LiteDto & SimpleDto

Data Helpers provides two DTO implementations, each optimized for different use cases:

LiteDto - Maximum performance with minimal overhead
SimpleDto - Full-featured with validation, type casting, and advanced features

Quick Overview

LiteDto

LiteDto is designed for maximum performance when you need fast data transfer without validation or type casting.

use event4u\DataHelpers\LiteDto\LiteDto;

class UserDto extends LiteDto
{
    public function __construct(
        public readonly string $name,
        public readonly string $email,
        public readonly int $age,
    ) {}
}

$user = UserDto::from(['name' => 'John', 'email' => 'john@example.com', 'age' => 30]);

Best for:

High-performance APIs
Data transfer between layers
Simple data structures
When validation is handled elsewhere

SimpleDto

SimpleDto provides full validation and type casting with a rich feature set.

use event4u\DataHelpers\SimpleDto\SimpleDto;
use event4u\DataHelpers\Attributes\Validation\Email;
use event4u\DataHelpers\Attributes\Validation\Min;

class UserDto extends SimpleDto
{
    public function __construct(
        public readonly string $name,

        #[Email]
        public readonly string $email,

        #[Min(18)]
        public readonly int $age,
    ) {}
}

$user = UserDto::from(['name' => 'John', 'email' => 'john@example.com', 'age' => 30]);

Best for:

Form validation
API input validation
Complex data structures
When you need type casting (DateTime, Enum, etc.)

Performance & Feature Comparison

Feature	LiteDto #[UltraFast]	LiteDto	SimpleDto #[UltraFast]	SimpleDto
Performance	~0.7μs	~3.5μs	~3.2μs	~18.4μs
Speed Factor	26.0x faster	5.3x faster	5.8x faster	Baseline

Core Features
Property Mapping	✅	✅	✅	✅
Nested DTOs	✅	✅	✅	✅
Collections	✅	✅	✅	✅
Hidden Properties	✅	✅	✅	✅
Immutability	✅	✅	✅	✅

Validation
Built-in Validation	❌	❌	❌	✅
Custom Validation	❌	❌	❌	✅
Validation Attributes	❌	❌	❌	✅

Type Casting
Automatic Casting	❌	❌	✅	✅
DateTime Casting	❌	❌	✅	✅
Enum Casting	❌	❌	✅	✅
Custom Casts	❌	❌	✅	✅

Advanced Features
Computed Properties	❌	❌	❌	✅
Lazy Properties	❌	❌	❌	✅
Conditional Properties	❌	❌	❌	✅
Hooks & Events	❌	❌	❌	✅
Dot Notation Access	✅	✅	✅	✅

Data Conversion
Converter Support	☑️	☑️	✅	✅
ConvertEmptyToNull	✅	✅	✅	✅
JSON/XML Support	☑️	☑️	✅	✅

Developer Experience
IDE Autocomplete	✅	✅	✅	✅
TypeScript Generation	✅	✅	✅	✅
Constructor Promotion	✅	✅	✅	✅
Property Attributes	☑️	☑️	☑️	✅

Legend:

✅ Fully supported
☑️ Partially supported or optional
❌ Not supported

Available Attributes

Attribute	LiteDto #[UltraFast]	LiteDto	SimpleDto #[UltraFast]	SimpleDto
Class Attributes
#[UltraFast]	✅	✅	✅	✅
#[ConverterMode]	❌	✅	❌	✅
#[AutoCast]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[NoAttributes]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[NoCasts]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[NoValidation]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[ValidateRequest]	❌	❌	❌	✅

Property Attributes
#[MapFrom]	✴️	✅	✴️	✅
#[MapTo]	✴️	✅	✴️	✅
#[MapInputName]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[MapOutputName]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Hidden]	❌	✅	❌	✅
#[HiddenFromArray]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[HiddenFromJson]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Visible]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[CastWith]	✴️	✅	✴️	✅
#[EnumSerialize]	❌	✅	❌	✅
#[ConvertEmptyToNull]	❌	✅	❌	✅
#[DataCollectionOf]	❌	✅	❌	✅
#[Computed]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Lazy]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Optional]	❌	❌	❌	✅

Validation Attributes
#[Required]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[RequiredIf]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[RequiredUnless]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[RequiredWith]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[RequiredWithout]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Nullable]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Sometimes]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Email]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Url]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Uuid]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Ip]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Json]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Min]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Max]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Between]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Size]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[In]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[NotIn]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Regex]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[StartsWith]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[EndsWith]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Confirmed]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[ConfirmedBy]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Same]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Different]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Unique]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Exists]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[File]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Image]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[Mimes]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[MimeTypes]	❌	❌	❌	✅

Conditional Attributes
#[WhenCallback]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenValue]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenEquals]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenIn]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenTrue]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenFalse]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenNull]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenNotNull]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenInstanceOf]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenContext]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenContextEquals]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenContextIn]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenContextNotNull]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenAuth] (Laravel)	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenGuest] (Laravel)	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenCan] (Laravel)	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenRole] (Laravel)	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenGranted] (Symfony)	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WhenSymfonyRole] (Symfony)	❌	❌	❌	✅

Other Attributes
#[RuleGroup]	❌	❌	❌	✅
#[WithMessage]	❌	❌	❌	✅

Legend:

✅ Fully supported
✴️ Can be re-enabled with UltraFast parameters (e.g., #[UltraFast(allowMapFrom: true)])
❌ Not supported

Detailed Comparison

Performance

LiteDto is optimized for speed:

~4.4μs average operation time
5.3x faster than SimpleDto
Minimal reflection overhead
No validation or casting overhead

SimpleDto provides full features:

~18.4μs average operation time
Includes validation and type casting
Rich attribute system
More overhead but more features
Use #[UltraFast] attribute to skip validation/casting when not needed (~3.2μs, 5.8x faster)

Use Cases

Choose LiteDto When:

✅ Performance is critical

High-throughput APIs (1000+ requests/second)
Real-time data processing
Microservices communication
Data transfer between layers

✅ Simple data structures

No validation needed
No type casting required
Straightforward mapping

✅ Validation handled elsewhere

Form validation in frontend
API gateway validation
Database constraints

Choose SimpleDto When:

✅ Validation is required

Form input validation
API request validation
Business rule enforcement

✅ Type casting needed

DateTime conversion
Enum mapping
Custom type transformations

✅ Advanced features required

Computed properties
Lazy loading
Conditional properties
Hooks and events

✅ Complex data structures

Nested validation
Collection validation
Cross-field validation

Migration Between DTOs

From SimpleDto to LiteDto

If you need better performance and don’t need validation:

// Before: SimpleDto
class UserDto extends SimpleDto
{
    public string $name;
    public string $email;
    public int $age;
}

// After: LiteDto
class UserDto extends LiteDto
{
    public function __construct(
        public readonly string $name,
        public readonly string $email,
        public readonly int $age,
    ) {}
}

From LiteDto to SimpleDto

If you need validation or type casting:

// Before: LiteDto
class UserDto extends LiteDto
{
    public function __construct(
        public readonly string $name,
        public readonly string $email,
        public readonly int $age,
    ) {}
}

// After: SimpleDto
class UserDto extends SimpleDto
{
    public string $name;

    #[Email]
    public string $email;

    #[Min(18)]
    public int $age;
}

Performance Tips

LiteDto Optimization

Avoid #[ConverterMode] when only using arrays (~0.5μs overhead)
Use readonly properties (required)
Minimize nested DTOs
Minimize attribute usage

SimpleDto Optimization

Use #[UltraFast] mode when validation is not needed (~3.7μs)
Enable caching for repeated use
Minimize validation rules
Use computed properties sparingly

Learn More

LiteDto Documentation

LiteDto Introduction - Getting started
Creating LiteDtos - Best practices
LiteDto Attributes - Available attributes
LiteDto Performance - Optimization tips

SimpleDto Documentation

SimpleDto Introduction - Getting started
Creating Dtos - Best practices
Validation - Validation rules
Type Casting - Type conversion
Performance Modes - UltraFast mode