Migrating to version 2

Version 2 of Stratigility makes several breaking changes to the API in order to provide more flexibility, promote interoperability, and reduce complexity.

To help you prepare your code for version 2, version 1.3.0 provides several forwards compatibility features to assist you in the process. However, some changes will still require changes to your code following the 2.0 release.

Original request, response, and URI

In the original 1.X releases, Stratigility would decorate the request and response instances with Laminas\Stratigility\Http\Request and Laminas\Stratigility\Http\Response, respectively. This was done to facilitate access to the incoming request in cases of nested layers, where the URI path may have been truncated (Next truncates matched paths when executing a layer if a path was provided when piping the middleware).

Internally, prior to 1.3, only Laminas\Stratigility\FinalHandler was still using this functionality:

  • It would query the original request to get the original URI when creating a 404 response message.
  • It passes the decorated request and response instances to onerror handlers.

Starting with 1.3.0, we now deprecate these message decorators, and recommend against their usage.

If you still need access to the original request, response, or URI instance, we recommend the following:

  • Pipe Laminas\Stratigility\Middleware\OriginalMessages as the outermost layer of your application. This will inject the following request attributes into layers beneath it:
    • originalRequest, mapping to the request provided to it at invocation.
    • originalResponse, mapping to the response provided to it at invocation.
    • originalUri, mapping to the URI composed by the request provided to it at invocation.

You can then access these values within other middleware:

$originalRequest = $request->getAttribute('originalRequest');
$originalResponse = $request->getAttribute('originalResponse');
$originalUri = $request->getAttribute('originalUri');

Internally, starting with 1.3.0, we have updated the request decorator to add the originalRequest attribute, and the FinalHandler to check for this, instead of the decorated instance.

Finally, if you are creating an onerror handler for the FinalHandler, update your typehints to refer to the PSR-7 request and response interfaces instead of the Stratigility decorators, if you aren't already.

The Laminas\Stratigility\Http classes, interfaces, and namespace are removed in version 2.0.0.

Error handling

Prior to version 1.3, the recommended way to handle errors was via error middleware, special middleware that accepts an additional initial argument representing an error. On top of this, we provide the concept of a "final handler", pseudo-middleware that is executed by the Next implementation when the middleware stack is exhausted, but no response has been returned.

These approaches, however, have several shortcomings:

  • No other middleware frameworks implement the error middleware feature, which means any middleware that calls $next() with the error argument will not work in those other systems, and error middleware written for Stratigility cannot be composed in other systems.
  • The FinalHandler implementation hits edge cases when empty responses are intended.
  • Neither combination works well with error or exception handlers.

Starting in 1.3, we are promoting using standard middleware layers as error handlers, instead of using the existing error middleware/final handler system.

The first step is to opt-in to having throwables and exceptions raised by middleware, instead of having the dispatcher catch them and then invoke middleware. Do this via the MiddlewarePipe::raiseThrowables() method:

$pipeline = new MiddlewarePipe();
$pipeline->raiseThrowables();

Once you have done that you may start using some of the new functionality, as well as augmented existing functionality:

Updating your application to use these features will ensure you are forwards compatible with version 2 releases.

No-op final handler

When using the NotFoundHandler and ErrorHandler middleware (or custom middleware you drop in place of them), the FinalHandler implementation loses most of its meaning, as you are now handling errors and 404 conditions as middleware layers.

However, you still need to ensure that the pipeline returns a response, regardless of how the pipeline is setup, and for that we still need some form of "final" handler that can do so. (In fact, starting in version 2, the $out argument is renamed to $delegate, and is a required argument of the MiddlewarePipe.)

Starting in version 1.3, we now offer a Laminas\Stratigility\NoopFinalHandler implementation, which simply returns the response passed to it. You can compose it in your application in one of two ways:

  • By passing it explicitly when invoking the middleware pipeline.
  • By passing it to Laminas\Diactoros\Server::listen().

If you are not using Laminas\Diactoros\Server to execute your application, but instead invoking your pipeline manually, use the following:

$response = $app($request, $response, new NoopFinalHandler());

If you are using Laminas\Diactoros\Server, you will need to pass the final handler you wish to use as an argument to the listen() method; that method will then pass that value as the third argument to MiddlewarePipe as shown above:

$server->listen(new NoopFinalHandler());

Both approaches above are fully forwards compatible with version 2, and will work in all version 1 releases as well.

(You can also compose your own custom final handler; it only needs to accept a request and a response, and be guaranteed to return a response instance.)

To summarize:

  • Call the raiseThrowables() method of your MiddlewarePipe instance to opt-in to the new error handling strategy.
  • Use the new Laminas\Stratigility\Middleware\NotFoundHandler as the innermost layer of your application pipeline in order to provide 404 responses.
  • Use the new Laminas\Stratigility\Middleware\ErrorHandler middleware as the outermost (or close to outermost) layer of your application pipeline in order to handle exceptions.
  • Use the Laminas\Stratigility\NoopFinalHandler as the $out argument when dispatching your application pipeline.

http-interop compatibility

http-middleware 0.2.0 and Stratigility 1.3

Starting in version 1.3.0, we offer compatibility with http-interop/http-middleware 0.2.0. That version of the specification defines the following interfaces:

namespace Interop\Http\Middleware;

use Psr\Http\Message\RequestInterface;
use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;
use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;

interface DelegateInterface
{
    public function process(RequestInterface $request) : ResponseInterface;
}

interface MiddlewareInterface
{
    public function process(RequestInterface $request, DelegateInterface $delegate) : ResponseInterface;
}

interface ServerMiddlewareInterface
{
    public function process(ServerRequestInterface $request, DelegateInterface $delegate) : ResponseInterface;
}

The support in version 1.3.0 consists of the following:

  • MiddlewarePipe now also implements ServerMiddlewareInterface, and allows piping either type of http-interop middleware.
  • Next now also implements DelegateInterface.
  • Dispatch is now capable of dispatching either http-interop middleware type, in addition to legacy callable middleware.

Additionally, MiddlewarePipe will now allow composing a response prototype; this is a PSR-7 ResponseInterface instance. If not set, the first time the pipeline is invoked via its __invoke() method, it will set the prototype from the provided $response argument. When present, any callable, non-error middleware piped to the pipeline will be wrapped in a Laminas\Stratigility\Middleware\CallableMiddlewareWrapper instance, which converts it into an http-interop middleware type; when processed, the response prototype will be passed to the callable for the response argument.

http-middleware 0.4.1 and Stratigility 2.0

http-interop/http-middleware 0.4.1 introduces breaking changes in the interfaces, including the following:

  • The namespace changes from Interop\Http\Middleware to Interop\Http\ServerMiddleware, signaling a change indicating that the project now only targets server-side middleware.

  • The interface ServerMiddlewareInterface is now more simply MiddlewareInterface, as the namespace indicates its usage in server-side applications. Interop\Http\Middleware\MiddlewareInterface, which targeted client-side middleware, was removed entirely.

  • The method DelegateInterface::process now accepts specifically a Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface, and not the more general RequestInterface.

The first two changes required only a change in import statements to accommodate, and could have been imported in parallel to the 0.2.0 interfaces. However, the second represents a signature change, which has necessitated a major version bump in Stratigility in order to remain compatible.

Stratigility 2.0.0 therefor targets http-interop/http-middleware 0.4.1, and that version (and compatible versions) only.

Additionally, starting in version 2.0.0, MiddlewarePipe will no longer implement Laminas\Stratigility\MiddlewareInterface, and only implement the http-interop/http-middleware MiddlewareInterface. This has several repercussions.

Callable middleware in version 1.3.0

Callable middleware can be used without change in version 1.3.0. However, we recommend updating your code to prepare for version 2.0.0.

First, we recommend never using the $response argument provided to middleware.

The reason for this recommendation is two-fold. First, the http-interop/http-middleware interfaces do not provide it, and, as such, using it within your middleware makes your middleware incompatible. Second, and more importantly, is due to the reason why http-interop does not include the argument: usage can lead to inconsistent and/or unexpected results.

As an example, consider the following:

use Laminas\Diactoros\Response\JsonResponse;

$pipeline->pipe(function ($request, $response, $next) {
    return $next($request, $response->withHeader('X-Foo', 'Bar'));
});

$pipeline->pipe(function ($request, $response, $next) {
    return new JsonResponse(['ack' => time()]);
});

The first, outer layer of middleware sets a response header. However, the second, inner middleware, creates and returns an entirely new response, making the new header disappear.

As such, we recommend rewriting such middleware to modify the returned response instead:

use Laminas\Diactoros\Response\JsonResponse;

$pipeline->pipe(function ($request, $response, $next) {
    $response = $next($request, $response);
    return $response->withHeader('X-Foo', 'Bar');
});

$pipeline->pipe(function ($request, $response, $next) {
    return new JsonResponse(['ack' => time()]);
});

The above will have the expected result for whatever middleware is nested beneath it, as it will operate on the returned response, and have consistent results.

Second, either wrap your middleware in CallableMiddlewareWrapper, or ensure your pipeline composes a response prototype (doing so will implicitly decorate callable middleware). Either of these will ensure your middleware will work with http-interop/http-middleware delegators.

use Laminas\Stratigility\Middleware\CallableMiddlewareWrapper;

// Manually decorating callable middleware for use with http-middleware:
$pipeline->pipe(new CallableMiddlewareWrapper($middleware, $response));

// Auto-decorate middleware by providing a response prototype:
$pipeline->setResponsePrototype($response);
$pipeline->pipe($middleware);

CallableMiddlewareWrapper and Stratigility 2.0

As noted above, version 2 of Stratigility is incompatible with version 1.3 due to signature changes in the http-middleware project. However, if you wrap your callable middleware using CallableMiddlewareWrapper, you will need to make no changes in your application to make it forwards compatible.

We recommend using this strategy if you need to do a stepped transition to Stratigility 2.0.

Third, and optionally, you can make one or both of the following changes to your callable middleware:

  • Typehint the final $next argument against Interop\Http\Middleware\DelegateInterface; optionally, rename it to $delegate. This will require a slight change to how you invoke the next layer as well; see below.
  • Remove the $response argument from your signature; if you do, make sure you typehint the delegate argument, and make it required.

As an example of the first:

function ($request, $response, DelegateInterface $delegate) {
    $response = $delegate->process($request);
    return $response->withHeader('X-Foo', 'Bar');
}

As an example of adopting both practices:

function ($request, DelegateInterface $delegate) {
    $response = $delegate->process($request);
    return $response->withHeader('X-Foo', 'Bar');
}

At this point, you have essentially implemented Interop\Http\Middleware\ServerMiddlewareInterface (with the notable exception of not type-hinting the $request argument). When you pipe such callable middleware to MiddlewarePipeline, it will be wrapped in a Laminas\Stratigility\Middleware\CallableInteropMiddlewareWrapper, which simply proxies to the middleware when processed.

DelegateInterface and Stratigility 2.0

Since the namespace within http-interop/http-middleware changes between version 0.2.0 and 0.4.1, the above strategy will require making changes multiple times: once when upgrading to Stratigility 1.3, and another when upgrading to 2.0. As such, we recommend instead decorating your callable middleware using the CallableMiddlewareWrapper, until such time as you can rewrite your middleware to implement the http-middleware 0.4.1 interfaces.

Finally, if you are so inclined, you can rewrite your middleware to specifically implement one or the other of the http-interop/http-middleware interfaces. This is particularly relevant for class-based middleware, but can also be accomplished by using PHP 7 anonymous classes.

As an example, consider the following middleware class:

use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;
use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;
use Laminas\Diactoros\Response\JsonResponse;

class PingMiddleware
{
    public function __invoke(
        ServerRequestInterface $request,
        ResponseInterface $response,
        callable $next
    ) {
        return new JsonResponse(['ack' => time()]);
    }
}

This could be rewritten as follows:

use Interop\Http\Middleware\DelegateInterface;
use Interop\Http\Middleware\ServerMiddlewareInterface;
use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;
use Laminas\Diactoros\Response\JsonResponse;

class PingMiddleware implements ServerMiddlewareInterface
{
    public function process(ServerRequestInterface $request, DelegateInterface $delegate)
    {
        return new JsonResponse(['ack' => time()]);
    }
}

If we were dealing with callable middleware instead:

use Laminas\Diactoros\Response\JsonResponse;

$pipeline->pipe(function ($request, $response, $next) {
    return new JsonResponse(['ack' => time()]);
});

we could wrap this in an anonymous class instead:

use Interop\Http\Middleware\DelegateInterface;
use Interop\Http\Middleware\ServerMiddlewareInterface;
use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;
use Laminas\Diactoros\Response\JsonResponse;

$pipeline->pipe(new class implements ServerMiddlewareInterface {
    public function (ServerRequestInterface $request, DelegateInterface $delegate)
    {
        return new JsonResponse(['ack' => time()]);
    }
});

Using anonymous classes is likely overkill, as both v1.3.0 and v2.0.0 support piping closures.

If you want your middleware to work with either http-interop/http-middleware or with the pre-1.3.0 middleware signature, you can do that as well. To accomplish this, we provide Laminas\Stratigility\Delegate\CallableDelegateDecorator, which will wrap a callable $next such that it may be used as a DelegateInterface implementation:

use Interop\Http\Middleware\DelegateInterface;
use Interop\Http\Middleware\ServerMiddlewareInterface;
use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;
use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;
use Laminas\Diactoros\Response\JsonResponse;
use Laminas\Stratigility\Delegate\CallableDelegateDecorator;

class PingMiddleware implements ServerMiddlewareInterface
{
    public function __invoke(
        ServerRequestInterface $request,
        ResponseInterface $response,
        callable $next
    ) {
        return $this->process($request, new CallableDelegateDecorator($next, $response));
    }

    public function process(ServerRequestInterface $request, DelegateInterface $delegate)
    {
        return new JsonResponse(['ack' => time()]);
    }
}

Implementing http-interop between Stratigility 1.3 and 2.0

While you can write your middleware to implement the http-interop/http-middleware middleware interface, please be aware that if you do so, you will need to take additional steps when upgrading from 1.3 to 2.0.

In most cases, you should be able to simply change the import statements within your class file. As an example, if you have the following in your Stratigility 1.3-based project:

use Interop\Http\Middleware\DelegateInterface;
use Interop\Http\Middleware\ServerMiddlewareInterface;

The imports would become:

use Interop\Http\ServerMiddleware\DelegateInterface;
use Interop\Http\ServerMiddleware\MiddlewareInterface as ServerMiddlewareInterface;

To summarize:

  • Never work with the provided $response argument, but instead manipulate the response returned from calling $next.

  • Ensure your pipeline can decorate callable middleware as http-interop/http-middleware. Do this by injecting a response prototype in the pipeline prior to piping any middleware. (Note: this is not necessary if all callable middleware defines exactly two parameters, with the second type-hinting on the http-interop DelegateInterface.)

  • Consider adapting your callable middleware to follow the http-interop middleware signature (function (ServerRequestInterface $request, DelegateInterface $delegate)); this will make it forward-compatible. (Be aware that this may require changes in import statements between Stratigility 1.3 and 2.0.)

  • Consider updating your class-based middleware to implement the http-interop/http-middleware server middleware interface, potentially keeping the __invoke() method for interoperability with existing callable-based middleware runners. (Be aware that this may require changes in import statements between Stratigility 1.3 and 2.0.)

The first and last suggestions in this list are strongly recommended to ensure forwards compatibility with http-middleware, and to ensure your middleware works properly across middleware stacks.

Callable middleware in version 2.0.0

Callable middleware may still be used; however, in order to pipe it to the pipeline, you must do one of the following:

  • Inject a Laminas\Stratigility\Middleware\CallableMiddlewareWrapperFactory instance via the pipeline's setCallableMiddlewareDecorator() method, prior to piping callable middleware to the instance. This factory class requires a ResponseInterface in its constructor, and will use that response when creating CallableMiddlewareWrapper instances.

    $factory = new CallableMiddlewareWrapperFactory(new Response());
    $pipeline->setCallableMiddlewareDecorator($factory);
  • Pass a response prototype before piping the callable middleware. If no CallableMiddlewareWrapperFactory is present, this prototype will be used to seed one for use with decorating callable middleware.

    $pipeline->setResponsePrototype(new Response());
  • Manually decorate your middleware prior to passing it to the pipeline:

    $pipeline->pipe(new CallableMiddlewareWrapper($middleware, $response));
    // or CallableInteropMiddlewareWrapper, if your middleware implements
    // the http-middleware signature already.

Invoking MiddlewarePipe instances in version 2.0.0

Invocation of the outermost middleware can now be done in two ways:

  • Using __invoke(). This now requires a third argument, $delegate, which may be one of a callable accepting ServerRequestInterface and ResponseInterface arguments, or a DelegateInterface instance (the former will be decorated as the latter, binding the response instance). This will be invoked only if the MiddlewarePipe's internal queue is exhausted without returning a response, and must return a response itself. A good candidate for this is the NoopFinalHandler.
  • Using process(). This argument requires a request and DelegateInterface instance; again, the DelegateInterface instance will only be invoked if the pipeline's internal queue is exhausted without returning a response.

As examples:

use Laminas\Stratigility\NoopFinalHandler;
use Laminas\Stratigility\Delegate\CallableDelegateDecorator;

// Using __invoke():
$response = $pipeline($request, $response, new NoopFinalHandler());

// Using process():
$response = $pipeline->process($request, new CallableDelegateDecorator(
    new NoopFinalHandler(),
    $response
));

Once you have done so, you can process the returned request via an emitter.

Deprecated functionality

The following classes, methods, and arguments are deprecated starting in version 1.3.0, and will be removed in version 2.0.0.

  • Laminas\Stratigility\FinalHandler (class)
  • Laminas\Stratigility\Dispatch (class); this class is marked internal already, but anybody extending Next and/or this class should be aware of its removal.
  • Laminas\Stratigility\ErrorMiddlewareInterface (interface); error middleware should now be implemented per the error handling section above.
  • The $response argument to Laminas\Stratigility\Next's __invoke() method. The argument, and all following it, are ignored starting in 2.0.0; it is used in 1.3.0 to ensure backwards compatibility with existing middleware. The CallableMiddlewareWrapper also ensures that a response argument is populated and present when invoking callable middleware.
  • The $err argument to Laminas\Stratigility\Next's __invoke() method. Starting in 1.3.0, if a non-null value is encountered, this method will now emit an E_USER_DEPRECATED notice, referencing this documentation.
  • Laminas\Stratigility\Http\Request (class)
  • Laminas\Stratigility\Http\ResponseInterface (interface)
  • Laminas\Stratigility\Http\Response (class)

Interface/signature changes

The following signature changes were made with the 2.0.0 release:

  • Laminas\Stratigility\Next:
    • The $done constructor argument was renamed to $nextDelegate, and now allows either callable or Interop\Http\ServerMiddleware\DelegateInterface arguments.
    • The $response argument to __invoke() was removed.
    • The (optional) $err argument to __invoke() was removed.

Removed functionality

The following classes, methods, and arguments are removed starting in version 2.0.0.

  • Laminas\Stratigility\Dispatch (class)
  • Laminas\Stratigility\ErrorMiddlewareInterface (class)
  • Laminas\Stratigility\FinalHandler (class)
  • Laminas\Stratigility\MiddlewareInterface. Define your middleware as callables, or using http-interop/http-middleware interfaces instead.
  • Laminas\Stratigility\Utils::getArity() (static method); no longer used internally.
  • The $err argument to Laminas\Stratigility\Next's __invoke() method. If passed, it will now be ignored.
  • Laminas\Stratigility\Http\Request (class)
  • Laminas\Stratigility\Http\ResponseInterface (interface)
  • Laminas\Stratigility\Http\Response (class)
  • The $response argument to middleware is deprecated; please see the section on callable middleware for details, and adapt your middleware to no longer use the argument. While the legacy callable signature will continue to work, we recommend implementing an http-interop/http-middleware interface.