CoverArray: Object-Oriented Array Wrapper for PHP (PHP Collection)

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Test Status

PHP Version	Status
8.0
8.1
8.2
8.3
8.4
8.5

Code Coverage

Requirements

PHP >= 8.0

Installation

composer require krugozor/cover

CoverArray: Object-Oriented Array Wrapper for PHP (PHP Collection)

Created by human, verified and tested by artificial intelligence. Release 2026

Why CoverArray Was Created

In modern PHP development, we often work with arrays as the primary data structure. However, PHP's native array functions have several limitations that CoverArray solves.

The Problem with Native PHP Arrays

Inconsistent function naming: Some functions use underscores (array_map), others don't (usort)
Mixed parameter orders: Functions like array_map($callback, $array) vs array_filter($array, $callback)
No method chaining: Native functions return new arrays, requiring intermediate variables
Limited type safety: No IDE autocompletion or static analysis support
Verbose syntax: Complex operations require nested function calls

What CoverArray Solves

CoverArray provides a clean, object-oriented interface that wraps PHP arrays while maintaining full compatibility with native functions:

// Data: users with age and status
// Task: get names of active users over 18, sorted by descending score
$users = [
    ['name' => 'Alice', 'age' => 25, 'active' => true, 'score' => 85],
    ['name' => 'Bob', 'age' => 17, 'active' => false, 'score' => 45],
    ['name' => 'Charlie', 'age' => 32, 'active' => true, 'score' => 92],
    ['name' => 'Diana', 'age' => 19, 'active' => true, 'score' => 78],
    ['name' => 'Eve', 'age' => 22, 'active' => false, 'score' => 61],
];

Before (Native PHP):

$filtered = array_filter($users, fn($u) => $u['active'] && $u['age'] >= 18);
$sorted = usort($filtered, fn($a, $b) => $b['score'] <=> $a['score']) ? $filtered : [];
$names = array_column($sorted, 'name');
$result = implode(', ', $names); // Charlie, Alice, Diana

After (CoverArray):

// EVERYTHING IN ONE LINE!
$result = CoverArray::fromArray($users)
    ->filter(fn($u) => $u->active && $u->age >= 18)
    ->usort(fn($a, $b) => $b->score <=> $a->score)
    ->values()
    ->column('name')
    ->implode(', '); // Charlie, Alice, Diana

Key Benefits

No External Dependencies: Pure PHP implementation, no additional packages required
Consistent API: All methods follow $array->method($arguments) pattern
Method Chaining: Chain multiple operations in a readable way
IDE Support: Full autocompletion and type hints
Modern Syntax: Designed for PHP 8.0+ with strict typing
Dot Notation: Easy nested data access with $array->get('user.profile.name')
JSON Support: Built-in serialization/deserialization
Immutable Operations: Most methods return new instances, preserving original data
Full Compatibility: Works seamlessly with existing array-based code

Real-World Use Cases

Example 1: Configuration Management with Dot Notation

// Load and access nested configuration safely
$config = CoverArray::fromJson(file_get_contents('config.json'));

// Direct nested access with default fallbacks
$dbHost = $config->get('database.connections.mysql.host', fn($value) => $value ?? 'localhost');
$dbPort = $config->get('database.connections.mysql.port', fn($value) => $value ?? 3306);

// Access with callback for complex defaults
$apiKeys = $config->get('services.payment.keys', function($keys) {
    return $keys ?? CoverArray::fromArray([
        'public' => 'default_public_key',
        'secret' => 'default_secret_key'
    ]);
});

Example 2: API Response Processing Pipeline

// Real-world API processing: filter, transform, and extract data
$apiResponse = CoverArray::fromJson($httpResponse)
    ->get('data.users', function (mixed $users): CoverArray {
        if ($users === null) {
            return new CoverArray();
        }

        /** @var CoverArray $users */
        return $users
            ->filter(fn($u) => $u['active'] == '1' && $u['email_verified'])
            ->map(fn($u) => [
                'id' => $u['id'],
                'name' => $u['first_name'] . ' ' . $u['last_name'],
                'email' => strtolower($u['email']),
                'role' => $u['role'] ?? 'user'
            ])
            ->usort(fn($a, $b) => $a['name'] <=> $b['name']);
    });

// Extract specific columns for dropdown
$userOptions = $apiResponse->column('name', 'id')->getDataAsArray();

Example 3: Log Analysis and Error Reporting

// Parse application logs and extract error patterns
$logLines = CoverArray::fromExplode("\n", file_get_contents('app.log'))
    ->filter(fn($line) => !empty(trim($line)));

// Extract and categorize errors
$errors = $logLines
    ->filter(fn($line) => str_contains($line, 'ERROR'))
    ->map(function($line) {
        preg_match('/\[(.*?)\].*ERROR:\s*(\w+)\s*-\s*(.*)/', $line, $matches);
        return [
            'timestamp' => $matches[1] ?? 'Unknown',
            'type' => $matches[2] ?? 'General',
            'message' => $matches[3] ?? $line
        ];
    });

// Group by error type and count occurrences
$errorStats = $errors
    ->column('type')
    ->countValues()
    ->arsort(); // Sort by frequency

// Generate error report
$report = "Error Report:\n";
foreach ($errorStats as $type => $count) {
    $report .= "- {$type}: {$count} occurrences\n";
}

// Find most recent critical error
$lastCritical = $errors
    ->filter(fn($e) => $e['type'] === 'Critical')
    ->last();

CoverArray bridges the gap between PHP's powerful array functions and modern object-oriented practices, making array manipulation more expressive, maintainable, and enjoyable.

Comparison Table: CoverArray Methods vs PHP Array Functions

#	PHP Function	CoverArray Method	Status	Notes
1	`array_all`	`all()`	✅	Implemented with polyfill for older PHP versions
2	`array_any`	`any()`	✅	Implemented with polyfill for older PHP versions
3	`array_change_key_case`	`changeKeyCase()`	✅	Full implementation
4	`array_chunk`	`chunk()`	✅	Full implementation
5	`array_column`	`column()`	✅	Full implementation
6	`array_combine`	`combine()`	✅	Full implementation (static method)
7	`array_count_values`	`countValues()`	✅	Full implementation
8	`array_diff`	`diff()`	✅	Full implementation
9	`array_diff_assoc`	`diffAssoc()`	✅	Full implementation
10	`array_diff_key`	`diffKey()`	✅	Full implementation
11	`array_diff_uassoc`	`diffUassoc()`	✅	Full implementation
12	`array_diff_ukey`	`diffUkey()`	✅	Full implementation
13	`array_fill`	`fill()`	✅	Full implementation (static method)
14	`array_fill_keys`	`fillKeys()`	✅	Full implementation (static method)
15	`array_filter`	`filter()`	✅	Full implementation
16	`array_find`	`find()`	✅	Implemented with polyfill for older PHP versions
17	`array_find_key`	`findKey()`	✅	Implemented with polyfill for older PHP versions
18	`array_first`	`first()`	✅	Implemented with polyfill for older PHP versions
19	`array_flip`	`flip()`	✅	Full implementation
20	`array_intersect`	`intersect()`	✅	Full implementation
21	`array_intersect_assoc`	`intersectAssoc()`	✅	Full implementation
22	`array_intersect_key`	`intersectKey()`	✅	Full implementation
23	`array_intersect_uassoc`	`intersectUassoc()`	✅	Full implementation
24	`array_intersect_ukey`	`intersectUkey()`	✅	Full implementation
25	`array_is_list`	`isList()`	✅	Implemented with polyfill for older PHP versions
26	`array_key_exists`	`keyExists()`	✅	Full implementation
27	`array_key_first`	`keyFirst()`	✅	Uses built-in function
28	`array_key_last`	`keyLast()`	✅	Uses built-in function
29	`array_keys`	`keys()`	✅	Full implementation
30	`array_last`	`last()`	✅	Implemented with polyfill for older PHP versions
31	`array_map`	`map()`	✅	Full implementation
32	`array_merge`	`merge()`	✅	Full implementation
33	`array_merge_recursive`	`mergeRecursive()`	✅	Full implementation
34	`array_multisort`	`multisort()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
35	`array_pad`	`pad()`	✅	Full implementation
36	`array_pop`	`pop()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
37	`array_product`	`product()`	✅	Full implementation
38	`array_push`	`push()` / `append()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
39	`array_rand`	`rand()`	✅	Full implementation
40	`array_reduce`	`reduce()`	✅	Full implementation
41	`array_replace`	`replace()`	✅	Full implementation
42	`array_replace_recursive`	`replaceRecursive()`	✅	Full implementation
43	`array_reverse`	`reverse()`	✅	Full implementation
44	`array_search`	`search()`	✅	Full implementation
45	`array_shift`	`shift()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
46	`array_slice`	`slice()`	✅	Full implementation
47	`array_splice`	`splice()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
48	`array_sum`	`sum()`	✅	Full implementation
49	`array_udiff`	`udiff()`	✅	Full implementation
50	`array_udiff_assoc`	`udiffAssoc()`	✅	Full implementation
51	`array_udiff_uassoc`	`udiffUassoc()`	✅	Full implementation
52	`array_uintersect`	`uintersect()`	✅	Full implementation
53	`array_uintersect_assoc`	`uintersectAssoc()`	✅	Full implementation
54	`array_uintersect_uassoc`	`uintersectUassoc()`	✅	Full implementation
55	`array_unique`	`unique()`	✅	Full implementation
56	`array_unshift`	`unshift()` / `prepend()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
57	`array_values`	`values()`	✅	Full implementation
58	`array_walk`	`walk()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
59	`array_walk_recursive`	`walkRecursive()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
60	`arsort`	`arsort()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
61	`asort`	`asort()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
62	`compact`	`compact()`	⚠️	Not implementable (PHP scope limitations). Use: `CoverArray::fromArray(compact(...))`
63	`count`	`count()`	✅	Implementation of Countable interface
64	`current`	`current()`	✅	Full implementation
65	`end`	`end()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
66	`extract`	`extract()`	✅	Full implementation
67	`in_array`	`in()`	✅	Full implementation
68	`key`	`key()`	✅	Full implementation
69	`key_exists`	`keyExists()`	✅	Full implementation (same as array_key_exists)
70	`krsort`	`krsort()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
71	`ksort`	`ksort()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
72	`list`	`list()`	⚠️	Not implementable (language construct). Use: `list($a, $b) = $cover->getDataAsArray()`
73	`natcasesort`	`natcasesort()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
74	`natsort`	`natsort()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
75	`next`	`next()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
76	`pos`	`pos()`	✅	Alias of `current()`
77	`prev`	`prev()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
78	`range`	`range()`	✅	Full implementation (static method)
79	`reset`	`reset()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
80	`rsort`	`rsort()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
81	`shuffle`	`shuffle()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
82	`sort`	`sort()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
83	`uasort`	`uasort()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
84	`uksort`	`uksort()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)
85	`usort`	`usort()`	✅	Full implementation (mutating)

Additional CoverArray Methods

Method	Purpose	Access
`__clone()`	Creates a shallow copy with deep cloning of immediate object properties	Magic
`__get()`	Gets a property value using object property syntax	Magic
`__isset()`	Checks if a property is set	Magic
`__serialize()`	Serializes the object for serialization	Magic
`__set()`	Sets a property value using object property syntax	Magic
`__toString()`	Returns a string representation of the object	Magic
`__unserialize()`	Unserializes the object from serialized data	Magic
`__unset()`	Unsets a property	Magic
`clear()`	Clears all data	Public
`copy()`	Creates and returns a copy of the current object instance	Public
`each()`	Applies a callback to each element and returns a new instance with preserved keys (immutable, non-recursive)	Public
`eachRecursive()`	Recursively applies a callback to each element and returns a new instance (immutable, recursive)	Public
`fromArray()`	Creates a CoverArray from a native PHP array	Public Static
`fromExplode()`	Creates a CoverArray from a string using explode()	Public Static
`fromJson()`	Creates a CoverArray instance from a JSON string	Public Static
`get()`	Returns data by keys of the current object using dot notation	Public
`getData()`	Returns the internal data array as-is without any conversion	Public
`getDataAsArray()`	Returns the current object's data as a native PHP array	Public
`getIterator()`	Returns an iterator for the array (IteratorAggregate interface)	Public
`implode()`	Joins array elements with a string	Public
`isEmpty()`	Checks if the array is empty	Public
`item()`	Returns the collection element with the given index as the result	Public
`jsonSerialize()`	Specifies data which should be serialized to JSON (JsonSerializable interface)	Public
`offsetExists()`	Checks whether the specified offset exists in the array (ArrayAccess interface)	Public
`offsetGet()`	Returns the value at the specified offset (ArrayAccess interface)	Public
`offsetSet()`	Sets the value at the specified offset (ArrayAccess interface)	Public
`offsetUnset()`	Unsets the value at the specified offset (ArrayAccess interface)	Public
`setData()`	Sets the internal data for the CoverArray	Public
`toJson()`	Converts the CoverArray to a JSON string	Public

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 139 Commits
.claude		.claude
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
docs		docs
src		src
tests		tests
.claudeignore		.claudeignore
.editorconfig		.editorconfig
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
CLAUDE.md		CLAUDE.md
README.md		README.md
composer.json		composer.json
phpunit.xml		phpunit.xml

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CoverArray: Object-Oriented Array Wrapper for PHP (PHP Collection)

Why CoverArray Was Created

The Problem with Native PHP Arrays

What CoverArray Solves

Before (Native PHP):

After (CoverArray):

Key Benefits

Real-World Use Cases

Example 1: Configuration Management with Dot Notation

Example 2: API Response Processing Pipeline

Example 3: Log Analysis and Error Reporting

Comparison Table: CoverArray Methods vs PHP Array Functions

Additional CoverArray Methods

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CoverArray: Object-Oriented Array Wrapper for PHP (PHP Collection)

Why CoverArray Was Created

The Problem with Native PHP Arrays

What CoverArray Solves

Before (Native PHP):

After (CoverArray):

Key Benefits

Real-World Use Cases

Example 1: Configuration Management with Dot Notation

Example 2: API Response Processing Pipeline

Example 3: Log Analysis and Error Reporting

Comparison Table: CoverArray Methods vs PHP Array Functions

Additional CoverArray Methods

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