Return array of serialized data in Symfony 4

Question

Symfony 4. I have 2 entites, Cat and Dog, which need to be serialized, then returned as a JSON response like this:

{
  'cats': // array of serialized cat data
  'dogs': // array of serialized dog data
}

This is what I have so far:

Controller:

public function index()
{
    $repository = $this->getDoctrine()->getRepository(Cat::class);
    $cats = $repository->findAll();
    $repository = $this->getDoctrine()->getRepository(Dog::class);
    $dogs = $repository->findAll();
    return new JsonResponse([
        'cats' => $this->serializeData($cats, 'cats'),
        'dogs' => $this->serializeData($dogs, 'dogs'),
    ], 200);
}

And my serializeData method looks like this:

protected function serializeData($data, $group)
{
    return $this->json($data, $this->statusCode, [], [
        'groups' => [$group]
    ]);
}

Here's a bit of the Cat entity:

use Symfony\Component\Serializer\Annotation\Groups;
[...]
/**
 * @ORM\Entity(repositoryClass="App\Repository\CatRepository")
 */
class Cat
{
    [...]
    /**
     * @ORM\Column(type="string", length=255)
     * @Groups("cats")
     */
    private $name;
    [...]
}

The problem: when hitting this endpoint, instead of the data I get:

{
    "cats": {
        "headers": {}
    },
    "dogs": {
        "headers": {}
    }
}

headers is not part of either entity.

EDIT:

What else I've tried:

public function index()
{
    $repository = $this->getDoctrine()->getRepository(Cat::class);
    $cats = $repository->findAll();
    $repository = $this->getDoctrine()->getRepository(Dog::class);
    $dogs = $repository->findAll();
    return new JsonResponse([
        'cats' => $this->container->get('serializer')->serialize($cats, 'json', [
            'groups' => ['cats'],
        ])
        'dogs' => $this->container->get('serializer')->serialize($dogs, 'json', [
            'groups' => ['dogs'],
        ])
    ], 200);
}

This sort of works but new JsonResponse serializes the already serialized cats and dogs. And of course if I replace new JsonResponse with new Response I get the error

The Response content must be a string or object implementing __toString(), "array" given.

Florent Cardot · Accepted Answer · 2019-04-10 14:20:52Z

1

You could use the Symfony Serializer component:

https://symfony.com/doc/master/components/serializer.html

answered Apr 10, 2019 at 14:20

Florent Cardot

1,4281 gold badge11 silver badges21 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

GluePear Over a year ago

Thanks - in the edit to my question I've shown what happens when I use the serializer directly.

myxaxa · Accepted Answer · 2019-04-10 15:53:19Z

1

well, method $this->json returns an JsonResponse so the whole stuff returns an JsonResponse(JsonResponse...) - source

public function index()
{
...
    return $this->json(['cats' => $cats, 'dogs' => $dogs], 200, [], ['groups' => ['cats', 'dogs']]);
}

edited Apr 10, 2019 at 15:53

answered Apr 10, 2019 at 15:27

myxaxa

1,3811 gold badge9 silver badges7 bronze badges

8 Comments

GluePear Over a year ago

If I remove the @group annotations, I remove the functionality offered by @group annotations, which I have put in there because I need it.

myxaxa Over a year ago

well, so I think you need to combine it by yourself. look at the source code and you'll get how the serializer is used - just serialize $cats and $dogs. I'll try to update the post in cuple of minutes - but I can't check it

GluePear Over a year ago

Thanks for persisting, I've edited my answer to show what happens when I follow your approach.

myxaxa Over a year ago

do you have some annotations within the action methos in the controller?

GluePear Over a year ago

I don't want to waste any more of your time on this, I think my use case is a bit niche, and too long to explain in a single post. Thanks for your help!

|

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Return array of serialized data in Symfony 4

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

8 Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

8 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related