Common Issues

Common issues and solutions when using Data Helpers.

Introduction

This guide covers common issues and their solutions:

• Installation Issues - Composer and PHP version problems
• Validation Errors - Validation not working or slow
• Type Casting Problems - Casts not applied correctly
• Performance Issues - Slow DTO creation or high memory usage
• Framework Integration - Laravel and Symfony integration issues
• TypeScript Generation - TypeScript types not generated

Installation Issues

Composer Install Fails

Problem:

composer require event4u/data-helpers
# Error: Package not found

Solution:

# Make sure you have the correct package name
composer require event4u/data-helpers

# If still failing, update composer
composer self-update
composer clear-cache
composer require event4u/data-helpers

PHP Version Mismatch

Problem:

Your PHP version (8.1.0) does not satisfy requirement: ^8.2

Solution:

# Upgrade to PHP 8.2 or higher
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install php8.2

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install php@8.2

# Check version
php -v

Validation Issues

Validation Not Working

Problem:

$dto = UserDTO::fromArray($data);
// No validation happens

Solution:

// Use validateAndCreate() instead
$dto = UserDTO::validateAndCreate($data);

// Or enable auto-validation
#[ValidateRequest]
class UserDTO extends SimpleDTO { /* ... */ }

Validation Rules Not Cached

Problem:

# Validation is slow

Solution:

# Laravel
php artisan dto:cache

# Symfony
bin/console dto:cache

# Verify cache is enabled
php artisan config:show simple-dto.validation.cache_rules

Custom Validation Not Working

Problem:

#[CustomRule]
public readonly string $field;
// Rule not applied

Solution:

// Make sure attribute implements ValidationRule
use event4u\DataHelpers\SimpleDTO\Attributes\ValidationRule;

#[Attribute(Attribute::TARGET_PROPERTY)]
class CustomRule implements ValidationRule
{
    public function rule(): string
    {
        return 'custom_rule';
    }

    public function message(): ?string
    {
        return 'The :attribute is invalid.';
    }
}

// Register custom rule (Laravel)
Validator::extend('custom_rule', function($attribute, $value) {
    return /* validation logic */;
});

Type Casting Issues

Cast Not Applied

Problem:

#[Cast(DateTimeCast::class)]
public readonly Carbon $date;
// Still receives string

Solution:

// Make sure Carbon is imported
use Carbon\Carbon;

// Make sure cast is registered
use event4u\DataHelpers\SimpleDTO\Casts\DateTimeCast;

// Check if cast class exists
if (!class_exists(DateTimeCast::class)) {
    // Install carbon
    composer require nesbot/carbon
}

Custom Cast Not Working

Problem:

#[Cast(MyCast::class)]
public readonly string $field;
// Cast not applied

Solution:

// Make sure cast implements Cast interface
use event4u\DataHelpers\SimpleDTO\Casts\Cast;

class MyCast implements Cast
{
    public function cast(mixed $value): mixed
    {
        return /* cast logic */;
    }

    public function uncast(mixed $value): mixed
    {
        return /* uncast logic */;
    }
}

Performance Issues

Slow DTO Creation

Problem:

// Takes 0.5 seconds to create DTO
$dto = UserDTO::fromArray($data);

Solution:

// 1. Enable validation caching
php artisan dto:cache

// 2. Use lazy loading
#[Lazy]
public readonly ?array $posts = null;

// 3. Avoid deep nesting
// Bad: $dto->a->b->c->d->e
// Good: $dto->a->b

// 4. Use batch operations
$dtos = DataCollection::make($users, UserDTO::class);

High Memory Usage

Problem:

// Memory usage spikes when creating many DTOs

Solution:

// 1. Use chunking
User::chunk(1000, function($users) {
    $dtos = DataCollection::make($users, UserDTO::class);
    // Process dtos
});

// 2. Use lazy properties
#[Lazy]
public readonly ?array $largeData = null;

// 3. Clear cache periodically
Cache::flush();

Framework Integration Issues

Laravel: Auto-Validation Not Working

Problem:

public function store(CreateUserDTO $dto)
{
    // DTO not validated
}

Solution:

// Add ValidateRequest attribute
#[ValidateRequest]
class CreateUserDTO extends SimpleDTO { /* ... */ }

// Or use validateAndCreate()
public function store(Request $request)
{
    $dto = CreateUserDTO::validateAndCreate($request->all());
}

Laravel: Eloquent Integration Not Working

Problem:

$dto = UserDTO::fromModel($user);
// Error: Method not found

Solution:

// Make sure you're using fromArray with model's toArray()
$dto = UserDTO::fromArray($user->toArray());

// Or use DataMapper for complex mappings
$dto = DataMapper::from($user->toArray())
    ->target(UserDTO::class)
    ->template([
        'name' => 'name',
        'email' => 'email',
    ])
    ->map()
    ->getTarget();

Symfony: Doctrine Integration Not Working

Problem:

$dto = UserDTO::fromEntity($user);
// Error: Method not found

Solution:

// Use DataMapper for entity mapping
$dto = DataMapper::from($user)
    ->target(UserDTO::class)
    ->template([
        'name' => 'name',
        'email' => 'email',
    ])
    ->map()
    ->getTarget();

// Or convert entity to array first
$dto = UserDTO::fromArray([
    'name' => $user->getName(),
    'email' => $user->getEmail(),
]);

Symfony: Security Integration Not Working

Problem:

#[WhenGranted('ROLE_ADMIN')]
public readonly ?array $adminData = null;
// Always null

Solution:

// Pass security context
$dto->withContext([
    'security' => $this->security,
])->toArray();

TypeScript Generation Issues

TypeScript Not Generated

Problem:

php artisan dto:typescript
# No files generated

Solution:

# Check output path exists
mkdir -p resources/js/types

# Check permissions
chmod 755 resources/js/types

# Specify output path
php artisan dto:typescript --output=resources/js/types

# Check for errors
php artisan dto:typescript --verbose

See Also

• Quick Start - Get started guide
• Validation - Validation details
• Type Casting - Type casting guide
• Performance - Performance optimization