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Last Updated: 2023-09-11 09:13:01
A Laravel package to attach time-sliced meta data to Eloquent models.
License: MIT License
Languages: PHP
A Laravel package to attach time-sliced meta data to Eloquent models.
Multiplex allows you to attach time-sliced metadata to Eloquent models in a convenient way.
$post = \App\Models\Post::first();
// Set meta fluently for any key – `likes` is no column of `Post`.
$post->likes = 24;
// Or use the `setMeta` method.
$post->setMeta('likes', 24);
// You may also schedule changes, for example change the meta in 2 years:
$post->setMetaAt('likes', 6000, '+2 years');
The main difference is that the metadata in Multiplex has a timestamp that defines validity. This allows changes to be tracked and planned. You can inspect all metadata on your model at a specific point in time and Multiplex will by default only give you the most current.
Since Multiplex is storing the metadata in a polymorphic table, it can easily be plugged into existing projects to expand properties of your models. This even works without removing the relevant table columns of your model: They are used as a fallback.
And it’s low profile: If you don't like it, just remove the HasMeta
Trait and everything is back to normal.
You can install the package via composer:
composer require kolossal-io/laravel-multiplex
Publish the migrations to create the meta
table where metadata will be stored.
php artisan migrate
Attach the HasMeta
trait to any Eloquent model that needs meta attached.
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Kolossal\Multiplex\HasMeta;
class Post extends Model
{
use HasMeta;
}
By default you can use any key
for attaching metadata. You can limit which keys can be used.
$model->setMeta('foo', 'bar');
// or
$model->foo = 'bar';
You may also set multiple meta values by passing an array
.
$model->setMeta([
'hide' => true,
'color' => '#000',
'likes' => 24,
]);
All metadata will be stored automatically when saving your model.
$model->foo = 'bar';
$model->isMetaDirty(); // true
$model->save();
$model->isMetaDirty(); // false
You can also save your model without saving metadata.
$model->saveWithoutMeta();
$model->isMetaDirty(); // true
$model->saveMeta();
You can reset metadata changes that were not yet saved.
$model->resetMeta();
Metadata can be stored right away without waiting for the parent model to be saved.
// Save the given meta value right now.
$model->saveMeta('foo', 123.45);
// Save only specific keys of the changed meta.
$model->setMeta(['color' => '#fff', 'hide' => false]);
$model->saveMeta('color');
$model->isMetaDirty('hide'); // true
// Save multiple meta values at once.
$model->saveMeta([
'color' => '#fff',
'hide' => true,
]);
You can save metadata for a specific publishing date.
$user = Auth::user();
$user->saveMeta('favorite_band', 'The Mars Volta');
$user->saveMetaAt('favorite_band', 'Portishead', '+1 week');
// Changing taste in music: This will return `The Mars Volta` now but `Portishead` in a week.
$user->favorite_band;
This way you can change historic data as well.
$user->saveMetaAt('favorite_band', 'Arctic Monkeys', '-5 years');
$user->saveMetaAt('favorite_band', 'Tool', '-1 year');
// This will return `Tool` – which is true since this is indeed a good band.
$user->favorite_band;
You may also save multiple metadata records at once.
$user->setMeta('favorite_color', 'blue');
$user->setMeta('favorite_band', 'Jane’s Addiction');
$user->saveMetaAt('+1 week');
// or
$user->saveMetaAt([
'favorite_color' => 'blue',
'favorite_band' => 'Jane’s Addiction',
], '+1 week');
Multiplex will store metadata in a polymorphic table and take care of serializing and unserializing datatypes for you. The underlying polymorphic meta
table may look something like this:
metable_type | metable_id | key | value | type | published_at |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
App\Models\Post | 1 |
color | #000 | string | 2022-11-29 13:13:45 |
App\Models\Post | 1 |
likes | 24 | integer | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 |
App\Models\Post | 1 |
hide | true | boolean | 2022-11-27 16:32:08 |
App\Models\Post | 1 |
color | #fff | string | 2030-01-01 00:00:00 |
The corresponding meta values would look like this:
$post = Post::find(1);
$post->color; // string(4) "#000"
$post->likes; // int(24)
$post->hide; // bool(true)
// In the year 2030 `$post->color` will be `#fff`.
You can access metadata as if they were properties on your model.
$post->likes; // (int) 24
$post->color; // (string) '#000'
Or use the getMeta()
method to specify a fallback value for non-existent meta.
$post->getMeta('likes', 0); // Use `0` as a fallback.
You can also retrieve the meta
relation on your model. This will only retrieve the most recent value per key
that is released yet.
$post->saveMeta([
'author' => 'Anthony Kiedis',
'color' => 'black',
]);
$post->saveMetaAt('author', 'Jimi Hendrix', '1970-01-01');
$post->saveMetaAt('author', 'Omar Rodriguez', '+1 year');
$post->meta->pluck('value', 'key');
/**
* Illuminate\Support\Collection {
* all: [
* "author" => "Anthony Kiedis",
* "color" => "black",
* ],
* }
*/
There is a shorthand to pluck all the current meta data attached to the model. This will include all explicitly defined meta keys with a default of null
.
// Allow any meta key and explicitly allow `foo` and `bar`.
$post->metaKeys(['*', 'foo', 'bar']);
$post->saveMeta('foo', 'a value');
$post->saveMeta('another', true);
$post->pluckMeta();
/**
* Illuminate\Support\Collection {
* all: [
* "foo" => "a value",
* "bar" => null,
* "another" => true,
* ],
* }
*/
If you instead want to retrieve all meta that was published yet, use the publishedMeta
relation.
// This array will also include `Jimi Hendrix´.
$post->publishedMeta->toArray();
If you want to inspect all metadata including unpublished records, use the allMeta
relation.
$post->allMeta->toArray();
You can determine if a Meta
instance is the most recent published record for the related model or if it is not yet released.
$meta = $post->allMeta->first();
$meta->is_current; // (bool)
$meta->is_planned; // (bool)
Meta
ModelThere are also some query scopes on the Meta
model itself that may be helpful.
Meta::published()->get(); // Only current and historic meta.
Meta::planned()->get(); // Only meta not yet published.
Meta::publishedBefore('+1 week')->get(); // Only meta published by next week.
Meta::publishedAfter('+1 week')->get(); // Only meta still unpublished in a week.
Meta::onlyCurrent()->get(); // Only current meta without planned or historic data.
Meta::withoutHistory()->get(); // Query without stale records.
Meta::withoutCurrent()->get(); // Query without current records.
By default these functions will use Carbon::now()
to determine what metadata is considered the most recent, but you can also pass a datetime to look from.
// Get records that have been current a month ago.
Meta::onlyCurrent('-1 month')->get();
// Get records that will not be history by tommorow.
Meta::withoutHistory(Carbon::now()->addDay())->get();
You can query records having meta data for the given key(s).
// Find posts having at least one meta records for `color` key.
Post::whereHasMeta('color')->get();
// Or pass an array to find records having meta for at least one of the given keys.
Post::whereHasMeta(['color', 'background_color'])->get();
You can query records not having meta data for the given key(s).
// Find posts not having any meta records for `color` key.
Post::whereDoesntHaveMeta('color')->get();
// Or find records not having meta for any of the given keys.
Post::whereDoesntHaveMeta(['color', 'background_color'])->get();
You can retrieve models having meta with the given key and value.
// Find posts where the current attached color is `black`.
Post::whereMeta('color', 'black')->get();
// Find posts where the current attached color is not `black`.
Post::whereMeta('color', '!=', 'black')->get();
// Find posts that are `visible`.
Post::whereMeta('visible', true)->get();
// There are alternatives for building `or` clauses for all scopes.
Post::whereMeta('visible', true)->orWhere('hidden', false)->get();
Multiplex will take care of finding the right datatype for the passed query.
// Matches only meta records with type `boolean`.
Post::whereMeta('hidden', false)->get();
// Matches only meta records with type `datetime`.
Post::whereMeta('release_at', '<=', Carbon::now())->get();
You may also query by an array if values. Each array value will be typecasted individually.
// Find posts where `color` is `black` (string) or `false` (boolean).
Post::whereMetaIn('color', ['black', false])->get();
If you would like to query without typecasting use whereRawMeta()
instead.
Post::whereRawMeta('hidden', '')->get();
Post::whereRawMeta('likes', '>', '100')->get();
You can also define which datatype to use.
Post::whereMetaOfType('integer', 'count', '0')->get();
Post::whereMetaOfType('null', 'foo', '')->get();
You can query for empty or non-empty metadata where null
or empty strings would be considered being empty.
Post::whereMetaEmpty('favorite_band')->get();
// Get all posts having meta names `likes` and `comments` where *both* of them are not empty.
Post::whereMetaNotEmpty(['likes', 'comments'])->get();
You can listen for the following events that will be fired by Multiplex.
MetaHasBeenAdded
This event will be fired once a new version of meta is saved to the model.
use Kolossal\Multiplex\Events\MetaHasBeenAdded;
class SomeListener
{
public function handle(MetaHasBeenAdded $event)
{
$event->meta; // The Meta model that was added.
$event->model; // The parent model, same as $event->meta->metable.
$event->type; // The class name of the parent model.
}
}
MetaHasBeenRemoved
This event will be fired once metadata is removed by using deleteMeta
. The event will fire only once per key and the $meta
property on the event will contain the latest meta only.
use Kolossal\Multiplex\Events\MetaHasBeenRemoved;
class SomeListener
{
public function handle(MetaHasBeenRemoved $event)
{
$event->meta; // The Meta model that was removed.
$event->model; // The parent model, same as $event->meta->metable.
$event->type; // The class name of the parent model.
}
}
You can get the metadata for a model at a specific point in time.
$user = Auth::user()->withMetaAt('-1 week');
$user->favorite_band; // Tool
$user->withMetaAt(Carbon::now())->favorite_band; // The Mars Volta
This way you can inspect the whole set of metadata that was valid at the time.
Post::first()->withMetaAt('2022-10-01 15:00:00')->meta->pluck('value', 'key');
You can also query by meta for a specific point in time.
Post::travelTo('-14 days')->whereMetaIn('foo', [false, 0])->get();
Post::travelTo('+2 years')->where('category', 'tech')->get();
Remember to travel back if you want to perform further actions.
Post::travelTo('-1 year')->where('category', 'tech')->get();
Post::where('category', 'tech')->get(); // Will still look for meta published last year.
Post::travelBack();
Post::where('category', 'tech')->get(); // Find current meta.
You can limit which keys can be used for metadata by setting $metaKeys
on the model.
class Post extends Model
{
use HasMeta;
protected array $metaKeys = [
'color',
'hide',
];
}
By default all keys are allowed.
protected array $metaKeys = ['*'];
You can also change the allowed meta keys dynamically.
$model->metaKeys(['color', 'hide']);
You might as well cast your attributes using the MetaAttribute
cast which will automatically allow the attribute being used as a meta key.
use Kolossal\Multiplex\MetaAttribute;
class Post extends Model
{
use HasMeta;
protected $metaKeys = [];
protected $casts = [
'body' => MetaAttribute::class,
];
}
Trying to assign a value to a meta key that is not allowed will throw a Kolossal\Multiplex\Exceptions\MetaException
.
If you have Eloquent Strictness enabled it is recommended to explicitely cast the meta attributes to MetaAttribute
.
Sometimes you may wish to force typecasting of meta attributes. You can bypass guessing the correct type and define which type should be used for specific meta keys.
protected array $metaKeys = [
'foo',
'count' => 'integer',
'color' => 'string',
'hide' => 'boolean',
];
By default Multiplex will not touch columns of your model. But sometimes it might be useful to have meta records as an extension for your existing table columns.
Consider having an existing Post
model with only a title
and a body
column. By explicitely adding body
to our array of meta keys body
will be handled by Multiplex from now on – not touching the posts
table, but using the database column as a fallback.
class Post extends Model
{
use HasMeta;
protected $metaKeys = [
'*',
'body',
];
}
\DB::table('posts')->create(['title' => 'A title', 'body' => 'A body.']);
$post = Post::first();
$post->body; // A body.
$post->body = 'This. Is. Meta.';
$post->save();
$post->body; // This. Is. Meta.
$post->deleteMeta('body');
$post->body; // A body.
In case of using Multiplex for extending table columns, Multiplex will remove the original column when retrieving models from the database so you don’t get stale data.
You can delete any metadata associated with the model from the database.
// Delete all meta records for the `color` key.
$post->deleteMeta('color');
// Or delete all meta records associated with the model.
$post->purgeMeta();
Since Multiplex stores metadata in a polymorphic One To Many relationship querying your models could easily result in a N+1
query problem.
Depending on your use case you should consider eager loading the meta
relation, for example using $with
on your model. This might be especially useful if you are extending database columns.
// Worst case: 26 queries if `color` is a meta value.
$colors = Post::take(25)->get()->map(
fn ($post) => $post->color;
);
// Same result with only 2 queries.
$colors = Post::with('meta')->take(25)->get()->map(
fn ($post) => $post->color;
);
There is no need to configure anything but if you like, you can publish the config file with:
php artisan vendor:publish --tag="multiplex-config"
This package is heavily based on and inspired by Laravel-Metable by Sean Fraser as well as laravel-meta by Kodeine. The Package Skeleton by the great Spatie was used as a starting point.
Copyright © kolossal. Released under MIT License.