it's important to note that, in the `call()`
example, the two arguments are being resolved in two different ways: the `CacheInterface` param
is resolved by class-name, whereas the `$db_name` param is being resolved by parameter name.
The latter only works because the `$db_name` component is registered under that precise name -
if it had been registered under a name such as `"db.name"`, the container would be unable to
resolve this argument automatically; instead, you would have had to write:
```php
$container->call(function (CacheInterface $cache, $name) {
// ...
}, ["name" => $container->ref("db.name")]);
```
Note that `call()` will accept [any type of callable](http://php.net/manual/en/language.types.callable.php).
#### Factory Facet
The `create()` method can be used to invoke a constructor, to create an instance of any
class, on demand.
An important thing to understand, is that e.g. `register()` and `configure()` have *no*
bearing on this functionality - the purpose of this method, is to create instance of types
that *aren't* registered as components in the container, but (likely) have *dependencies*
which can be *provided* by the container.
Controllers are a great example - you most likely don't want to register every individual
controller class as a component in the container; rather, you probably want a controller
factory, capable of creating any controller.
As an example, here's a simple implementation of a controller factory that resolves the
typical `"foo/bar"` route string as e.g. `FooController::bar()` - like so:
```php
class Action
{
public function __construct(Controller $controller, $action, array $params) { ... }
}
class ControllerFactory
{
/** @var FactoryInterface */
private $factory;
public function __construct(FactoryInterface $factory) { ... }
public function create($route, array $params)
{
list($controller_name, $action_name) = explode("/", $route);
$controller_class = ucfirst($controller_name) . "Controller";
$controller = $this->factory->create($controller_class);
return new Action($controller, $action_name, $params);
}
}
```
Note the `FactoryInterface` type-hint in the constructor - in situations where you only
care about using the container as a factory, you should type-hint against this facet.
#### Inspection
You can inspect the state of components in a container using `has()` and `isActive()`.
To check if a component is defined, use `has()` - for example:
```php
var_dump($container->has("foo")); // => bool(false)
$container->set("foo", "bar");
var_dump($container->has("foo")); // => bool(true)
```
Whether a component is directly inserted with `set()`, or defined using `register()`, the
`has()` method will return `true`.
To check if a component has been activated, use `isActive()` - for example:
```php
$container->register("foo", function () { return "bar"; });
var_dump($container->isActive("foo")); // => bool(false)
$foo = $container->get("foo"); // component activates on first use
var_dump($container->isActive("foo")); // => bool(true)
```
A component is considered "active" when it has been used for the first time - components
may get activated directly by calls to `get()`, or may get indirectly activated by
cascading activation of dependencies.
## Opinionated
Less is more. We support only what's actually necessary to create beautiful architecture - we do
not provide a wealth of "convenience" features to support patterns we wouldn't use, or patterns
that aren't very common and can easily be implemented with the features we do provide.
Features:
* **Productivity-oriented** - favoring heavy use of **closures** for full IDE support:
refactoring-friendly definitions with auto-complete support, inspections and so on.
* **Performance-oriented** only to the extent that it doesn't encumber the API.
* **Versatile** - supporting many different options for registration and configuration
using the same, low number of public methods, including value modifications, decorators, etc.
* Zero configuration - we don't include any optional features or configurable behavior: the
container always behaves consistently, with the same predictable performance and interoperability.
* **PHP 5.5+** for `::class` support, and because you really shouldn't be using anything older.
Non-features:
* **NO annotations** - because sprinkling bits of your container configuration across
your domain model is a really terrible idea.
* **NO auto-wiring** - because `$container->register(Foo::name)` isn't a burden, and explicitly
designates something as being a service; unintentionally treating a non-singleton as a singleton
can be a weird experience.
* **NO caching** - because configuring a container really shouldn't be so much overhead as to
justify the need for caching. Unbox is fast.
* **NO property/setter injections** because it blurs your dependencies - use constructor injection,
and for optional dependencies, use optional constructor arguments; you don't, after all, need to
count the number of arguments anymore, since everything will be injected. (if you do have a good
reason to inject something via properties or setters, you can do that from inside a closure, in
a call to `configure()`, with full IDE support.)
* **NO syntax** - we don't invent or parse any special string syntax, anywhere, period. Any problem
that can be solved with custom syntax can also be solved with clean, simple PHP code.
* No chainable API, because call chains (in PHP) don't play nice with source-control.
* All registered components are singletons - we do not support factory registrations; if you
need to register a factory, the proper way to do that, is to either implement an actual
factory class (which is usually better in the long run), or register the factory closure
itself as a named component.
## Benchmark
This is not intended as a competitive benchmark, but more to give you an idea of the performance
implications of choosing from three very different DI containers with very different goals and
different qualities - from the smallest and simplest to the largest and most ambitious:
* [pimple](http://pimple.sensiolabs.org/) is as simple as a DI container can get, with absolutely
no bell and whistles, and barely any learning curve, totalling around **250 LOC**.
* **unbox** with just a few classes and interfaces - more concepts and a bit more learning
curve than pimple, totalling around **350 LOC**.
* [php-di](http://php-di.org/) is a pristine dependency injection framework with all the bells and
whistles - rich with features, but also has more concepts and learning curve, more overhead, and
totalling around **3000 LOC**.
The included [simple benchmark](test/benchmark-all.php) generates the following benchmark results on
a WSL2 under Windows 11 with PHP 8.2.10.
Time to configure the container:
unbox: configuration ............................. 0.006 msec ....... 41.78% ......... 1.00x
pimple: configuration ............................ 0.008 msec ....... 51.25% ......... 1.23x
php-di: configuration ............................ 0.013 msec ....... 89.02% ......... 2.13x
php-di: configuration [compiled] ................. 0.015 msec ...... 100.00% ......... 2.39x
Time to resolve the dependencies in the container, on first access:
pimple: 1 repeated resolutions ................... 0.002 msec ........ 9.14% ......... 1.00x
php-di: 1 repeated resolutions [compiled] ........ 0.004 msec ....... 18.88% ......... 2.06x
unbox: 1 repeated resolutions .................... 0.006 msec ....... 26.47% ......... 2.90x
php-di: 1 repeated resolutions ................... 0.022 msec ...... 100.00% ........ 10.94x
Time for multiple subsequent lookups:
pimple: 3 repeated resolutions ................... 0.003 msec ....... 11.44% ......... 1.00x
php-di: 3 repeated resolutions [compiled] ........ 0.004 msec ....... 18.55% ......... 1.62x
unbox: 3 repeated resolutions .................... 0.006 msec ....... 27.24% ......... 2.38x
php-di: 3 repeated resolutions ................... 0.023 msec ...... 100.00% ......... 8.74x
pimple: 5 repeated resolutions ................... 0.003 msec ....... 13.36% ......... 1.00x
php-di: 5 repeated resolutions [compiled] ........ 0.005 msec ....... 19.68% ......... 1.47x
unbox: 5 repeated resolutions .................... 0.007 msec ....... 28.02% ......... 2.10x
php-di: 5 repeated resolutions ................... 0.023 msec ...... 100.00% ......... 7.48x
pimple: 10 repeated resolutions .................. 0.004 msec ....... 17.48% ......... 1.00x
php-di: 10 repeated resolutions [compiled] ....... 0.005 msec ....... 22.15% ......... 1.27x
unbox: 10 repeated resolutions ................... 0.007 msec ....... 29.83% ......... 1.71x
php-di: 10 repeated resolutions .................. 0.024 msec ...... 100.00% ......... 5.72x