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[Utility & Helpers](/categories/utility) 4. / 5. ioc-interop/interface ActiveLibrary[Utility & Helpers](/categories/utility) ioc-interop/interface ===================== Interoperable IOC container interfaces for PHP. 1.x-dev(3mo ago)03622MITPHP Since Feb 3Pushed 3mo ago1 watchersCompare [ Source](https://github.com/ioc-interop/interface)[ Packagist](https://packagist.org/packages/ioc-interop/interface)[ RSS](/packages/ioc-interop-interface/feed)WikiDiscussions 1.x Synced 1mo ago READMEChangelog (2)Dependencies (3)Versions (2)Used By (2) Ioc-Interop Standard Interface Package ====================================== [](#ioc-interop-standard-interface-package) Ioc-Interop provides an interoperable package of standard interfaces for inversion-of-control (IOC) service container functionality. It reflects, refines, and reconciles the common practices identified within [several pre-existing projects](./README-RESEARCH.md). The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in [BCP 14](https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/bcp14) ([RFC 2119](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2119), [RFC 8174](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc8174)). Interfaces ---------- [](#interfaces) This package defines the following interfaces: - [*IocContainer*](#ioccontainer) affords obtaining services by name. - [*IocContainerFactory*](#ioccontainerfactory) affords obtaining a new instance of [*IocContainer*](#ioccontainer). - [*IocThrowable*](#iocthrowable) extends [*Throwable*](https://php.net/Throwable) to mark an [*Exception*](https://php.net/Exception) as IOC-related. It adds no class members. - [*IocTypeAliases*](#ioctypealiases) defines PHPStan type aliases to aid static analysis. ### *IocContainer* [](#ioccontainer) [*IocContainer*](#ioccontainer) affords obtaining services by name. - Notes: - **This interface does not afford service management.** The container will need to obtain services somehow, e.g. from a [Service-Interop](https://github.com/service-interop/interface)implementation. #### *IocContainer* Methods [](#ioccontainer-methods) - ``` public function hasService(ioc_service_name_string $serviceName) : bool; ``` - Is the container able to return an instance of the `$serviceName`? - Notes: - **The logic for this method is expressly unspecified.** The ability check may accomplished by querying a service management subsystem, or by some other means. - ``` public function getService( ioc_service_name_string $serviceName, ) : ioc_service_object; ``` - Returns an instance of the `$serviceName`. - Directives: - Implementations MUST throw [*IocThrowable*](#iocthrowable) if the container cannot return an instance of the `$serviceName`. - Notes: - **The logic for this method is expressly unspecified.** Retrieval may be accomplished via a service management subsystem, or by some other means. - **The returned instance may be new or shared.** The retrieval logic defines the service lifetime, not the container (per se) and not the caller requesting the service. ### *IocContainerFactory* [](#ioccontainerfactory) [*IocContainerFactory*](#ioccontainerfactory) affords obtaining a new instance of [*IocContainer*](#ioccontainer). #### *IocContainerFactory* Methods [](#ioccontainerfactory-methods) - ``` public function newContainer() : IocContainer; ``` - Returns a new instance of [*IocContainer*](#ioccontainer). - Notes: - **Container instantiation logic is not specified.** Implementations might use providers, configuration files, attribute or annotation collection, or some other means to create and populate a container. Implementations might also choose to return a compiled or otherwise reconstituted container. ### *IocThrowable* [](#iocthrowable) [*IocThrowable*](#iocthrowable) extends [*Throwable*](https://php.net/Throwable) to mark an [*Exception*](https://php.net/Exception) as IOC-related. It adds no class members. ### *IocTypeAliases* [](#ioctypealiases) [*IocTypeAliases*](#ioctypealiases) defines PHPStan type aliases to aid static analysis. - ``` ioc_service_name_string class-string|string ``` - A `class-string` or `string` name for a service. - ``` ioc_service_object ($serviceName is class-string ? T : object) ``` - The service `object` for a given service name. Implementations --------------- [](#implementations) - Directives: - Implementations MAY define additional class members not defined in these interfaces. - Notes: - **Reference implementations** may be found at . Q & A --------- [](#q--a) ### How is Ioc-Interop different from PSR-11? [](#how-is-ioc-interop-different-from-psr-11) [PSR-11](https://www.php-fig.org/psr/psr-11/) is an earlier recommendation that offers an interface to `get`items from a container, and to see if that container `has` a particular item. Ioc-Interop is functionally almost identical to PSR-11. However, Ioc-Interop is intended to contain only services (`object`). PSR-11 is intended to contain anything (`mixed`). Ioc-Interop also offers an [*IocContainerFactory*](#ioccontainerfactory) interface, whereas PSR-11 offers none. ### Is Ioc-Interop compatible with PSR-11? [](#is-ioc-interop-compatible-with-psr-11) No, in the sense that the method names, signatures, and intents are different. Yes, in the sense that both may be implemented on the same class; the method names are different, and so are non-conflicting. ### Why does Ioc-Interop not afford service management? [](#why-does-ioc-interop-not-afford-service-management) Ioc-Interop is focused on the concerns around *obtaining* and *consuming*services. The affordances for *managing* and *producing* services are a set of separate concerns. Earlier drafts of Ioc-Interop were much more expansive, including a resolver subsystem and a service management subsystem. These have been extracted to separate standards, each of which is dependent on Ioc-Interop: - [Service-Interop](https://github.com/service-interop/interface) - [Resolver-interop](https://github.com/resolver-interop/interface) This separation helps to maintain a boundary between the needs of service consumers (afforded by Ioc-Interop) and service producers (afforded by [Service-Interop](https://github.com/service-interop/interface) and [Resolver-Interop](https://github.com/resolver-interop/interface)). Note that Ioc-Interop is independent of [Service-Interop](https://github.com/service-interop/interface) and [Resolver-Interop](https://github.com/resolver-interop/interface). Ioc-Interop implementations can use them, or avoid them, as implementors see fit. ### Is [*IocContainer*](#ioccontainer) for Dependency Injection or is it a Service Locator? [](#is-ioccontainer-for-dependency-injection-or-is-it-a-service-locator) [*IocContainer*](#ioccontainer) acts a Service Locator only when it is used as a dependency in order to retrieve other dependencies from it. ### Why does [*IocContainer*](#ioccontainer) disallow non-object values? [](#why-does-ioccontainer-disallow-non-object-values) [*IocContainer*](#ioccontainer) is explicitly a *service* container, not a general config container for [scalar](https://www.php.net/manual/en/language.types.type-system.php#language.types.type-system.atomic.scalar) or [array](https://www.php.net/manual/en/language.types.array.php) values. (Ioc-Interop questions what it means, or if it is possible, to get a "shared" scalar or array that works the same as a "shared" object.) Limiting services to objects helps maintain consistent expectations regarding service types and behavior. Ioc-Interop recognizes that implementors and consumers often want to make config values easily available. Instead of storing config values directly inside a container, Ioc-Interop encourages the use of one or more config services or value objects to make those values available. ### Why does [*IocContainer*](#ioccontainer) define `getService()` and not just `get()` ? [](#why-does-ioccontainer-define-getservice-and-not-just-get-) The vast majority of researched projects, whether PSR-11 conforming or not, use the method name `get()`. Contra the research, Ioc-Interop asserts that `get()`is too generic, and that the method name should hint at what is being gotten; thus, `getService()`. --- ### Health Score 31 — LowBetter than 68% of packages Maintenance80 Actively maintained with recent releases Popularity9 Limited adoption so far Community15 Small or concentrated contributor base Maturity20 Early-stage or recently created project Bus Factor1 Top contributor holds 90.6% 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 ~0 days Total 2 Last Release 104d ago ### Community Maintainers ![](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/25754?v=4)[Paul M. Jones](/maintainers/pmjones)[@pmjones](https://github.com/pmjones) --- Top Contributors [![pmjones](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/25754?v=4)](https://github.com/pmjones "pmjones (29 commits)")[![niden](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/1073784?v=4)](https://github.com/niden "niden (3 commits)") ### Code Quality Static AnalysisPHPStan Type Coverage Yes ### Embed Badge ![Health badge](/badges/ioc-interop-interface/health.svg) ``` [![Health](https://phpackages.com/badges/ioc-interop-interface/health.svg)](https://phpackages.com/packages/ioc-interop-interface) ``` PHPackages © 2026 [Directory](/)[Categories](/categories)[Trending](/trending)[Changelog](/changelog)[Analyze](/analyze)