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Leave out absent optional nillable elements on encode - #79
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ObjectAccess only unwrapped DecoratingEncoder, which only ErrorHandlingEncoder implemented. A custom encoder providing an object lens was never asked for it once the detector wrapped it in OptionalElementEncoder, RepeatingElementEncoder or XsiTypeEncoder, so a lens on an optional, repeating or xsi detected element was silently replaced by the default one. The three wrappers now expose their inner encoder. AnyElementEncoder, the only lens provider in src, is ListAware and OptionalAware and is never wrapped by them, so its lens is found exactly as before.
veewee/reflecta#41 adds Reflect\property_is_initialized(). Until 1.2.0 is tagged the branch comes in through a VCS repository aliased as 1.2.0. This commit gets replaced by a ^1.2 constraint after the release, so the branch cannot be merged before that.
An element with minOccurs="0" and nillable="true" was written as xsi:nil when the property was missing, so a request could not tell "I did not set this" apart from "I set this to null". The encoder now leaves the element out when the property is absent: a missing array key or dynamic property, an uninitialised or unset typed property, or a property the class does not declare. An explicit null still writes xsi:nil. The check only runs after the default lens read null and only for optional nillable elements, because for every other element, attribute and the text value null and absent already encode the same way. Presence comes from reflecta's property_is_initialized, which follows the same lookup order as optional_property. A custom lens that reads null or throws keeps writing xsi:nil, since it may read something other than the property of that name. Co-authored-by: NickSdot <catch.github.com.nicksdot@nicksdot.dev>
EncodeBench only has required elements, so it cannot show what leaving out absent elements costs or saves. EncodeSparseBench runs the same itemType with every element minOccurs="0" nillable="true", for a complete item, an item of explicit nulls and an item with only id and address.city set. EncodeBench keeps its schema so earlier numbers stay comparable.
# Conflicts: # src/Encoder/ObjectAccess.php
This was referenced Oct 15, 2026
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Merge Risk: 🟡 Moderate · up to
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| Check name | Status | Explanation | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Docstring Coverage |  |
Docstring coverage is 47.73% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 44 functions across 14 files. (1 skipped:… | Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold. |
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Check name Status Explanation Linked Issues check Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request. Out of Scope Changes check Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request. Description Check Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled. Title check The title clearly and concisely describes the main change: omitting absent optional nillable elements during encoding.
Full details: Docstring Coverage
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Explanation
Docstring coverage is 47.73% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 44 functions across 14 files. (1 skipped: 1 unsupported.)
Resolution
Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.
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Review comments at @composer.json:
- Line 43: Replace the `veewee/reflecta` inline branch alias with its released
version constraint so downstream applications can resolve the dependency without
relying on this package’s root-only repository configuration.
Review comments at @tests/Support/Throws/allowed-throws.php:
- Around line 38-39: In the allowed-throws entries for the lazy-object test, add
a separate allowance for the single RuntimeException triggered by
ObjectEncoder’s property_is_initialized presence check; keep the existing
three-throw Lens->get allowance unchanged.
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📒 Files selected for processing: 15
benchmarks/ComplexTypeBenchTrait.phpbenchmarks/EncodeSparseBench.phpcomposer.jsonsrc/Encoder/ObjectAccess.phpsrc/Encoder/ObjectEncoder.phpsrc/Encoder/OptionalElementEncoder.phpsrc/Encoder/RepeatingElementEncoder.phpsrc/Encoder/XsiTypeEncoder.phptests/Fixture/Encoder/NullLensEncoder.phptests/Fixture/Encoder/XsiDetectedLensEncoder.phptests/Fixture/Model/PrivateAddressItem.phptests/Integration/IntermediateThrowScenariosTest.phptests/Support/Throws/allowed-throws.phptests/Unit/Encoder/ObjectAccessDecoratedLensTest.phptests/Unit/Encoder/ObjectPropertyPresenceTest.php
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CI runs with the production php.ini, where zend.exception_ignore_args is on. With arguments in the Xdebug call stack, an argument that spans lines cuts the stack short and hides the src frame, so locally one throw of the lazy object test was counted as outside src. The throw scripts now turn the arguments off, and the lazy object test is allowed its real 4 throws.
This was referenced Oct 15, 2026
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Nil for unset optional elements
When an element is
minOccurs="0"andnillable="true", the encoder writes<x xsi:nil="true"/>for a property the caller never set. A server then reads "set to null" where the caller meant "not set". @NickSdot found this and fixed it in #71.Presence check after a null read
This PR rebuilds #71 on top of the throwless lens work. The default encoder lens (
optional_property, veewee/reflecta#39) no longer throws on a missing property, it returns null. That meanstryGet()cannot tell absent and null apart anymore, so I check presence separately, and only when it matters: after the lens read null, and only for elements that are both optional and nillable. Those are the only elements where null and absent encode differently. For every other element, attribute and the_text value they already produce the same XML, so they get no check and no extra work.Presence is answered by
property_is_initialized()in reflecta (veewee/reflecta#41). It resolves the property in the same order asoptional_property, never calls__getand keeps no cache. An absent property is a missing array key, a missing dynamic property, an uninitialised or unset typed property, or a property the class does not declare. A lazy object whose initializer throws counts as present, so it keeps today'sxsi:nil.Differences from #71
minOccurs="0"element. I only check the ones that are also nillable, because the others already leave out a null. The output for the built in encoders is the same and sparse payloads skip the useless checks.optional_property, so the PHP lookup rules have one home.ProvidesObjectEncoderLenslens that returns null or throws keeps writingxsi:nil. A custom lens may read something other than the property with that name, so a presence check by name could answer the wrong question. Third party encoders see no change in output.OptionalElementEncoder,RepeatingElementEncoderandXsiTypeEncodernow implementDecoratingEncoder, so a custom lens behind them is found. Before, onlyErrorHandlingEncoderwas unwrapped.AnyElementEncoderis the only lens provider in this package and is never wrapped by these three, so its behaviour stays the same.NickSdot's test file is ported with him as co-author on that commit, extended with the custom lens cases.
Release note
Encoding now leaves out an optional nillable element when its property is absent, instead of writing it as
xsi:nil; set the property tonullexplicitly to keep sendingxsi:nil.Dependencies
This needs
Reflect\property_is_initializedfrom veewee/reflecta#41, released in reflecta 1.2.0, so composer.json requires^1.2. I also raised veewee/xml to^4.14, which brings the faster Writer from veewee/xml#112.Speed
Base is main after #78. Medians over three interleaved rounds on the same machine, with ext-soap as the noise reference.
The first two rows are faster because the absent elements are no longer written. The other rows are within the run to run spread.
Summary by CodeRabbit
nullstill produces an element marked as nil.