Custom Build Implementation

Don't want to use container files but still want to compile the container into a fast generated class? Then this implementation is for you. Instead of parsing .ctn files, you feed service definitions to the ContainerBuilder yourself — from any source you like (a JSON file, a config array, a database).

This gives you the same compiled output as the Default implementation, just with your own definition format.

Example: building from a JSON document

Say you keep your service definitions in a JSON file:

{
    "session": {
        "class": "Session",
        "arguments": [ "@session.adapter", ":session.lifetime" ]
    },
    "session.adapter": {
        "class": "DatabaseSession",
        "arguments": ["@pdo"]
    }
}

Load it and hand the decoded array to the builder inside the factory callback:

$factory = new \ClanCats\Container\ContainerFactory(__DIR__ . '/cache');

$container = $factory->create('JsonContainer', function($builder)
{
    // decode the JSON file into an associative array
    $services = json_decode(file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/services.json'), true);

    // hand the whole array to the builder
    $builder->addArray($services);
});

Now the services resolve just like any other:

$session = $container->get('session'); // Session instance, with its dependencies injected

The array shape

ContainerBuilder::addArray() expects a map of service name → definition. Each definition supports these keys:

Key	Type	Description
class	string	Required. Fully qualified class name to instantiate.
arguments	array	Constructor arguments. Prefix @ for a service dependency, : for a parameter; anything else is a raw value.
calls	array	Method calls after construction. Each entry is ['method' => 'setX', 'arguments' => [...]].
shared	bool	Whether the service is shared (default true).

A fuller definition:

$builder->addArray([
    'logger' => [
        'class'     => '\Acme\Logger',
        'arguments' => ['@handler.file'],
        'calls'     => [
            ['method' => 'setLevel', 'arguments' => ['debug']],
        ],
        'shared'    => true,
    ],
]);

This mirrors exactly what a .ctn service definition produces — see Container Files › Services for the equivalent syntax. Under the hood each entry becomes a ServiceDefinition.

TIP

To add a single service programmatically instead of a whole array, use $builder->add($name, $class, $arguments, $shared).