Ramsey/collection is a PHP library that provides a set of basic collection classes and interfaces. It offers a robust and flexible way to work with arrays and array-like objects in PHP, enhancing the language's native array functionality with object-oriented design patterns.

Pros

• Provides a consistent and intuitive API for working with collections
• Offers type-safe collections through generics support
• Implements common interfaces like IteratorAggregate and Countable
• Well-documented and actively maintained

Cons

• May have a slight performance overhead compared to native PHP arrays
• Requires PHP 8.1 or later, which might not be available in all environments
• Learning curve for developers accustomed to working with native PHP arrays
• Adds an additional dependency to projects

Code Examples

1. Creating and using a Collection:

use Ramsey\Collection\Collection;

$collection = new Collection('string');
$collection->add('apple');
$collection->add('banana');
$collection->add('cherry');

foreach ($collection as $fruit) {
    echo $fruit . "\n";
}

2. Using a typed ArrayCollection:

use Ramsey\Collection\ArrayCollection;

class Person {
    public function __construct(public string $name, public int $age) {}
}

$people = new ArrayCollection(Person::class);
$people->add(new Person('Alice', 30));
$people->add(new Person('Bob', 25));

$names = $people->map(fn(Person $person) => $person->name);
print_r($names->toArray());

3. Filtering a collection:

use Ramsey\Collection\Collection;

$numbers = new Collection('int', [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]);
$evenNumbers = $numbers->filter(fn(int $number) => $number % 2 === 0);

print_r($evenNumbers->toArray());

Getting Started

To use ramsey/collection in your project, first install it via Composer:

composer require ramsey/collection

Then, you can start using the collection classes in your PHP code:

use Ramsey\Collection\Collection;

$collection = new Collection('string');
$collection->add('Hello');
$collection->add('World');

echo $collection->first(); // Outputs: Hello