Merge Json/Resource::with() when using a collection in an API Resource

[joshuadegier]

When using API resources in Laravel 5.5 you're able to add additional keys to the response when using a single resource by adding a with() method to your Resource, like below. Jeffrey Way mentioned this already in one of his video's about What's new in Laravel 5.5: API Resources

<?php

namespace App\Http\Resources;

use Illuminate\Http\Resources\Json\Resource;

class UserResource extends Resource
{
    /**
     * Transform the resource into an array.
     *
     * @param  \Illuminate\Http\Request
     * @return array
     */
    public function toArray($request)
    {
        return parent::toArray($request);
    }

    public function with($request)
    {
        return [
            'version' => '1.0',
            'success' => true,
        ];
    }
}

Examples

response for return UserResource(User::first());:

response for return UserResource::collection(User::limit(2)->get()):

expected behaviour / response (made with the draft below):

Current behaviour

Works for single resources, not for collections.

Expected behaviour

I was expecting these extra key/values to be added in all responses returned by UserResource, also if I used the collection helper method.

Solution

Below is a first draft that adds the values from userResource::with() to the collection response using the additional() method I found. I modified Illuminate\Http\Resources\Json\Resource::resolve() to check for an instance of ResourceCollection and then newing up an empty Resource for the objects it collects ($this->collects) and returning the values from the with() method.

My current draft looks like below:

    /**
     * Resolve the resource to an array.
     *
     * @param  \Illuminate\Http\Request|null  $request
     * @return array
     */
    public function resolve($request = null)
    {
        $data = $this->toArray(
            $request = $request ?: Container::getInstance()->make('request')
        );

        if (is_array($data)) {
            $data = $data;
        } elseif ($data instanceof Arrayable || $data instanceof Collection) {
            $data = $data->toArray();
        } elseif ($data instanceof JsonSerializable) {
            $data = $data->jsonSerialize();
        }

        if($this instanceof ResourceCollection) {
            return $this->additional((new $this->collects(null))->with($request))->filter((array) $data);
        } else {
            return $this->filter((array) $data);
        }
    }

The example above is tested using a single resource and various kinds of collections (pagination, limited, full result list) and seem to work. It doesn't overwrite the reserved keys like links or meta.

This is a first time for me to suggest an addition to the framework. So I'm not even sure if I was hooking this in the right place or not. I hope to find some help or useful tips on how to get this tested and checked and wether or not this is even worth considering to add to the framework.

[themsaid]

You'll need to have a separate resource collection that extends Illuminate\Http\Resources\Json\ResourceCollection where you can add a with() method.

This is the only way for Laravel to know if these extra keys should be in collection response or single resource response or both.