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Symfony RESTful API: Hypermedia, Links & Bonuses (Course 5)

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Finishing the Battle

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Head to the controller. We've got this form flow mastered! Step 1: create a new BattleModel object: $battleModel = new BattleModel():

37 lines src/AppBundle/Controller/Api/BattleController.php
... lines 1 - 11
class BattleController extends BaseController
{
/**
* @Route("/api/battles")
* @Method("POST")
*/
public function newAction(Request $request)
{
$battleModel = new BattleModel();
... lines 21 - 34
}
}

Step 2: create the form: $form = $this->createForm() with BattleType::class:

37 lines src/AppBundle/Controller/Api/BattleController.php
... lines 1 - 5
use AppBundle\Form\BattleType;
... lines 7 - 11
class BattleController extends BaseController
{
... lines 14 - 17
public function newAction(Request $request)
{
$battleModel = new BattleModel();
$form = $this->createForm(BattleType::class, $battleModel);
... lines 22 - 34
}
}

On my version of PhpStorm, I need to go back and re-type the e to trigger auto-completion so that the use statement is added above.

For the second argument to createForm: pass it $battleModel.

Step 3: Use $this->processForm():

37 lines src/AppBundle/Controller/Api/BattleController.php
... lines 1 - 11
class BattleController extends BaseController
{
... lines 14 - 17
public function newAction(Request $request)
{
$battleModel = new BattleModel();
$form = $this->createForm(BattleType::class, $battleModel);
$this->processForm($request, $form);
... lines 23 - 34
}
}

Remember, this is a method we added in BaseController:

187 lines src/AppBundle/Controller/BaseController.php
... lines 1 - 19
abstract class BaseController extends Controller
{
... lines 22 - 142
protected function processForm(Request $request, FormInterface $form)
{
$data = json_decode($request->getContent(), true);
if ($data === null) {
$apiProblem = new ApiProblem(400, ApiProblem::TYPE_INVALID_REQUEST_BODY_FORMAT);
throw new ApiProblemException($apiProblem);
}
$clearMissing = $request->getMethod() != 'PATCH';
$form->submit($data, $clearMissing);
}
... lines 155 - 185
}

it decodes the Request body and submits it into the form, which is what we do on every endpoint that processes data.

Type-hint the Request argument for the controller and pass this to processForm().

If the form is not valid, we need to send back errors. Use another method from earlier: $this->throwApiProblemValidationException() and pass it the $form object:

37 lines src/AppBundle/Controller/Api/BattleController.php
... lines 1 - 11
class BattleController extends BaseController
{
... lines 14 - 17
public function newAction(Request $request)
{
$battleModel = new BattleModel();
$form = $this->createForm(BattleType::class, $battleModel);
$this->processForm($request, $form);
if (!$form->isValid()) {
$this->throwApiProblemValidationException($form);
}
... lines 27 - 34
}
}

This will grab the validation errors off and create that response.

At this point, we have a BattleModel object that's populated with the Programmer and Project objects sent in the request. To create the battle, we need to use the BattleManager. Do that with $this->getBattleManager() - that's just a shortcut to get the service - ->battle() and pass it $battleModel->getProgrammer() and $battleModel->getProject():

37 lines src/AppBundle/Controller/Api/BattleController.php
... lines 1 - 11
class BattleController extends BaseController
{
... lines 14 - 17
public function newAction(Request $request)
{
$battleModel = new BattleModel();
$form = $this->createForm(BattleType::class, $battleModel);
$this->processForm($request, $form);
if (!$form->isValid()) {
$this->throwApiProblemValidationException($form);
}
$battle = $this->getBattleManager()->battle(
$battleModel->getProgrammer(),
$battleModel->getProject()
);
... lines 32 - 34
}
}

Put a little $battle = in the beginning of all of this to get the new Battle object. Perfect!

Now that the battle has been heroically fought, let's send back the gory details. Use return $this->createApiResponse() and pass it $battle and the 201 status code:

37 lines src/AppBundle/Controller/Api/BattleController.php
... lines 1 - 11
class BattleController extends BaseController
{
... lines 14 - 17
public function newAction(Request $request)
{
$battleModel = new BattleModel();
$form = $this->createForm(BattleType::class, $battleModel);
$this->processForm($request, $form);
if (!$form->isValid()) {
$this->throwApiProblemValidationException($form);
}
$battle = $this->getBattleManager()->battle(
$battleModel->getProgrammer(),
$battleModel->getProject()
);
// todo - set Location header
return $this->createApiResponse($battle, 201);
}
}

We aren't setting a Location header yet, so let's at least add a todo for that.

We are done! Controller, model and form: these are the only pieces we need to create a robust endpoint. Try the test:

./vendor/bin/phpunit --filter testPOSTCreateBattle

We are in prime battling shape.

Now, let's complicate things and learn how to really take control of every field in our endpoint. And, learn more about relations.

Leave a comment!

This tutorial uses an older version of Symfony. The concepts of Hypermedia & HATEOAS are still valid. But I recommend using API Platform in modern Symfony apps.
Symfony 3

What PHP libraries does this tutorial use?

// composer.json
{
    "require": {
        "php": ">=5.5.9",
        "symfony/symfony": "3.0.*", // v3.0.3
        "doctrine/orm": "^2.5", // v2.5.4
        "doctrine/doctrine-bundle": "^1.6", // 1.6.2
        "doctrine/doctrine-cache-bundle": "^1.2", // 1.3.0
        "symfony/swiftmailer-bundle": "^2.3", // v2.3.11
        "symfony/monolog-bundle": "^2.8", // v2.10.0
        "sensio/distribution-bundle": "^5.0", // v5.0.4
        "sensio/framework-extra-bundle": "^3.0.2", // v3.0.14
        "incenteev/composer-parameter-handler": "~2.0", // v2.1.2
        "jms/serializer-bundle": "^1.1.0", // 1.1.0
        "white-october/pagerfanta-bundle": "^1.0", // v1.0.5
        "lexik/jwt-authentication-bundle": "^1.4", // v1.4.3
        "willdurand/hateoas-bundle": "^1.1" // 1.1.1
    },
    "require-dev": {
        "sensio/generator-bundle": "^3.0", // v3.0.6
        "symfony/phpunit-bridge": "^3.0", // v3.0.3
        "behat/behat": "~3.1@dev", // dev-master
        "behat/mink-extension": "~2.2.0", // v2.2
        "behat/mink-goutte-driver": "~1.2.0", // v1.2.1
        "behat/mink-selenium2-driver": "~1.3.0", // v1.3.1
        "phpunit/phpunit": "~4.6.0", // 4.6.10
        "doctrine/doctrine-fixtures-bundle": "^2.3" // 2.3.0
    }
}
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