Code Generation

Zend\Code\Generator Examples

Generating PHP classes

The following example generates an empty class with a class-level DocBlock.

use Zend\Code\Generator\ClassGenerator;
use Zend\Code\Generator\DocBlockGenerator;

$foo      = new ClassGenerator();
$docblock = DocBlockGenerator::fromArray([
    'shortDescription' => 'Sample generated class',
    'longDescription'  => 'This is a class generated with Zend\Code\Generator.',
    'tags'             => [
        [
            'name'        => 'version',
            'description' => '$Rev:$',
        ],
        [
            'name'        => 'license',
            'description' => 'New BSD',
        ],
    ],
]);
$foo->setName('Foo')
    ->setDocblock($docblock);
echo $foo->generate();

The above code will result in the following:

/**
 * Sample generated class
 *
 * This is a class generated with Zend\Code\Generator.
 *
 * @version $Rev:$
 * @license New BSD
 *
 */
class Foo
{

}

Generating PHP classes with class properties

Building on the previous example, we now add properties to our generated class.

use Zend\Code\Generator\ClassGenerator;
use Zend\Code\Generator\DocBlockGenerator;
use Zend\Code\Generator\PropertyGenerator;

$foo      = new ClassGenerator();
$docblock = DocBlockGenerator::fromArray([
    'shortDescription' => 'Sample generated class',
    'longDescription'  => 'This is a class generated with Zend\Code\Generator.',
    'tags'             => [
        [
            'name'        => 'version',
            'description' => '$Rev:$',
        ],
        [
            'name'        => 'license',
            'description' => 'New BSD',
        ],
    ],
]);
$foo->setName('Foo')
    ->setDocblock($docblock)
    ->addProperties([
         ['_bar', 'baz', PropertyGenerator::FLAG_PROTECTED],
         ['baz',  'bat', PropertyGenerator::FLAG_PUBLIC]
   ])
   ->addConstants([
         ['bat',  'foobarbazbat']
    ]);
echo $foo->generate();

The above results in the following class definition:

/**
 * Sample generated class
 *
 * This is a class generated with Zend\Code\Generator.
 *
 * @version $Rev:$
 * @license New BSD
 *
 */
class Foo
{

    protected $_bar = 'baz';

    public $baz = 'bat';

    const bat = 'foobarbazbat';

}

Generating PHP classes with class methods

Zend\Code\Generator\ClassGenerator allows you to attach methods with optional content to your classes. Methods may be attached as either arrays or concrete Zend\Code\Generator\MethodGenerator instances.

use Zend\Code\Generator\ClassGenerator;
use Zend\Code\Generator\DocBlockGenerator;
use Zend\Code\Generator\DocBlock\Tag;
use Zend\Code\Generator\MethodGenerator;
use Zend\Code\Generator\PropertyGenerator;

$foo      = new ClassGenerator();
$docblock = DocBlockGenerator::fromArray([
    'shortDescription' => 'Sample generated class',
    'longDescription'  => 'This is a class generated with Zend\Code\Generator.',
    'tags'             => [
        [
            'name'        => 'version',
            'description' => '$Rev:$',
        ],
        [
            'name'        => 'license',
            'description' => 'New BSD',
        ],
    ],
]);
$foo->setName('Foo')
    ->setDocblock($docblock)
    ->addProperties([
        ['_bar', 'baz',          PropertyGenerator::FLAG_PROTECTED],
        ['baz',  'bat',          PropertyGenerator::FLAG_PUBLIC]
    ])
    ->addConstants([
        ['bat',  'foobarbazbat', PropertyGenerator::FLAG_CONSTANT]
    ])
    ->addMethods([
        // Method passed as array
        MethodGenerator::fromArray([
            'name'       => 'setBar',
            'parameters' => ['bar'],
            'body'       => '$this->_bar = $bar;' . "\n" . 'return $this;',
            'docblock'   => DocBlockGenerator::fromArray([
                'shortDescription' => 'Set the bar property',
                'longDescription'  => null,
                'tags'             => [
                    new Tag\ParamTag([
                        'paramName' => 'bar',
                        'datatype'  => 'string'
                    ]),
                    new Tag\ReturnTag([
                        'datatype'  => 'string',
                    ]),
                ],
            ]),
        ]),
        // Method passed as concrete instance
        new MethodGenerator(
            'getBar',
            [],
            MethodGenerator::FLAG_PUBLIC,
            'return $this->_bar;',
            DocBlockGenerator::fromArray([
                'shortDescription' => 'Retrieve the bar property',
                'longDescription'  => null,
                'tags'             => [
                    new Tag\ReturnTag([
                        'datatype'  => 'string|null',
                    ]),
                ],
            ])
        ),
    ]);

echo $foo->generate();

The above generates the following output:

/**
 * Sample generated class
 *
 * This is a class generated with Zend\Code\Generator.
 *
 * @version $Rev:$
 * @license New BSD
 */
class Foo
{

    protected $_bar = 'baz';

    public $baz = 'bat';

    const bat = 'foobarbazbat';

    /**
     * Set the bar property
     *
     * @param string bar
     * @return string
     */
    public function setBar($bar)
    {
        $this->_bar = $bar;
        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Retrieve the bar property
     *
     * @return string|null
     */
    public function getBar()
    {
        return $this->_bar;
    }

}

Generating PHP files

Zend\Code\Generator\FileGenerator can be used to generate the contents of a PHP file. You can include classes as well as arbitrary content body. When attaching classes, you should attach either concrete Zend\Code\Generator\ClassGenerator instances or an array defining the class.

In the example below, we will assume you've defined $foo per one of the class definitions in a previous example.

use Zend\Code\Generator\DocBlockGenerator;
use Zend\Code\Generator\FileGenerator;

$file = FileGenerator::fromArray([
    'classes'  => [$foo],
    'docblock' => DocBlockGenerator::fromArray([
        'shortDescription' => 'Foo class file',
        'longDescription'   => null,
        'tags'             => [
            [
                'name'        => 'license',
                'description' => 'New BSD',
            ],
        ],
    ]),
    'body'     => 'define(\'APPLICATION_ENV\', \'testing\');',
]);

Calling generate() will generate the code -- but not write it to a file. You will need to capture the contents and write them to a file yourself. As an example:

$code = $file->generate();
file_put_contents('Foo.php', $code);

The above will generate the following file:

<?php
/**
 * Foo class file
 *
 * @license New BSD
 */

/**
 * Sample generated class
 *
 * This is a class generated with Zend\Code\Generator.
 *
 * @version $Rev:$
 * @license New BSD
 */
class Foo
{

    protected $_bar = 'baz';

    public $baz = 'bat';

    const bat = 'foobarbazbat';

    /**
     * Set the bar property
     *
     * @param string bar
     * @return string
     */
    public function setBar($bar)
    {
        $this->_bar = $bar;
        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Retrieve the bar property
     *
     * @return string|null
     */
    public function getBar()
    {
        return $this->_bar;
    }

}

define('APPLICATION_ENV', 'testing');

Add code to existing PHP files and classes

Seeding PHP file code generation via reflection

You can add PHP code to an existing PHP file using the code generator. To do so, you need to first do reflection on it. The static method fromReflectedFileName() allows you to do this.

$generator = Zend\Code\Generator\FileGenerator::fromReflectedFileName($path);
$generator->setBody("\$foo->bar();");
file_put_contents($path, $generator->generate());

Seeding PHP class generation via reflection

You may add code to an existing class. To do so, first use the static fromReflection() method to map the class into a generator object. From there, you may add additional properties or methods, and then regenerate the class.

use Zend\Code\Generator\ClassGenerator;
use Zend\Code\Generator\DocBlockGenerator;
use Zend\Code\Generator\DocBlock\Tag;
use Zend\Code\Generator\MethodGenerator;
use Zend\Code\Reflection\ClassReflection;

$generator = ClassGenerator::fromReflection(
    new ClassReflection($class)
);
$generator->addMethod(
    'setBaz',
    ['baz'],
    MethodGenerator::FLAG_PUBLIC,
    '$this->_baz = $baz;' . "\n" . 'return $this;',
    DocBlockGenerator::fromArray([
        'shortDescription' => 'Set the baz property',
        'longDescription'  => null,
        'tags'             => [
            new Tag\ParamTag([
                'paramName' => 'baz',
                'datatype'  => 'string'
            ]),
            new Tag\ReturnTag([
                'datatype'  => 'string',
            ]),
        ],
    ])
);
$code = $generator->generate();