The Invokable Engine is the default and most commonly used engine in Filterable. It dynamically maps incoming request parameters to corresponding methods in your filter class, enabling clean, scalable filtering logic without large switch or if-else blocks.

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Purpose

Automatically execute specific methods in a filter class based on incoming request keys. Each key in the request is matched with a method of the same name (or mapped name) registered in the $filters property, and the method is invoked with a rich Payload object.

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How It Works

[ Request ]
    │
    ▼
[ Extract Filter Keys ] ─── from $filters property
    │
    ▼
[ For Each Key ]
    ├── Parse operator & value (Dissector)
    ├── Create Payload (field, operator, value, rawValue)
    ├── Run Attribute Pipeline (CONTROL → TRANSFORM → VALIDATE → BEHAVIOR)
    ├── Call filter method with Payload
    └── Commit clause to query
    │
    ▼
[ Modified Query Builder ]

Step by Step

1. The request is parsed and filter keys are extracted from the $filters property.
2. For each key, the engine parses the value through a Dissector to extract the operator and value.
3. A Payload object is created containing field, operator, value, and rawValue.
4. The Attribute Pipeline runs all PHP attributes (annotations) on the method, sorted by stage.
5. If the pipeline succeeds, the filter method is invoked with the Payload.
6. The resulting clause is committed to the query builder.

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Basic Example

Incoming Request

GET /api/posts?status=pending&title=PHP

Filter Class

<?php

namespace App\Http\Filters;

use Kettasoft\Filterable\Filterable;
use Kettasoft\Filterable\Support\Payload;

class PostFilter extends Filterable
{
    protected $filters = [
        'title',
        'status',
    ];

    protected function title(Payload $payload)
    {
        return $this->builder->where('title', 'like', $payload->asLike());
    }

    protected function status(Payload $payload)
    {
        return $this->builder->where('status', $payload->value);
    }
}

Usage

$posts = Post::filter(PostFilter::class)->paginate();

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Payload Object

Every filter method receives a Payload instance, giving you full access to the parsed request data:

Property	Type	Description
field	string	The column/filter name
operator	string	The parsed operator (e.g., eq, like, gt)
value	mixed	The sanitized filter value
rawValue	mixed	The original raw input before sanitization

protected function price(Payload $payload)
{
    return $this->builder->where('price', $payload->operator, $payload->value);
}

See the full Payload API Reference for all available methods.

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Method Mapping with $mentors

By default, the engine matches request keys directly to method names (converted to camelCase). You can customize this mapping with the $mentors property:

class PostFilter extends Filterable
{
    protected $filters = ['joined', 'status'];

    protected $mentors = [
        'joined' => 'filterByJoinDate',
        'status' => 'filterByStatus',
    ];

    protected function filterByJoinDate(Payload $payload)
    {
        return $this->builder->whereDate('joined_at', '>', $payload->value);
    }

    protected function filterByStatus(Payload $payload)
    {
        return $this->builder->where('status', $payload->value);
    }
}

Automatic Fallback

If $mentors is empty or not defined, the engine automatically matches request keys to method names:

'status'      → calls status()
'created_at'  → calls createdAt()

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Attribute Pipeline

The Invokable Engine supports PHP 8 Attributes (annotations) on filter methods. These attributes are processed through an Attribute Pipeline before the filter method executes.

Attributes are sorted and executed by stage:

Order	Stage	Purpose	Example Attributes
1	CONTROL	Decide whether to run the filter	#[Authorize], #[SkipIf]
2	TRANSFORM	Modify the payload value	#[Trim], #[Sanitize], #[Cast], #[MapValue], #[DefaultValue], #[Explode]
3	VALIDATE	Assert correctness of the value	#[Required], #[In], #[Between], #[Regex]
4	BEHAVIOR	Affect query behavior	#[Scope]

Example with Attributes

use Kettasoft\Filterable\Engines\Foundation\Attributes\Annotations\Trim;
use Kettasoft\Filterable\Engines\Foundation\Attributes\Annotations\Sanitize;
use Kettasoft\Filterable\Engines\Foundation\Attributes\Annotations\Required;
use Kettasoft\Filterable\Engines\Foundation\Attributes\Annotations\In;

class PostFilter extends Filterable
{
    protected $filters = ['status', 'title'];

    #[Trim]
    #[Sanitize('lowercase')]
    #[Required]
    #[In('active', 'pending', 'archived')]
    protected function status(Payload $payload)
    {
        return $this->builder->where('status', $payload->value);
    }

    #[Trim]
    #[Sanitize('strip_tags')]
    protected function title(Payload $payload)
    {
        return $this->builder->where('title', 'like', $payload->asLike());
    }
}

In this example, when a status filter is received:

1. Trim removes whitespace from the value.
2. Sanitize converts it to lowercase.
3. Required ensures the value is not empty (throws exception if it is).
4. In validates the value is one of the allowed options (skips if not).
5. The filter method executes with the cleaned, validated payload.

👉 See Annotations Reference for full documentation of all available attributes.

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Default Operator

The default operator can be configured per engine:

// config/filterable.php
'engines' => [
    'invokable' => [
        'default_operator' => 'eq',
    ],
],

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Key Features

Feature	Description
Convention over Configuration	Method names match request keys automatically
Safe Execution	Only registered filter keys in $filters are processed
Attribute Pipeline	PHP 8 attributes for validation, transformation, and control
Custom Method Mapping	$mentors property for Flexible key-to-method mapping
Rich Payload Object	Full access to field, operator, value, and raw value
Extensible	Add or override filter methods easily

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Lifecycle

1. Controller receives request
2. Post::filter(PostFilter::class) is called
3. Engine extracts keys from $filters
4. For each key present in the request:
   a. Dissector parses the operator and value
   b. Payload is created
   c. Attribute Pipeline runs (CONTROL → TRANSFORM → VALIDATE → BEHAVIOR)
   d. If pipeline passes, filter method is called with Payload
   e. Clause is committed to query
5. Modified Eloquent query is returned

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Best Practices

• Always register filters in the $filters property — unregistered methods won't execute.
• Use attributes to keep your filter methods focused on query logic, not validation.
• Combine multiple attributes — they execute in stage order, so #[Trim] always runs before #[Required].
• Type-hint Payload in your filter methods for full IDE support.
• Use $mentors to decouple public API parameter names from internal method names.
• Validate input using #[Required], #[In], #[Between], or #[Regex] attributes.

Contributors: kettasoft

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