PHP Code Transformer

PHP Code Transformer is a PHP library that allows you to modify and transform the source code of a loaded PHP class.

Installation

composer require okapi/code-transformer

Usage

📖 List of contents

• Create a Kernel
• Create a Transformer
• Target Class
• Initialize the Kernel
• Target Class (transformed)
• Result
• Limitations
• How it works
• Testing

Create a Kernel

<?php

use Okapi\CodeTransformer\CodeTransformerKernel;

// Extend from the "CodeTransformerKernel" class
class Kernel extends CodeTransformerKernel
{
    // Define a list of transformer classes
    protected array $transformers = [
        StringTransformer::class,
        UnPrivateTransformer::class,
    ];
    
    // Define the settings of the kernel from the "protected" properties
    
    // The directory where the transformed source code will be stored
    protected ?string $cacheDir = __DIR__ . '/var/cache';
    
    // The cache file mode
    protected ?int $cacheFileMode = 0777;
}

Create a Transformer

// String Transformer

<?php

use Okapi\CodeTransformer\Transformer;
use Okapi\CodeTransformer\Transformer\Code;

// Extend from the "Transformer" class
class StringTransformer extends Transformer
{
    // Define the target class(es)
    public function getTargetClass(): string|array
    {
        // You can specify a single class or an array of classes
        // You can also use wildcards, see https://github.com/okapi-web/php-wildcards
        return MyTargetClass::class;
    }
    
    // The "transform" method will be called when the target class is loaded
    // Here you can modify the source code of the target class(es)
    public function transform(Code $code): void
    {
        // I recommend using the Microsoft\PhpParser library to parse the source
        // code. It's already included in the dependencies of this package and
        // the "$code->getSourceFileNode()" property contains the parsed source code.
        
        // But you can also use any other library or manually parse the source
        // code with basic PHP string functions and "$code->getOriginalSource()"

        $sourceFileNode = $code->getSourceFileNode();

        // Iterate over all nodes
        foreach ($sourceFileNode->getDescendantNodes() as $node) {
            // Find 'Hello World!' string
            if ($node instanceof StringLiteral
                && $node->getStringContentsText() === 'Hello World!'
            ) {
                // Replace it with 'Hello from Code Transformer!'
                // Edit method accepts a Token or Node class
                $code->edit(
                    $node->children,
                    "'Hello from Code Transformer!'",
                );
                
                // You can also manually edit the source code
                $code->editAt(
                    $node->getStartPosition() + 1,
                    $node->getWidth() - 2,
                    "Hello from Code Transformer!",
                );

                // Append a new line of code
                $code->append('$iAmAppended = true;');
            }
        }
    }
}

// UnPrivate Transformer

<?php

namespace Okapi\CodeTransformer\Tests\Stubs\Transformer;

use Microsoft\PhpParser\TokenKind;
use Okapi\CodeTransformer\Transformer;
use Okapi\CodeTransformer\Transformer\Code;

// Replace all "private" keywords with "public"
class UnPrivateTransformer extends Transformer
{
    public function getTargetClass(): string|array
    {
        return MyTargetClass::class;
    }

    public function transform(Code $code): void
    {
        $sourceFileNode = $code->getSourceFileNode();

        // Iterate over all tokens
        foreach ($sourceFileNode->getDescendantTokens() as $token) {
            // Find "private" keyword
            if ($token->kind === TokenKind::PrivateKeyword) {
                // Replace it with "public"
                $code->edit($token, 'public');
            }
        }
    }
}

Target Class

<?php

class MyTargetClass
{
    private string $myPrivateProperty = "You can't get me!";

    private function myPrivateMethod(): void
    {
        echo 'Hello World!';
    }
}

Initialize the Kernel

// Initialize the kernel early in the application lifecycle
// Preferably after the autoloader is registered

<?php

use MyKernel;

require_once __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

// Initialize the Code Transformer Kernel
$kernel = MyKernel::init();

Target Class (transformed)

<?php

class MyTargetClass
{
    public string $myPrivateProperty = "You can't get me!";
    
    public function myPrivateMethod(): void
    {
        echo 'Hello from Code Transformer!';
    }
}
$iAmAppended = true;

Result

<?php

// Just use your classes as usual
$myTargetClass = new MyTargetClass();

$myTargetClass->myPrivateProperty; // You can't get me!
$myTargetClass->myPrivateMethod(); // Hello from Code Transformer!

Limitations

• Normally xdebug will point to the original source code, not the transformed one. The problem with this is if you add or remove a line of code, xdebug will point to the wrong line, so try to keep the number of lines the same as the original source code.

How it works

• The CodeTransformerKernel registers multiple services

  • The TransformerManager service stores the list of transformers and their configuration

  • The CacheStateManager service manages the cache state

  • The StreamFilter service registers a PHP Stream Filter which allows to modify the source code before it is loaded by PHP

  • The AutoloadInterceptor service overloads the Composer autoloader, which handles the loading of classes

General workflow when a class is loaded

• The AutoloadInterceptor service intercepts the loading of a class

• The TransformerMatcher matches the class name with the list of transformer target classes

• If the class is matched, query the cache state to see if the transformed source code is already cached

  • Check if the cache is valid:

    • Modification time of the caching process is less than the modification time of the source file or the transformers
    • Check if the cache file, the source file and the transformers exist
    • Check if the number of transformers is the same as the number of transformers in the cache

  • If the cache is valid, load the transformed source code from the cache

  • If not, return a stream filter path to the AutoloadInterceptor service

• The StreamFilter modifies the source code by applying the matching transformers

  • If the modified source code is different from the original source code, cache the transformed source code
  • If not, cache it anyway, but without a cached source file path, so that the transformation process is not repeated

Testing

• Run composer run-script test
  or
• Run composer run-script test-coverage

Show your support

Give a ⭐ if this project helped you!

🙏 Thanks

• Big thanks to lisachenko for their pioneering work on the Go! Aspect-Oriented Framework for PHP. This project drew inspiration from their innovative approach and served as a foundation for this project.

📝 License

Copyright © 2023 Valentin Wotschel.
This project is MIT licensed.