README

💎 AbstractMold is a set of abstract classes and shared utilities for centralized management of entity data changes, with strict control and single-point validation.

✨ Main idea

A Mold acts as a single entry point for handling any incoming user data (creation, updates, or partial patches). All changes go through the mold to ensure:

Whitelisted allowed fields only.
Centralized validation and normalization logic.
Predictable and consistent data preparation.

🧩 Two mold types

🟢 AbstractMutableMold

Allows step-by-step incremental data changes and gradual accumulation of modifications.

Perfect for form scenarios or multi-step wizards.
You can modify fields one by one or in batches.
Tracks which fields were explicitly changed.

🔵 AbstractImmutableMold

Accepts base data and a patch all at once in the constructor.

Ideal for APIs or services where you receive all data as a single payload.
Does not allow further modification after creation (immutable approach).

🚀 Installation

composer require asokol1981/abstract-mold

🚀 Usage examples

🟢 AbstractMutableMold usage

use ASokol1981\AbstractMold\AbstractMutableMold;

final class UserMutableMold extends AbstractMutableMold
{
    protected function publicFields(): array
    {
        return ['name', 'email', 'age'];
    }

    protected function validatedData(): array
    {
        $age = $this->getRawData('age');

        return [
            'name' => (string) $this->getRawData('name', ''),
            'email' => strtolower((string) $this->getRawData('email', '')),
            'age' => $age !== null ? (int) $age : null,
        ];
    }
}

// Usage

$mold = new UserMutableMold(['name' => 'John', 'email' => 'John@EXAMPLE.COM']);
$mold->change('name', 'Johnny');
$mold->changes(['email' => 'Johnny@EXAMPLE.COM', 'age' => '25']);

$data = $mold->validated();
// ['name' => 'Johnny', 'email' => 'johnny@example.com', 'age' => 25]

$changes = $mold->changesValidated();
// ['name' => 'Johnny', 'email' => 'johnny@example.com', 'age' => 25]

🔵 AbstractImmutableMold usage

use ASokol1981\AbstractMold\AbstractImmutableMold;

final class UserImmutableMold extends AbstractImmutableMold
{
    protected function publicFields(): array
    {
        return ['name', 'email', 'age'];
    }

    protected function validatedData(): array
    {
        $age = $this->getRawData('age');

        return [
            'name' => (string) $this->getRawData('name', ''),
            'email' => strtolower((string) $this->getRawData('email', '')),
            'age' => $age !== null ? (int) $age : null,
        ];
    }
}

// Usage

$mold = new UserImmutableMold(
    ['name' => 'John', 'email' => 'John@EXAMPLE.COM'],
    ['name' => 'Johnny', 'age' => '25']
);

$data = $mold->validated();
// ['name' => 'Johnny', 'email' => 'john@example.com', 'age' => 25]

$changes = $mold->changesValidated();
// ['name' => 'Johnny', 'age' => 25]

✅ Key advantages

🚦 Strict allowed fields control.
💾 Centralized validation logic.
🧩 Flexible design for different scenarios (mutable vs immutable).
⚡️ Built-in validated data cache for performance.
🛡 Safe and predictable API.

🤝 License

Created in collaboration with ChatGPT (OpenAI), July 2025.

asokol1981 / abstract-mold

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