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denisyu-1/articulate
====================

Context-bounded PHP ORM for domain-driven applications

v0.1.1(4mo ago)141[1 issues](https://github.com/DenisYu-1/articulate/issues)[1 PRs](https://github.com/DenisYu-1/articulate/pulls)Apache-2.0PHPPHP >=8.4CI passing

Since Feb 26Pushed 1w agoCompare

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Articulate
==========

[](#articulate)

Context-bounded PHP ORM for domain-driven applications

The Problem
-----------

[](#the-problem)

Traditional ORMs force one entity class per table. Auth needs only `login` and `password`, but it loads `phones`, `groups`, `cart`, and every other relation. The admin panel needs different fields than the API. Adding one relation to a `User` entity affects every consumer of that class.

The entity manager accumulates objects in memory for the entire request or process. Long-running jobs, batch imports, or complex flows have no way to release entities that are no longer needed without detaching everything.

 [![Articulate Logo](logo.svg)](logo.svg)

Articulate addresses these pains with context-bounded entities and scoped unit-of-work management.

Badges
------

[](#badges)

[![CI](https://github.com/DenisYu-1/articulate/workflows/QA/badge.svg)](https://github.com/DenisYu-1/articulate/actions)[![Mutation testing](https://camo.githubusercontent.com/37d607e74f439d9bcec663807b7ea28739ed572fc2b4ed20d8898c45d0bea326/68747470733a2f2f696d672e736869656c64732e696f2f62616467652f4d75746174696f6e25323053636f72652d38332532352b2d627269676874677265656e)](https://github.com/DenisYu-1/articulate/actions)[![PHP Version](https://camo.githubusercontent.com/6e44ad49e5307c87d1393389feb52ab61c99956e2e5f8c77177b2501f1d3d47f/68747470733a2f2f696d672e736869656c64732e696f2f62616467652f7068702d253345253344382e342d3838393242462e737667)](https://php.net/)

Quick Start
-----------

[](#quick-start)

```
use Articulate\Connection;
use Articulate\Modules\EntityManager\EntityManager;

#[Entity]
class User
{
    #[PrimaryKey]
    public ?int $id = null;

    #[Property]
    public string $name;

    #[Property]
    public string $email;
}

$connection = new Connection('mysql:host=127.0.0.1;dbname=myapp', 'user', 'password');
$em = new EntityManager($connection);

$user = new User();
$user->name = 'Jane';
$user->email = 'jane@example.com';
$em->persist($user);
$em->flush();

$user = $em->getRepository(User::class)->find($user->id);
```

Before / After
--------------

[](#before--after)

**Before** — one fat entity, every context gets everything:

```
#[Entity]
class User
{
    public int $id;
    public string $login;
    public string $password;
    public string $name;
    public array $phones;   // Auth doesn't need this
    public array $groups;  // Auth doesn't need this
    public Cart $cart;     // Auth doesn't need this
}

// Auth: loads full user + all relations
$user = $userRepo->find($id);
return $auth->validate($user->login, $user->password);
```

**After** — separate entities per context, same table:

```
#[Entity(tableName: 'user')]
class LoginUser
{
    #[PrimaryKey]
    public int $id;

    #[Property]
    public string $login;

    #[Property]
    public string $password;
}

#[Entity]
class User
{
    #[PrimaryKey]
    public int $id;

    #[Property]
    public string $name;

    #[OneToMany(ownedBy: 'user', targetEntity: Phone::class)]
    public array $phones;

    #[OneToOne(targetEntity: Cart::class, referencedBy: 'user')]
    public Cart $cart;
}

// Auth: loads only id, login, password
$loginUser = $em->getRepository(LoginUser::class)->find($id);
return $auth->validate($loginUser->login, $loginUser->password);
```

How Articulate Compares?
------------------------

[](#how-articulate-compares)

DoctrineCycle ORMArticulateMultiple entity classes per tableNo built-in supportNo, one entity per tableYes, first-class context-bounded entitiesMemory controlIdentity map held for process lifetime; clear-all or nothingSimilar modelScoped unit-of-work; release entities mid-requestConfig styleXML/YAML common, attributes optionalAnnotations/attributesAttributes only (PHP 8.4+)Articulate is aimed at projects where different bounded contexts need different views of the same data and where memory pressure matters in long-running or batch processes.

Core Concepts
-------------

[](#core-concepts)

### Context-Bounded Entities

[](#context-bounded-entities)

Multiple entity classes can point to the same database table, each exposing only the fields and relationships needed for that context. Articulate merges compatible column definitions and validates for conflicts.

### Read-Only Entities

[](#read-only-entities)

Mark a context-bounded entity as read-only when it intentionally omits required columns — for example, a `LoginUser` that exposes only `login` and `password` from a `users` table that has many more non-nullable columns.

```
#[Entity(tableName: 'user', readOnly: true)]
class LoginUser
{
    #[PrimaryKey]
    public int $id;

    #[Property]
    public string $login;

    #[Property]
    public string $password;
}

// find() and QueryBuilder work normally:
$loginUser = $em->getRepository(LoginUser::class)->find($id);
$auth->validate($loginUser->login, $loginUser->password);

// persist() and remove() throw ReadOnlyEntityException:
$em->persist($loginUser); // throws
```

`ReadOnlyEntityException` is thrown at `persist()` and `remove()` — before any SQL is built.

### Memory-Efficient Unit of Work

[](#memory-efficient-unit-of-work)

- Clear entities from memory that are no longer needed within specific operations
- Different units of work can track their own entities independently
- Entity manager combines all unit-of-work changes into minimal database queries during flush

Useful for processing large datasets, complex business operations spanning multiple contexts, and long-running processes with varying entity lifecycles.

Type Mapping System
-------------------

[](#type-mapping-system)

Built-in mappings: `bool` ↔ `TINYINT(1)`, `int` ↔ `INT`, `float` ↔ `FLOAT`, `string` ↔ `VARCHAR(255)`, `DateTimeInterface` ↔ `DATETIME`.

Custom class mappings and `TypeConverterInterface` for complex types. Priority-based resolution when a class implements multiple interfaces with registered mappings.

Repository Pattern
------------------

[](#repository-pattern)

```
$userRepo = $em->getRepository(User::class);
$user = $userRepo->find(1);
$users = $userRepo->findBy(['status' => 'active']);
$user = $userRepo->findOneBy(['email' => 'user@example.com']);
```

Custom repositories via `#[Entity(repositoryClass: UserRepository::class)]` extending `AbstractRepository`.

Caching
-------

[](#caching)

Articulate has three independent cache layers, all using PSR-6 (`CacheItemPoolInterface`). Pass the same pool instance to share backend, or separate instances for isolation.

### Second-Level Cache

[](#second-level-cache)

Cross-request entity cache. Survives beyond a single `EntityManager` instance.

```
Request A: identity map miss → DB hit → entity stored in L2 cache
Request B: identity map miss → L2 cache hit → DB skipped entirely
Request C: identity map miss → L2 cache hit → DB skipped entirely

```

Pass any PSR-6 pool to `EntityManager`. If no dedicated pool is given, it falls back to the result cache pool automatically.

```
$em = new EntityManager(
    $connection,
    resultCache: $cachePool,           // also backs L2 cache unless overridden
    secondLevelCacheTtl: 3600,
);

// Or with a dedicated L2 pool:
$em = new EntityManager(
    $connection,
    resultCache: $queryPool,
    secondLevelCache: $entityPool,     // separate backend for entity cache
    secondLevelCacheTtl: 3600,
);
```

`find()` checks the identity map first, then the L2 cache, then the database. On `flush()`, modified and deleted entity entries are evicted automatically — stale data is never served after a write.

### Query Result Cache

[](#query-result-cache)

Cache raw result sets from `QueryBuilder` queries. Useful for read-heavy queries that don't change often.

```
$users = $em->createQueryBuilder(User::class)
    ->from('users')
    ->where('status', 'active')
    ->enableResultCache(lifetime: 300, resultCacheId: 'active_users')
    ->getResult();
```

- Custom cache key via `resultCacheId`, or auto-generated from query shape + parameters
- Locked queries (`FOR UPDATE`) are never cached
- Call `disableResultCache()` to opt out per query

### Statement Cache

[](#statement-cache)

Caches compiled SQL strings (query structure, not results). Eliminates repeated SQL compilation for queries with the same shape but different parameter values.

```
$em = new EntityManager($connection, statementCache: $cachePool);
```

Transparent — no per-query opt-in needed. Failures are silently ignored so a broken cache backend never breaks queries.

Connection Pooling
------------------

[](#connection-pooling)

Enable PDO persistent connections to reuse open database connections across requests:

```
$connection = new Connection(
    dsn: 'mysql:host=127.0.0.1;dbname=myapp',
    user: 'root',
    password: 'secret',
    persistent: true,
);
```

Skips TCP handshake and authentication overhead on each request. Pair with a pool-aware cache backend for full cross-request performance.

MySQL Table Options (ENGINE, CHARSET, COLLATE)
----------------------------------------------

[](#mysql-table-options-engine-charset-collate)

Articulate does not append table options like `ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=...` to generated `CREATE TABLE` statements. This is intentional.

Storage engine and character set are deployment concerns, not schema concerns. The right values depend on the MySQL version, the hosting environment, and the application's locale requirements — there is no single correct default. Hardcoding them would mean either inheriting outdated assumptions or overriding a deliberate server configuration.

Instead, Articulate delegates to the server's configured defaults:

- **ENGINE** — InnoDB is the MySQL default since 5.7 and is the only engine that supports foreign keys; Articulate's FK generation already implies it.
- **CHARSET / COLLATE** — configure once at the server or database level (`CREATE DATABASE ... CHARACTER SET utf8mb4`). All tables created in that database inherit the correct charset without per-table repetition.

If per-table overrides are ever needed, the right path is an explicit option on `#[Entity]`, not a framework-wide hardcoded string.

Index Attribute Design
----------------------

[](#index-attribute-design)

`#[Index]` takes `fields` — PHP property names, not column names:

```
#[Index(fields: ['userId', 'createdAt'])]
#[Entity]
class Order { ... }
```

This keeps index definitions coupled to the entity model. When a property is renamed alongside its column, PHP tooling catches the broken reference in `fields`. Raw column strings would silently diverge.

**Expression and prefix indexes** (e.g. `LOWER(email)`, `title(100)`) have no PHP property to reference. If that need arises, a dedicated `ExpressionIndex` attribute will be introduced as an explicit escape hatch rather than mixing column-string support into `Index`.

License
-------

[](#license)

Licensed under the Apache License 2.0. See [LICENSE](./LICENSE).

###  Health Score

35

—

LowBetter than 77% of packages

Maintenance69

Regular maintenance activity

Popularity8

Limited adoption so far

Community10

Small or concentrated contributor base

Maturity45

Maturing project, gaining track record

 Bus Factor1

Top contributor holds 56% of commits — single point of failure

How is this calculated?**Maintenance (25%)** — Last commit recency, latest release date, and issue-to-star ratio. Uses a 2-year decay window.

**Popularity (30%)** — Total and monthly downloads, GitHub stars, and forks. Logarithmic scaling prevents top-heavy scores.

**Community (15%)** — Contributors, dependents, forks, watchers, and maintainers. Measures real ecosystem engagement.

**Maturity (30%)** — Project age, version count, PHP version support, and release stability.

###  Release Activity

Cadence

Every ~1 days

Total

2

Last Release

126d ago

### Community

Maintainers

![](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/230987271?v=4)[DenisYu-1](/maintainers/DenisYu-1)[@DenisYu-1](https://github.com/DenisYu-1)

---

Top Contributors

[![denis-yuriev-1](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/113170771?v=4)](https://github.com/denis-yuriev-1 "denis-yuriev-1 (47 commits)")[![actions-user](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/65916846?v=4)](https://github.com/actions-user "actions-user (18 commits)")[![DenisYu-1](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/230987271?v=4)](https://github.com/DenisYu-1 "DenisYu-1 (18 commits)")[![V-Srv](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/7782973?v=4)](https://github.com/V-Srv "V-Srv (1 commits)")

---

Tags

phpdatabaseormdddentity-managerbounded-context

###  Code Quality

TestsPHPUnit

Static AnalysisPHPStan

Code StylePHP CS Fixer

Type Coverage Yes

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