Today, an introduction blog post to Panther was published on the Symfony blog! Panther is a new browser testing and web scraping library I contributed to the Symfony project,
In the blog post, I showcase how to use Symfony, API Platform and VueJS together to create a small but modern app, and how to test it on Panther:
Today, the API Platform framework has reached 3k stars on GitHub, and it makes us very proud! To celebrate, I’ve just tagged the 2.3 version, that comes with a lot of amazing new features. Let’s discover them!
We’re committed to continuously improving the performance of API Platform. In version 2.1, we’ve added an amazing invalidation-based cache mechanism. When enabled, HTTP responses are generated only one time then stored and served by a reverse caching proxy. When a resource is modified, all responses including or referencing it are automatically removed from the cache.
In version 2.3, Ben Davies has done an excellent job at profiling and patching the core component. Moreover, we’ve worked closely with the Symfony team to dramatically improve the performance of the Symfony Serializer component (one of the most important pieces of software used by API Platform).
With all these optimizations put together, in the scenario of a cache miss, API Platform-based apps are now more than 40% faster in version 2.3 compared to version 2.2 (Blackfire comparison):
A big thanks to Ben and to Nicolas Grekas from Blackfire.io for making it happen!
Support for API evolution (aka deprecating fields and resources)
A growing best practice is to use the evolution strategy for web APIs. Creating new versions of the API, of or its endpoints requires modifying all clients to upgrade, even the ones not impacted by the changes. On the other hand, this strategy (also known as versionless APIs) consists of deprecating the fields, resources types or operations that will be removed at some point. Most modern API formats including GraphQL, OpenAPI and Hydra are able to support this strategy.
In API Platform 2.3, we’ve introduced a new attribute to mark deprecated resource classes, operations and properties. All documentation formats generated by API Platform and having support for this feature will then automatically take it into account.
Here is how to deprecate an entire resource:
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<?php
namespaceApp\Entity;
useApiPlatform\Core\Annotation\ApiResource;
/**
* @ApiResource(deprecationReason="Create a Book instead")
*/
classParchment
{
// ...
}
As you can see, to deprecate a resource, we just have to explain what the client should do to upgrade in a dedicated attribute. You can also use this new deprecationReason attribute on any operation.
The deprecation will automatically be taken into account by clients supporting the previously mentioned format. Here is how it renders for OpenAPI in the built-in Swagger UI shipped with the framework:
And now in the built-in version of GraphiQL (for GraphQL APIs):
It’s also possible to deprecate a single field:
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<?php
namespaceApp\Entity;
useApiPlatform\Core\Annotation\ApiProperty;
useApiPlatform\Core\Annotation\ApiResource;
/**
* @ApiResource
*/
classReview
{
// ...
/**
* @ApiProperty(deprecationReason="Use the rating property instead")
*/
public$letter;
}
All our client-side tools have been updated to ignore deprecated fields, operations and resources by default. The api-doc-parser library (which supports Hydra, and OpenAPI in the latest version) also support this new feature.
Dedicated Profiler Panel and Web Debug Toolbar Integration
Symfony comes with a nice set of development tools, including the Profiler, and it is compatible with API Platform! To install it, execute composer req profiler. Thanks to the contributions of Julien Deniau and Anthony Grassiot, the Web Debug Toolbar now displays an icon featuring our nice spider Webby that is linked to a new profiler panel dedicated to API Platform:
Shorter Attributes Syntax
Defining attributes using annotations can become verbose pretty quickly. As alternatives to annotations, for complex configurations API Platform also supports the XML and YAML formats. However, in version 2.3, Baptiste Meyer added a nicer and shorter syntax to define attributes on the @ApiResource and @ApiProperty annotations:
Of course the “old” syntax is still valid, but the new shortcuts allow a better discoverability and enable autocompletion in IDEs (if you are a PHPStorm user, install the PHP Annotations plugin to benefit from this new feature).
Revamped Admin
In version 2.3, a lot of love has been given to the API Platform Admin Component. This JavaScript library, maintained by Morgan Auchedé, dynamically constructs a UI for any API supporting Hydra or OpenAPI.
It uses React, and was built on top of the Admin On Rest library. But as you may know, Admin On Rest has been deprecated and Marmelab, the company behind the tool, has released a replacement called React Admin. React Admin comes with an updated fancy interface and it also fixes some design issues.
So we’ve patched API Platform Admin to use the new kid on the block, and we’ve taken this opportunity to also fix a well known annoying issue on our side: the Admin component wasn’t able to deal with embedded relations. This isn’t the case anymore. What’s even better, the Admin is now smart enough to reuse the data already downloaded as embedded relation instead of triggering a new HTTP request. It allows to dramatically improve the performance of the admin!
We’ve also added support for new features introduced by React Admin, including bulk delete.
Other Features
Of course, this new version also includes a lot of new features that are less visible but also very useful. Here is the curated list of some interesting changes:
Make resource class’s constructor parameters writable
Add support for interface as a resource
Throw an exception if a required filter isn’t set
Allow to specify the message when access is denied using the access_control_message attribute
Add a new option to include null results when using the date filter
Allow data persisters to return a new instance instead of mutating the existing one
Add a new attribute to configure specific formats per resources or operations
Add an --output option to the api:swagger:export command
Drop support for PHP 7.0
Upgrade Swagger UI and GraphiQL
GraphQL: Add a totalCount field in GraphQL paginated collections
As usual, thank you very much to all the developers who’ve contributed these new features, bug fixes, and the related documentation entries. You’re the most important part of the project: the community.
It covers the main features of the API Platform framework: we will install the framework, design an API data model as a set of tiny plain old PHP classes and learn how to get:
A fully featured dev environment with Symfony Flex and React containers, HTTP/2 and HTTPS support and a cache proxy
Pagination, data validation, access control, relation embedding, filters and error handling
Support for modern REST API formats: JSON-LD/Hydra, OpenAPI/Swagger, JSONAPI, HAL, JSON…
GraphQL support
An API responding in a just few milliseconds thanks to the builtin invalidation based cache mechanism
A dynamically created Material Design admin interface (a la Sonata / EasyAdmin – but 100% client-side) built with React
The Symfony Serializer Component exists since the very beginning of Symfony 2. Years after years, it gained a lot of new features useful to transform various data formats to PHP structures and the opposite. It is also a foundation block of API Platform and a first-class citizen in FOSRest.
Let’s dive into this component. We will cover the basic concepts behind the serialization process: normalization, denormalization, encoding and decoding.
Then we will discover all the little known features of the component: JSON, XML and CSV support, file handling with “data:” URIs, serialization groups, attributes names conversion, trees support, updating existing objects, dealing with circular references.
Finally we will learn how to create custom normalizers and encoders; and how to modify the behavior of the builtin ones using composition.
GraphQL is an increasingly popular alternative to REST architectures for building web APIs.
The query language promoted by Facebook has undeniable advantages: retrieve exactly what the client need, limitation of the number of queries, strong typing, powerful and extremely well thought out syntax…
However, it also suffers from often underestimated problems including HTTP cache, logs, security or authentication, features that are the basis of the today’s web stack. GraphQL is also a non-standard format that requires a specific parser.
In addition, modern REST-based hypermedia formats such as JSON-LD or JSON API have features very similar to those of GraphQL (and more advanced ones) while remaining compatible with the fundamentals of the web.
The API Platform framework, based on Symfony, makes it easy to create REST APIs (JSON-LD, JSON API, HAL …) just like GraphQL.
After listing the advantages and disadvantages of different formats, we will study through different cases of frequent use when it is better to use GraphQL, REST or both in addition.
The goal of the RCSOC is to improve the diversity in Open Source development. It allows groups of 2 women students to work full-time on a FOSS project (such as API Platform) during the summer. Students are paid and mentored.
Rails Girls Summer of Code is a global fellowship program for women and non-binary coders. Students receive a three-month scholarship to work on existing Open Source projects and expand their skill set.
Our worker cooperative, Les-Tilleuls.coop, will also support the program by providing money, coaches (including me) and desktops (in Lille, France):
In our company, we attempt as much as possible to support associations engaged in the fight against social inequalities, or involved in a better access to culture and respect of the environment. Since our foundation in 2011, we have always upheld diversity in Open Source. Thus, it’s no surprise that we support Rails Girls’s Summer of Code program.
If you’re interested in working 3 months with us to improve cutting-edge Open Source projects, don’t by shy, apply!
Ce programme vise à favoriser la diversité dans le mode du logiciel libre. Il permet à des groupes de 2 étudiantes d’être payées durant l’été pour travailler (en binôme) sur des projets Open Source.
Notre SCOPLes-Tilleuls.coop participe également au programme en tant que sponsor, et va fournir des bureaux (à Euratechnologies, Lille) et des “coachs” afin d’accompagner les participantes :
Chez Les-Tilleuls.coop, nous tentons autant que possible d’accompagner des associations ou des entités engagées dans la lutte contre les inégalités sociales, l’accès à la culture, la formation, ou encore le respect de l’environnement. Notre coopérative s’implique aussi dans une meilleure diversité dans le numérique et c’est donc avec une certaine évidence que nous apportons notre soutien au programme “Summer of Code 2018” organisé par l’association Rails Girls (RGSoC).
Si vous êtes intéressées pour travailler 3 mois sur des projets Open Source innovants, ne soyez pas timides, postulez !
I’m glad to announce the immediate availability of API Platform 2.2 beta 1. This is a huge release that comes with a lot of exciting features including (but not limited too):
ReactJS and Vue.js Progressive Web App generators integration (a React Native app generator is also available)
Revamped Docker containers for both PHP and JavaScript components, including out of the box support for HTTP2, HTTPS and a built-in invalidation-based cache mechanism using Varnish
The ability to deploy in seconds in any Kubernetes cluster
A new, super-easy, way to register filters through annotations
And literally dozens of developer experience, performance and quality improvements
V2.2 will definitely be the best version of API Platform, and is probably the most advanced “full-stack” solution to create API-driven projects. The paradigm shift introduced by this new version has been detailed in my talk during the SymfonyCon 2017.
It took 6 months and 483 commits from more than 60 contributors to craft this version. The documentation has also been dramatically improved, even if some work is still to do (upgrading the getting started guide and migrating all articles to the new Flex directory structure, finish to document some new features).
Thank you very much to all contributors of the project! You rock!
Let’s see more in depth all of these new features:
The New Distribution
The easiest way to get started with API Platform has always been to use the provided Docker setup. In version 2.2, the Docker configuration has been totally redesigned to fit with the new features provided by Symfony Flex and to integrate our JavaScript components.
Decompress the archive and open a terminal in the resulting directory
Run
docker-compose up
You get:
– An API skeleton following the Flex directory structure. Just add classes representing your public data model (see the example below) to get a working hypermedia and/or GraphQL web API.
The API is available in HTTP/2 and HTTPS thanks to the provided development proxy. It also automatically benefits from the API Platform’s built-in cache mechanism (the Varnish container is also provided). CORS headers are automatically configured. As you can see, the nice documentation is – of course – still available if you open the entrypoint in a browser.
To generate the PWA, the tool parses the API hypermedia description automatically generated in the Hydra format by the API component. This generator can work with any server exposing a Hydra documentation (done with API Platform or not).
– Last but not least, a dynamically generated admin for the API is also automatically available:
Like the client generator, the API Platform Admin component also leverages the Hydra documentation to automatically guess the structure of the data exposed by the API.
Because it is built on top of React and Admin On Rest (aka React Admin), the UI is fully customizable.
Your app is now up and running in a managed cluster! Read the related documentation to learn more about the Kubernetes support.
GraphQL Support
GraphQL is a query language for APIs designed by Facebook that is becoming a very popular alternative to the REST pattern. GraphQL support has been the most wanted feature for a while, it is now fully implemented!
The new GraphQL subsystem of API Platform now supports:
Yes, both GraphQL and REST formats can be used for the same entity! Thanks to API Platform’s hypermedia support, you can even run a GraphQL request, then apply REST operations to the retrieved resources using their IRIs! The best of both worlds.
Your GraphQL API is ready! Browse
https://localhost:8443/graphql :
There is a lot to say about the GraphQL support, how to use it in collaboration with REST and how to apply fine-grained configurations. I’ll write a follow-up post dedicated to it, stay tuned!
JSON API is a rising, well designed, hypermedia format. Unlike JSON-LD (the default format exposed by API Platform), it’s not a web standard; and it has less features but it is also simpler to learn and understand.
With API Platform 2.2, you don’t have to choose, you can have both! And even more because API Platform supports out of the box JSON-LD/Hydra, HAL, JSON API, YAML, XML, raw JSON and as we’ve seen just before, GraphQL.
The API Platform filtering system is very powerful. It contains a lot of built-in filters and can easily be extended. However, until now, it wasn’t really easy to configure: it was requiring to declare services manually.
Because Symfony Flex is all about service autowiring and autoconfiguration, simplifying the filters configuration was a top priority task.
Hopefully, Antoine Bluchet created a nice way to do it using annotations:
Nothing more! You can now filter the collection of organizations by the
name property, both with REST and GraphQL!
In addition to these main features, a lot of other configuration options and various improvements have been introduced. Read the full changelogs for more information:
If you have some existing API Platform projects, or if you want to give a try to the framework, please test this new version and report any problem on our GitHub issue tracker!
Since API Platform 2.2, the Symfony Thanks command is also shipped with API Platform. Thanks to this tool, you can send a star to all the PHP libraries you use in your project (including API Platform) by simply running:
docker-compose exec php composer thanks
If you want to learn API Platform, come to one of the workshops organized during these upcoming tech conferences:
Don’t miss the next opportunities to learn @ApiPlatform during a 1 day workshop: – « Creating and deploying API Platform apps on @platformsh » / @APIdaysGlobal – « Mastering the API Platform’s server component » / @symfony_live Paris (2 sessions) then Phantasialand
This nice tool allows to automatically and dynamically build a fully featured administration interface (CRUD, pagination, relations…) for any API supporting the Hydra hypermedia vocabulary (more formats supported soon, see at the end of this article). 0 line of code required!
For instance, create a new app with Facebook’s create-react-app, replace the content of src/App.js with the previous snippet and run yarn add @api-platform/admin. You’re done!
If you get an error related to multiple versions of React being loaded, just remove the react and react-dom packages from your project’s package.json and run yarn install again.
If you don’t have a JSON-LD / Hydra API yet, here is the code of the one I’ll use in the following examples. This API has been created using the API Platform’s distribution:
Yes, you just need those two tiny PHP classes to get a hypermedia API. Learn more about the API component by reading the getting started guide. But, really, any API with a Hydra documentation will do the job regardless of the server-side programming language.
Native Support for to-Many Relations
API Platform Admin supports to-one relations since its very first release. However it was mandatory to customize the component used for to-many relations. This isn’t the case anymore. Our API documentation parser gained support for cardinalities and can now extract them if the API documentation includes OWL’s maxCardinality properties.
If no cardinality is provided, the admin will use a to-many widget by default.
Thanks to this new feature, here is how the edition screen of the Person resource looks like this:
The admin is able to guess that the Person resource is related to many Greeting ones and use the appropriate Admin On Rest component.
Detection of More Schema.org’s Types (name, url and email)
API Platform Admin is able to guess the widget to use depending of the type of a resource’s property. It supports:
Numbers (http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#float and http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#integer ranges)
Dates (http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#date and http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime ranges)
In this new release, Admin also supports some types of the popular Schema.org vocabulary:
As shown in the previous screenshots (e.g. Greetings select box), if a property has the type http://schema.org/name, this property will be used instead of the ID when displaying this relation
If a property has the type http://schema.org/url, the URL will be clickable when displayed in the admin
If a property has the type http://schema.org/email, the HTML input will be of type email and a basic validation will occur (this was already working in v0.1)
Support for Read-only Resources
The version 0.1 wasn’t able to deal with read-only resource (no POST nor PUT operation). We have improved the API doc parser to support owl:equivalentClass properties. Now, if the API documentation provide those properties, the admin will be builded even if the resource is read-only (of course in this case you will only be able to browse resources, and not to edit them).
Easier and Deeper Customization
Morgan Auchedé did an excellent work to make the Admin fully and easily customizable. You can now override any generated React component by a custom one, or one from Admin On Rest, or from MUI React. You can just replace (or ad, or remove) a specific input or field. But you can also replace a whole list, a show view, a creation or edition form or a remove button.
Here is an example of full customization, courtesy of Morgan:
The parser has been designed to be able to be parse other formats such as a GraphQL schema or Swagger/Open API. The api-doc-parser library provides an intermediate representation that is populated by the specific format parser. It’s this representation that is used by the parser as well as by our React and Vue.js Progressive Web App generator.
It means that when converters from other formats than Hydra to this intermediate representation will be available (Pull Requests welcome), both tools we’ll support those formats. As you may know, the server part of API Platform now supports GraphQL. You can guess which format we’ll implement next in the api-doc-parser!
