Building APIs in an easy way using API Platform

Building APIs in an easy
way using API Platform
Paula Čučuk, Antonio Perić-Mažar

30.08.2017., #websc

Paula Čučuk
Software Developer
paula@locastic.com 
@paulala_14

Antonio Perić-Mažar
CEO, Software Developer
antonio@locastic.com
@antonioperic

Locastic
• We help clients create amazing web and mobile apps (since 2011)
• mobile development
• web development
• UX/UI
• Training and Consulting
• Shift Conference, Symfony Croatia
• www.locastic.com @locastic

The web has changed
• Javascript webapps are standard (SPA)
• Users spend more time on using mobile devices than desktop or TV.
• Linked Data and the semantic web are a reality

APIs are the heart of this new web
• Central point to access data (R/W data)
• Encapsulate business logic
• Same data and same features for desktops, mobiles, TVs and etc
• It is stateless (PHP Sessions make horizontal scaling harder)

Client Apps
• HTML5 (SPA), mobile apps, TVs, Cars etc.
• Holds all the presentation logic
• Is downloaded first (SPA, shell model)
• Queries the API to retrieve and modify data using AJAX
• Is 100% composed of HTML, JavaScript and assets (CSS and etc)
• Can be hosted on a CDN

Immediate benefits
• Speed (even on mobile)
• Scalability and robustness
• Development comfort
• Long term benefits

Immediate benefits
• Speed (even on mobile)
• Scalability and robustness
• Development comfort
• Long term benefits
• … and no, SEO and SMO are no more drawbacks

HTTP + REST + JSON
• Work everywhere
• Lightweight
• Stateless
• HTTP has a powerful caching model
• Extensible (JSON-LD, Hydra, Swagger, HAL…)
• High quality tooling

HATEOAS / Linked Data
• Hypermedia as the Engine of Application State
• Hypermedia: IRI as identifier
• Ability to reference external data (like hypertext links)
• Auto discoverable <=> Generic clients

JSON-LD (JSON for Linked Data)
• Standard: W3C recommandation (since 2014)
• Machine readable data
• Easy to use: looks like a typical JSON document
• Already used by Gmail, GitHub, BBC, Microsoft, US gov…
• Compliant with technologies of the semantic web: RDF, SPARQL, triple store…
• Good for SEO

Hydra
• Describe REST APIs in JSON-LD
• = write support
• = auto-discoverable APIs
• = standard for collections, paginations, errors, filters
• Draft W3C (Work In Progress)

{
"@context": "/contexts/Book",
"@id": "/books/2",
"@type": "http://schema.org/Book",
"id": 2,
"isbn": "9790070863971",
"description": "A long but very interesting story about REST and asyncio.",
"author": "The life!",
"title": "X",
"publicationDate": "2002-01-29T00:00:00+00:00"
}

{
"@context": "contexts/Errors",
"@type": “hydra:Error”,
“hydra:title”: “An error occurred”,
“hydra:description”: “Not found”
}

{
"@context": "/contexts/Book",
"@id": "/books",
"@type": "hydra:Collection",
"hydra:member": [
{
"@id": "/books/2",
"id": 2,
"isbn": "9790070863971",
"description": "A long but very interesting story about REST and asyncio.",
"author": "The life!",
"title": "X",
},
…
{
"@id": "/books/31",
"id": 31,
"isbn": "9791943452827",
"description": "Tempora voluptas ut dolorem voluptates. Provident natus ipsam fugiat est ipsam quia. Sint mollitia sed facere qui
sit. Ad iusto molestias iusto autem laboriosam nulla earum eius.",
"author": "Miss Gladyce Nader I",
"title": "Voluptas doloremque esse dolor qui illo placeat harum voluptatem.",
}
],
"hydra:totalItems": 125,
"hydra:view": {
"@id": "/books?page=1",
"@type": "hydra:PartialCollectionView",
"hydra:first": "/books?page=1",
"hydra:last": "/books?page=5",
"hydra:next": "/books?page=2"
}
}

API Platform: the promise
• Fully featured API supporting Swagger + JSON-LD + Hydra + HAL in minutes
• An auto generated doc
• Convenient API spec and test tools using Behat
• Easy authentication management with JWT or OAuth
• CORS and HTTP cache
• All the tools you love: Doctrine ORM, Monolog, Swiftmailer...

API Platform <3 Symfony
• Built on top of Symfony full-stack
• Install any existing SF bundles
• Follow SF Best Practices
• Use your Symfony skills
• Can be used in your existing SF app
• (Optional) tightly integrated with Doctrine

Features
• CRUD
• Filters
• Serializations groups and relations
• Validation
• Pagination
• The event system
• Content Negotion
• Extensions
• HTTP and reverse proxy caching
• JS Admin apps
• etc

Coding session
https://github.com/locastic/wscAPI2017

Setup
$ git fetch --all
$ git pull
$ php bin/console doctrine:schema:update —force

CRUD
<?php
namespace AppBundleEntity;
use FOSUserBundleModelUser as BaseUser;
class Player extends BaseUser
{
protected $id;
private $firstName;
private $lastName;
protected $email;
// ...
}
# UserBundle/Resources/config/
api_resources/resources.yml
resources:
AppBundleEntityPlayer:~

{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "FlightReservation",
"reservationNumber": "RXJ34P",
"reservationStatus": "http://schema.org/Confirmed",
"underName": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Eva Green"
},
"reservationFor": {
"@type": "Flight",
"flightNumber": "110",
"airline": {
"@type": "Airline",
"name": "United",
"iataCode": "UA"
},
"departureAirport": {
"@type": "Airport",
"name": "San Francisco Airport",
"iataCode": "SFO"
},
"departureTime": "2017-03-04T20:15:00-08:00",
"arrivalAirport": {
"@type": "Airport",
"name": "John F. Kennedy International Airport",
"iataCode": "JFK"
},
"arrivalTime": "2017-03-05T06:30:00-05:00"
}
}

Using schema.org in Api Platform
resources:
AppBundleEntityFlightReservation:
iri: 'http://schema.org/FlightReservation'

Using schema.org in Api Platform
resources:
AppBundleEntityFlightReservation:
iri: 'http://schema.org/FlightReservation'
properties:
status:
iri: 'http://schema.org/reservationStatus'

#2 Task
Add serialization & deserialization
groups to Player

Serialization Groups
• API Platform Core allows to choose which attributes of the resource are
exposed during the normalization (read) and denormalization (write) process. It
relies on the serialization (and deserialization) groups feature of the Symfony
Serializer component.
• allows to specify the definition of serialization using XML, YAML, or annotations.

<?php
use FOSUserBundleModelUser as BaseUser;
use SymfonyComponentSerializerAnnotationGroups;
class Player extends BaseUser
{
/**
* @var int
*/
protected $id;
/**
* @Groups({"player_read", "player_write"})
*/
private $firstName;
/**
*/
private $lastName;
/**
*/
protected $email;
// ...
}
# UserBundle/Resources/api_resources/resources.yml
resources:
AppBundleEntityPlayer:
attributes:
normalization_context:
groups: ['player_read']
denormalization_context:
groups: ['player_write']

Using Diﬀerent Serialization Groups
per Operation
# UserBundle/Resources/api_resources/resources.yml
resources:
itemOperations:
get:
method: 'GET'
groups: ['player_read', 'player_extra']
put:
method: 'PUT'
delete:
method: 'DELETE'
attributes:
groups: ['player_read']
denormalization_context:
groups: ['player_write']

#3 Task
Implement Authentication using JSON
Web Token (JWT)

JSON Web Token (JWT)
• Lightweight and simple authentication system
• Stateless: token signed and verified server-side then stored client-side and sent
with each request in an Authorization header
• Store the token in the browser local storage

API and JWT Integration
• We need to install and configure
• LexikJWTAuthenticationBundle
• JWTRefreshTokenBundle

#4 Task
Create event subscriber for posting new
Player

// src/AppBundle/EventSubscriber/MatchEventSubscriber.php
class MatchEventSubscriber implements EventSubscriberInterface
{
private $matchHelper;
public function __construct(MatchHelper $matchHelper)
{
$this->matchHelper = $matchHelper;
}
public static function getSubscribedEvents()
{
return [
KernelEvents::VIEW => [['addWinner', EventPriorities::POST_VALIDATE]],
];
}
public function addWinner(GetResponseForControllerResultEvent $event)
{
$match = $event->getControllerResult();
$method = $event->getRequest()->getMethod();
if(!$match instanceof Match || $method !== 'POST') {
return;
}
$winner = $this->matchHelper->getWinner($match);
$match->setWinner($winner);
}
}

#5 Task
Match CRUD and pagination config

Pagination
# app/config/config.yml
api_platform:
# ...
collection:
pagination:
items_per_page: 30 # Default value
client_items_per_page: true # Disabled by default
items_per_page_parameter_name: itemsPerPage # Default value
client_enabled: true # optional
enabled_parameter_name: pagination # optional
page_parameter_name: _page # optional

#6 Task
Add matchesWon number to GET
single Player endpoint

Operations
• API Platform Core relies on the concept of operations. Operations can be
applied to a resource exposed by the API. From an implementation point of
view, an operation is a link between a resource, a route and its related
controller.
• There are two types of operations:
• Collection operations act on a collection of resources. By default two routes
are implemented: POST and GET.
• Item operations act on an individual resource. 3 default routes are
defined GET, PUT and DELETE.

Custom operation
class Match
{
private $id;
/**
* @Groups({"match_read"})
*/
private $datetime;
/**
* @Groups({"match_read", "match_write"})
*/
private $playerOnePoints;
/**
*/
private $playerTwoPoints;
/**
*/
private $playerOne;
/**
*/
private $playerTwo;
/**
*/
private $winner;
/**
*/
private $result;
}

Custom operationclass Match
{
private $id;
/**
*/
private $datetime;
/**
*/
/**
*/
/**
*/
private $playerOne;
/**
*/
private $playerTwo;
/**
*/
private $winner;
/**
*/
private $result;
}
class MatchController extends Controller
{
/**
* @param Match $data
*
* @return Match
*/
public function getMatchAction($data)
{
$result = $data->getPlayerOne() . ' ' . $data->getPlayerOnePoints().':'
.$data->getPlayerTwoPoints() . ' ' . $data->getPlayerTwo();
$data->setResult($result);
return $data;
}
}

Custom operation
class Match
{
private $id;
/**
*/
private $datetime;
/**
*/
/**
*/
/**
*/
private $playerOne;
/**
*/
private $playerTwo;
/**
*/
private $winner;
/**
*/
private $result;
}
class MatchController extends Controller
{
/**
* @param Match $data
*
* @return Match
*/
public function getMatchAction($data)
{
$result = $data->getPlayerOne() . ' ' . $data->getPlayerOnePoints().':'
.$data->getPlayerTwoPoints() . ' ' . $data->getPlayerTwo();
$data->setResult($result);
return $data;
}
}
# app/config/routing.yml
get_match:
path: /api/v1/matches/{id}.{_format}
methods: ['GET']
defaults:
_controller: AppBundle:Match:getMatch
_api_resource_class: AppBundleEntityMatch
_api_item_operation_name: get

#7 Task
Create /me/matches endpoint which
returns all matches current user played.

Extensions
• API Platform Core provides a system to extend queries on items and collections.
• Custom extensions must implement
the ApiPlatformCoreBridgeDoctrineOrmExtensionQuery
CollectionExtensionInterface and / or
the ApiPlatformCoreBridgeDoctrineOrmExtensionQuery
ItemExtensionInterface interfaces, to be run when querying for a
collection of items and when querying for an item respectively.

class GetPlayersExtension implements QueryCollectionExtensionInterface, QueryItemExtensionInterface
{
public function applyToItem(
QueryBuilder $queryBuilder,
QueryNameGeneratorInterface $queryNameGenerator,
string $resourceClass,
array $identifiers,
string $operationName = null,
array $context = []
) {
$this->addWhere($queryBuilder, $resourceClass, $operationName);
}
public function applyToCollection(
QueryBuilder $queryBuilder,
QueryNameGeneratorInterface $queryNameGenerator,
string $resourceClass,
string $operationName = null
) {
$this->addWhere($queryBuilder, $resourceClass, $operationName);
}
private function addWhere(QueryBuilder $queryBuilder, string $resourceClass, string $operationName = null)
{
if ($resourceClass != Player::class || $operationName != 'get') {
return;
}
$rootAlias = $queryBuilder->getRootAliases()[0];
$queryBuilder->andWhere(
$queryBuilder->expr()->eq($rootAlias.'.enabled', ':enabled')
)->setParameter('enabled', true);
}
}

services:
app.extension.get_players:
class: AppBundleDoctrineORMExtensionGetPlayersExtension
public: false
tags:
- { name: api_platform.doctrine.orm.query_extension.collection, priority: 9 }
- { name: api_platform.doctrine.orm.query_extension.item }

Filters
• If Doctrine ORM support is enabled, adding filters is as easy as registering a filter
service in your app/config/services.yml file and adding an attribute to
your resource configuration.
• Filters add extra conditions to base database query
• Useful filters for the Doctrine ORM are provided with the library. You can also
create custom filters that would fit your specific needs.

Filters examples
# AppBundle/Resources/config/api_resources/resources.yml
resources:
# ...
attributes:
filters: ['player.search', 'player.order']
AppBundleEntityMatch:
# ...
attributes:
filters: ['match.date']
services:
player.search_filter:
parent: 'api_platform.doctrine.orm.search_filter'
arguments: [ { id: 'exact', email: 'exact', firstName: 'partial' } ]
tags: [ { name: 'api_platform.filter', id: 'player.search' } ]
match.date_filter:
parent: 'api_platform.doctrine.orm.date_filter'
arguments: [ { datetime: ~ } ]
tags: [ { name: 'api_platform.filter', id: 'match.date' } ]
player.order_filter:
parent: 'api_platform.doctrine.orm.order_filter'
arguments: [{ firstName: 'ASC', lastName: 'ACS', email: ~ }]
tags: [{ name: 'api_platform.filter', id: 'player.order' }]

Per Resource Authorization Mechanism

use ApiPlatformCoreAnnotationApiResource;
use DoctrineORMMapping as ORM;

/**
* @ApiResource(
*     attributes={"is_granted"="has_role('ROLE_ADMIN')"},
*     itemOperations={
*         "get"={"method"="GET", "is_granted"="object.getOwner() == user"}
*     }
* )
* @ORMEntity
*/
class Secured
{
    /**
     * @ORMColumn(type="integer")
     * @ORMId
     * @ORMGeneratedValue(strategy="AUTO")
     */
    public $id;

    /**
     * @ORMColumn(type="text")
     */
    public $owner;

Subresources Support
/**
* @ApiResource
*/
class Product {
    /**
     * @ApiProperty(subcollection=true)
    */
    public $reviews;
}
/**
* http://example.com/products/1/reviews
*/

Specs and tests with Behat
Behat and its Behatch extension make testing and API easy.
# features/put.feature
Scenario: Update a resource
When I send a "PUT" request to "/people/1" with body:
"""
{
"name": "Kevin"
}
"""
Then the response status code should be 200
And the response should be in JSON
And the header "Content-Type" should be equal to "application/ld+json"
And the JSON should be equal to:
"""
{
"@context": "/contexts/Person",
"@id": "/people/1",
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Kevin",
"address": null
}
"""

More features
• ReactJS Based Admin generator
• A React/Redux Webapp Generator
• AngularJS app bootstrap
• Symfony Flex support
• Brand new docker setup (with varnish)

Planned features for 2.2
• JSONAPI support
• MongoDB native
• GraphQL support

Building APIs in an easy way using API Platform

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