Getting Started

Creating an instance

Both factories accept an array, an object (including Traversable) or a JSON string whose root is an object or array.

use StrObj\Behavior;
use StrObj\StringObjects;

$data = StringObjects::instance($json);
$data = StringObjects::instance($array, $options);
$data = StringObjects::instance($json, ['behavior' => Behavior::LEGACY]); // 2.x results

Invalid input throws InvalidArgumentException; see Error Handling.

Paths

A path is a list of keys separated by /:

Path	Meaning
order/id	The id field of order
order/items/0/sku	sku of the first item; numeric keys address list entries
order/items/*/sku	sku of every item (wildcard)
'' or *	The whole document

Leading, trailing and repeated slashes are ignored (/order//id/ equals order/id). A path may contain at most 512 segments.

Reading

$order = StringObjects::instance(
    '{"order":{"id":42,"paid":false,"coupon":null,"items":[{"sku":"A-1","qty":2},{"sku":"B-2"}]}}'
);

$order->get('order/id');               // 42
$order->get('order/paid', true);       // false — the stored value is returned
$order->get('order/coupon', 'NONE');   // null  — the stored value is returned
$order->get('order/note', 'n/a');      // "n/a" — the field is missing
$order->has('order/coupon');           // true
$order->has('order/note');             // false

The rules for false, null and defaults are described in Values, Defaults and Missing Fields.

Wildcards

$order->get('order/items/*/qty');      // [2, null] — one entry per item

In the default behavior, a wildcard read returns one entry per element and lists missing fields as null. Nested wildcards (groups/*/members/*/name) return nested lists. has('order/items/*/qty') is true when at least one element has the field.

Writing

$order->set('order/items/1/qty', 1);
$order->set('order/shipping/city', 'Ankara');   // missing branches are created

echo $order->toJson();
// {"order":{"id":42,"paid":false,"coupon":null,
//   "items":[{"sku":"A-1","qty":2},{"sku":"B-2","qty":1}],"shipping":{"city":"Ankara"}}}

Writes require a concrete path; empty and wildcard paths throw InvalidArgumentException. Unrelated fields are preserved, and a scalar found on the way is replaced by a new branch.

Exporting

Method	Result
toJson()	A JSON string. Object roots stay objects ({}), lists stay lists.
toArray()	A PHP array. The default behavior converts every nested object to an array.

Options

$data = StringObjects::instance($input, [
    'validation' => ['patterns' => [/* name => regex */], 'rules' => [/* ... */]],
    'filters'    => [/* path => ['type' => ..., 'callback' => ...] */],
    'middleware' => ['memory_limit' => 256 * 1024 * 1024], // optional, bytes
]);

• Validation checks stored data.
• Filters cast and accept values returned by get().
• middleware.memory_limit is an optional guard. It compares the whole PHP process's memory usage (memory_get_usage()) with the limit and throws OverflowException when the limit is exceeded. Use a value above your application's normal peak, or omit it.

Options are application configuration. Never build them from user input; see the Security Guide.