Form nulling a value when user doesn't supply it - symfony

Question

Reading this page I've setup a form to handle PATCH requests.
I've a Player entity:
<?php
namespace Acme\PlayerBundle\Entity;
use Symfony\Component\Validator\Constraints as Assert;
use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping as ORM;
/**
* Acme\PlayerBundle\Entity\Player
*
* #ORM\Table()
* #ORM\Entity(repositoryClass="Acme\PlayerBundle\Entity\PlayerRepository")
*/
class Player
{
/**
* #var integer $id
*
* #ORM\Column(name="id", type="integer")
* #ORM\Id
* #ORM\GeneratedValue(strategy="AUTO")
*/
private $id;
/**
* #var string $name
*
* #ORM\Column(name="name", type="string", length=255)
* #Assert\NotBlank()
*/
private $name;
/**
* #ORM\ManyToOne(targetEntity="Acme\UserBundle\Entity\User", inversedBy="players")
* #ORM\JoinColumn(nullable=false)
*/
private $owner;
/**
* #ORM\ManyToOne(targetEntity="Acme\TeamBundle\Entity\Team", inversedBy="players")
* #ORM\JoinColumn(nullable=false)
* #Assert\NotBlank()
*/
private $team;
/**
* #var integer $shirtNumber
*
* #ORM\Column(name="shirtNumber", type="smallint")
* #Assert\NotBlank()
*/
private $shirtNumber;
/**
* #var integer $vsid
*
* #ORM\Column(name="vsid", type="integer", nullable=true)
*/
private $vsid;
/**
* #var string $firstname
*
* #ORM\Column(name="firstname", type="string", length=255, nullable=true)
*/
private $firstname;
/**
* #var string $lastname
*
* #ORM\Column(name="lastname", type="string", length=255, nullable=true)
*/
private $lastname;
/**
* #var boolean $deleted
*
* #ORM\Column(name="deleted", type="boolean")
*/
private $deleted = false;
/**
* #var integer $role
*
* #ORM\Column(type="integer", nullable=true)
*/
private $role;
/**
* Create the user salt
*/
public function __construct()
{
//TODO: just for test
$this->uniqueId = substr(uniqid(), 0, 14);
}
/* MANAGED BY DOCTRINE, DON'T EDIT */
/**
* Get id
*
* #return integer
*/
public function getId()
{
return $this->id;
}
/**
* Set name
*
* #param string $name
* #return Player
*/
public function setName($name)
{
$this->name = $name;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get name
*
* #return string
*/
public function getName()
{
return $this->name;
}
/**
* Set shirtNumber
*
* #param integer $shirtNumber
* #return Player
*/
public function setShirtNumber($shirtNumber)
{
$this->shirtNumber = $shirtNumber;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get shirtNumber
*
* #return integer
*/
public function getShirtNumber()
{
return $this->shirtNumber;
}
/**
* Set vsid
*
* #param integer $vsid
* #return Player
*/
public function setVsid($vsid)
{
$this->vsid = $vsid;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get vsid
*
* #return integer
*/
public function getVsid()
{
return $this->vsid;
}
/**
* Set firstname
*
* #param string $firstname
* #return Player
*/
public function setFirstname($firstname)
{
$this->firstname = $firstname;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get firstname
*
* #return string
*/
public function getFirstname()
{
return $this->firstname;
}
/**
* Set lastname
*
* #param string $lastname
* #return Player
*/
public function setLastname($lastname)
{
$this->lastname = $lastname;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get lastname
*
* #return string
*/
public function getLastname()
{
return $this->lastname;
}
/**
* Set deleted
*
* #param boolean $deleted
* #return Player
*/
public function setDeleted($deleted)
{
$this->deleted = $deleted;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get deleted
*
* #return boolean
*/
public function getDeleted()
{
return $this->deleted;
}
/**
* Set role
*
* #param integer $role
* #return Player
*/
public function setRole($role)
{
$this->role = $role;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get role
*
* #return integer
*/
public function getRole()
{
return $this->role;
}
/**
* Set owner
*
* #param Acme\UserBundle\Entity\User $owner
* #return Player
*/
public function setOwner(\Acme\UserBundle\Entity\User $owner)
{
$this->owner = $owner;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get owner
*
* #return Acme\UserBundle\Entity\User
*/
public function getOwner()
{
return $this->owner;
}
/**
* Set team
*
* #param Acme\TeamBundle\Entity\Team $team
* #return Player
*/
public function setTeam(\Acme\TeamBundle\Entity\Team $team)
{
$this->team = $team;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get team
*
* #return Acme\TeamBundle\Entity\Team
*/
public function getTeam()
{
return $this->team;
}
}
and a Team entity:
<?php
namespace Acme\TeamBundle\Entity;
use Symfony\Component\Validator\Constraints as Assert;
use Doctrine\Common\Collections\ArrayCollection;
use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping as ORM;
/**
* Acme\TeamBundle\Entity\Team
*
* #ORM\Table()
* #ORM\Entity(repositoryClass="Acme\TeamBundle\Entity\TeamRepository")
*/
class Team
{
/**
* #var integer $id
*
* #ORM\Column(name="id", type="integer")
* #ORM\Id
* #ORM\GeneratedValue(strategy="AUTO")
*/
private $id;
/**
* #var string $uniqueId
*
* #ORM\Column(name="uniqueId", type="string", length=15)
*/
private $uniqueId;
/**
* #ORM\ManyToOne(targetEntity="Acme\UserBundle\Entity\User", inversedBy="teams")
* #ORM\JoinColumn(nullable=false)
*/
private $owner;
/**
* #var string $name
*
* #ORM\Column(name="name", type="string", length=50)
* #Assert\NotBlank()
*/
private $name;
/**
* #var string $homeColor
*
* #ORM\Column(name="homeColor", type="string", length=7, nullable=true)
*/
private $homeColor;
/**
* #var string $awayColor
*
* #ORM\Column(name="awayColor", type="string", length=7, nullable=true)
*/
private $awayColor;
/**
* #var string $homeShirt
*
* #ORM\Column(name="homeShirt", type="string", length=50, nullable=true)
*/
private $homeShirt;
/**
* #var string $awayShirt
*
* #ORM\Column(name="awayShirt", type="string", length=50, nullable=true)
*/
private $awayShirt;
/**
* #var string $teamLogo
*
* #ORM\Column(name="teamLogo", type="string", length=50, nullable=true)
*/
private $teamLogo;
/**
* #var boolean $deleted
*
* #ORM\Column(name="deleted", type="boolean")
*/
private $deleted = false;
/**
* #ORM\OneToMany(targetEntity="Acme\PlayerBundle\Entity\Player", mappedBy="team", cascade={"persist", "remove"})
*/
private $players;
/**
* #ORM\OneToMany(targetEntity="Acme\MatchBundle\Entity\Match", mappedBy="homeTeam")
*/
private $homeMatches;
/**
* #ORM\OneToMany(targetEntity="Acme\MatchBundle\Entity\Match", mappedBy="awayTeam")
*/
private $awayMatches;
/**
* Create the user salt
*/
public function __construct()
{
$this->players = new ArrayCollection();
$this->homeMatches = new ArrayCollection();
$this->awayMatches = new ArrayCollection();
//TODO: just for test
$this->uniqueId = substr(uniqid(), 0, 14);
}
public function getMatches()
{
return array_merge($this->awayMatches->toArray(), $this->homeMatches->toArray());
}
/* MANAGED BY DOCTRINE, DON'T EDIT */
/**
* Get id
*
* #return integer
*/
public function getId()
{
return $this->id;
}
/**
* Set uniqueId
*
* #param string $uniqueId
* #return Team
*/
public function setUniqueId($uniqueId)
{
$this->uniqueId = $uniqueId;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get uniqueId
*
* #return string
*/
public function getUniqueId()
{
return $this->uniqueId;
}
/**
* Set name
*
* #param string $name
* #return Team
*/
public function setName($name)
{
$this->name = $name;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get name
*
* #return string
*/
public function getName()
{
return $this->name;
}
/**
* Set homeColor
*
* #param string $homeColor
* #return Team
*/
public function setHomeColor($homeColor)
{
$this->homeColor = $homeColor;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get homeColor
*
* #return string
*/
public function getHomeColor()
{
return $this->homeColor;
}
/**
* Set awayColor
*
* #param string $awayColor
* #return Team
*/
public function setAwayColor($awayColor)
{
$this->awayColor = $awayColor;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get awayColor
*
* #return string
*/
public function getAwayColor()
{
return $this->awayColor;
}
/**
* Set homeShirt
*
* #param string $homeShirt
* #return Team
*/
public function setHomeShirt($homeShirt)
{
$this->homeShirt = $homeShirt;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get homeShirt
*
* #return string
*/
public function getHomeShirt()
{
return $this->homeShirt;
}
/**
* Set awayShirt
*
* #param string $awayShirt
* #return Team
*/
public function setAwayShirt($awayShirt)
{
$this->awayShirt = $awayShirt;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get awayShirt
*
* #return string
*/
public function getAwayShirt()
{
return $this->awayShirt;
}
/**
* Set teamLogo
*
* #param string $teamLogo
* #return Team
*/
public function setTeamLogo($teamLogo)
{
$this->teamLogo = $teamLogo;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get teamLogo
*
* #return string
*/
public function getTeamLogo()
{
return $this->teamLogo;
}
/**
* Set deleted
*
* #param boolean $deleted
* #return Team
*/
public function setDeleted($deleted)
{
$this->deleted = $deleted;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get deleted
*
* #return boolean
*/
public function getDeleted()
{
return $this->deleted;
}
/**
* Add players
*
* #param Acme\PlayerBundle\Entity\Player $players
* #return Team
*/
public function addPlayer(\Acme\PlayerBundle\Entity\Player $players)
{
$this->players[] = $players;
return $this;
}
/**
* Remove players
*
* #param Acme\PlayerBundle\Entity\Player $players
*/
public function removePlayer(\Acme\PlayerBundle\Entity\Player $players)
{
$this->players->removeElement($players);
}
/**
* Get players
*
* #return Doctrine\Common\Collections\Collection
*/
public function getPlayers()
{
return $this->players;
}
/**
* Add homeMatches
*
* #param Acme\MatchBundle\Entity\Match $homeMatches
* #return Team
*/
public function addHomeMatche(\Acme\MatchBundle\Entity\Match $homeMatches)
{
$this->homeMatches[] = $homeMatches;
return $this;
}
/**
* Remove homeMatches
*
* #param Acme\MatchBundle\Entity\Match $homeMatches
*/
public function removeHomeMatche(\Acme\MatchBundle\Entity\Match $homeMatches)
{
$this->homeMatches->removeElement($homeMatches);
}
/**
* Get homeMatches
*
* #return Doctrine\Common\Collections\Collection
*/
public function getHomeMatches()
{
return $this->homeMatches;
}
/**
* Add awayMatches
*
* #param Acme\MatchBundle\Entity\Match $awayMatches
* #return Team
*/
public function addAwayMatche(\Acme\MatchBundle\Entity\Match $awayMatches)
{
$this->awayMatches[] = $awayMatches;
return $this;
}
/**
* Remove awayMatches
*
* #param Acme\MatchBundle\Entity\Match $awayMatches
*/
public function removeAwayMatche(\Acme\MatchBundle\Entity\Match $awayMatches)
{
$this->awayMatches->removeElement($awayMatches);
}
/**
* Get awayMatches
*
* #return Doctrine\Common\Collections\Collection
*/
public function getAwayMatches()
{
return $this->awayMatches;
}
/**
* Set owner
*
* #param Acme\UserBundle\Entity\User $owner
* #return Team
*/
public function setOwner(\Acme\UserBundle\Entity\User $owner)
{
$this->owner = $owner;
return $this;
}
/**
* Get owner
*
* #return Acme\UserBundle\Entity\User
*/
public function getOwner()
{
return $this->owner;
}
}
Now I've created a player form class with the app/console and I've edited the team field to be an instance of the Team entity, this way:
<?php
namespace Acme\PlayerBundle\Form;
use Acme\TeamBundle\Entity\TeamRepository;
use Symfony\Component\Form\AbstractType;
use Symfony\Component\Form\FormBuilderInterface;
use Symfony\Component\OptionsResolver\OptionsResolverInterface;
class PlayerType extends AbstractType
{
public function buildForm(FormBuilderInterface $builder, array $options)
{
$builder
->add('name')
->add('shirtNumber')
->add('firstname')
->add('lastname')
->add('role')
->add('team', 'entity', array(
'class' => 'AcmeTeamBundle:Team',
'query_builder' => function(TeamRepository $er) {
$query = $er->createQueryBuilder('t');
return $query;
}
));
}
public function setDefaultOptions(OptionsResolverInterface $resolver)
{
$resolver->setDefaults(array(
'data_class' => 'Acme\PlayerBundle\Entity\Player',
'csrf_protection' => false
));
}
public function getName()
{
return 'player';
}
}
And this is the relevant part of my controller:
/**
* Create a new player
*
* #Route(".{_format}", name="api_player_create")
* #Method("POST")
* #ApiDoc(
* description="Create a new player",
* statusCodes={
* 201="Player created and informations are returned",
* 400="Missing informations",
* 403="The user isn't authorized"
* },
* input="Acme\PlayerBundle\Form\PlayerType",
* return="Acme\PlayerBundle\Entity\Player"
* )
*
* #return Renders the player just created
*/
public function createPlayerAction()
{
return $this->processForm(new Player());
}
/**
* Edit a player
*
* #param integer $id The id of the player to be created
*
* #Route("/{id}.{_format}", name="api_player_patch", requirements={ "id": "\d+" })
* #Method("PATCH")
* #ApiDoc(
* description="Edit a player",
* statusCodes={
* 200="Player is updated",
* 400="Missing informations",
* 403="The user isn't authorized"
* },
* input="Acme\PlayerBundle\Form\PlayerType",
* return="Acme\PlayerBundle\Entity\Player"
* )
*
* #return Renders the player just edited
*/
public function editPlayerAction(Player $player)
{
if ($player->getOwner() != $this->getUser()) {
throw new ApiException\PermissionDeniedException;
}
return $this->processForm($player);
}
/**
* Function to handle a form to create/edit a player
*
* #param Player $player The player to be created or edited
*
* #return Api Response
*/
private function processForm(Player $player)
{
/**
* Check if the player is new (to be created) or we're editing a player
*/
$statusCode = is_null($player->getId()) ? 201 : 200;
$form = $this->createForm(new PlayerType(), $player);
$form->bind($this->getRequest());
if ($form->isValid()) {
if($player->getTeam()->getOwner() != $this->getUser()) {
throw new ApiException\PermissionDeniedException;
}
$player->setOwner($this->getUser());
$this->entityManager->persist($player);
$this->entityManager->flush();
return $this->apiResponse->getResponse($player, $statusCode);
}
return $this->apiResponse->getResponse($form, 400, 'Missing arguments');
}
The player creation works fine, the player edit doesn't, when the user makes the api request, passing the ID in the url and the name of the player I get:
Catchable Fatal Error: Argument 1 passed to Acme\PlayerBundle\Entity\Player::setTeam() must be an instance of Acme\TeamBundle\Entity\Team, null given, called in /Volumes/Dati/Users/alessandro/Sites/acme-api/vendor/symfony/symfony/src/Symfony/Component/Form/Util/PropertyPath.php on line 538 and defined in /Volumes/Dati/Users/alessandro/Sites/acme-api/src/Acme/PlayerBundle/Entity/Player.php line 278
Seems that form is trying to set the Team to null, why?
I've tried both sending and not the team as the form parameters but it doesn't work.
Any clue?

Answer 1

Figured it out that null unsent fields in the form is the default behaviour in symfony.
There is an open request for partial form binding in symfony. For now a guy created a form event subscriber that adds the missing fields with the actual values:
https://gist.github.com/3720535
This is his code:
<?php
namespace Foo;
use Symfony\Component\EventDispatcher\EventSubscriberInterface;
use Symfony\Component\Form\FormEvents;
use Symfony\Component\Form\FormEvent;
/**
* Changes Form->bind() behavior so that it treats not set values as if they
* were sent unchanged.
*
* Use when you don't want fields to be set to NULL when they are not displayed
* on the page (or to implement PUT/PATCH requests).
*/
class PatchSubscriber implements EventSubscriberInterface
{
public function onPreBind(FormEvent $event)
{
$form = $event->getForm();
$clientData = $event->getData();
$clientData = array_replace($this->unbind($form), $clientData ?: array());
$event->setData($clientData);
}
/**
* Returns the form's data like $form->bind() expects it
*/
protected function unbind($form)
{
if ($form->hasChildren()) {
$ary = array();
foreach ($form->getChildren() as $name => $child) {
$ary[$name] = $this->unbind($child);
}
return $ary;
} else {
return $form->getClientData();
}
}
static public function getSubscribedEvents()
{
return array(
FormEvents::PRE_BIND => 'onPreBind',
);
}
}
to add to the form you have to edit the buildForm method in the form class:
public function buildForm(FormBuilderInterface $builder, array $options)
{
$subscriber = new PatchSubscriber();
$builder->addEventSubscriber($subscriber);
$builder->add('name');
....
}
In this case you're ok to use the PATCH REST requests to edit an entity just by the sent fields