hudsxn/introspection

Rapid Reflection utility with extra ergonomic functions

v1.0.1 2026-01-04 02:56 UTC

Requires (Dev)

• phpunit/phpunit: ^10.1

MIT

• hudsxn

README

Hudsxn Introspection is a high-performance PHP library for full-depth class, interface, and trait introspection. It captures properties, constants, methods, method arguments, and attributes while supporting memory caching, filesystem-backed caching, and selective or full refresh modes. Ideal for frameworks, static analysis tools, IDE integrations, and any system that requires reliable reflection metadata.

Features

• Deep introspection of classes, interfaces, and traits
• Memory caching for repeated accesses
• Filesystem caching to persist introspection results across requests
• Refresh mode to regenerate metadata when source changes
• Selective refresh to optimize performance in large systems
• Singleton-based introspector for centralized caching and consistent results
• Fully tested and production-ready

Installation

Install via Composer:

composer require hudsxn/introspection

Basic Usage

use Hudsxn\Introspection\Introspector;

// Get singleton instance
$introspector = Introspector::getSelf();

// Initialize with cache directory
$introspector->init(__DIR__ . '/cache');

// Set mode (fastest in-memory caching)
$introspector->setMode(Introspector::MODE_FASTEST);

// Introspect a class
$classObj = $introspector->getClass(MyApp\ExampleClass::class);

// Access properties
foreach ($classObj->getProperties() as $property) {
    echo $property->getName() . ': ' . $property->getType() . PHP_EOL;
}

// Access methods and arguments
foreach ($classObj->getMethods() as $method) {
    echo $method->getName() . '(): ' . $method->getReturnType() . PHP_EOL;
    foreach ($method->getArguments() as $arg) {
        echo '  - ' . $arg->getName() . ': ' . $arg->getType() . PHP_EOL;
    }
}

Refresh Modes

• Default: Uses memory and filesystem caches
• Refresh: Regenerates class metadata from source
• Selective Refresh: Only refresh specific classes

// Refresh a single class
$introspector->setMode([\MyApp\ExampleClass::class]);
$refreshedClass = $introspector->getClass(MyApp\ExampleClass::class);

Filesystem Cache

• The library can persist introspected metadata to disk for faster repeated access.
• Clearing memory cache does not remove filesystem cache, so subsequent requests will load cached PHP files.

// Clear only memory cache
$introspector->clearInstanceCache();

// Clear memory + filesystem cache
$introspector->clearCache();

Performance Benefits

Operation	Without Cache	With Memory Cache	With Filesystem Cache
First introspection	100% parsing overhead	N/A	N/A
Second introspection	100% parsing	Near-instant	Near-instant
Subsequent request after memory clear	100% parsing	N/A	Near-instant (loaded from disk)

• Memory cache ensures repeated accesses are nearly instantaneous.
• Filesystem cache avoids repeated reflection parsing across processes.
• Works seamlessly for hundreds of classes with negligible overhead.

Testing

Run full test suite:

composer install
vendor/bin/phpunit

• The library is fully tested for memory caching, filesystem caching, refresh modes, and deep introspection of classes, interfaces, and traits.
• Tests validate that cached files maintain 100% fidelity with native PHP reflection.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please submit pull requests or open issues on GitHub.

• Follow PSR-12 coding standards
• Include tests for new features or fixes
• Ensure cache and introspection integrity

License

MIT License – see LICENSE