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Including extra meta data with a resource response
In the previous article, I explained about customizing pagination structure.
Today, I want to show returing a JSON response from the controller method with extra top-level keys along with data and pagination keys using the resource class.
As you may know, there is also an organizational standard or preferred format for JSON API responses. I will stick with a pretty basic format.
Success Response Format
{
"success": true,
"statusCode": 200,
"data": [
{},
{}
],
"pagination": {
"current_page": "",
"last_page": "",
"per_page": "",
"total": ""
}
}
A very simple way to return a response from the controller method will be
use App\Http\Resources\UserCollection;
use App\Models\User;
public function index()
{
return new UserCollection(User::paginate());
}
💡Why use resource collection over resource?
If you would like to customize the resource collection response, you may create a dedicated resource to represent the collection
As you have read and followed the previous article, the return format will be
{
"data": [
{},
{}
],
"pagination": {
"current_page": "",
"last_page": "",
"per_page": "",
"total": ""
}
}
If not, the default structure will return
{
"data": [],
"links": {},
"meta": {}
}
So how can we achieve the response format described above?
Well, you might have guessed, but
public function index()
{
return response()->json([
'success' => true,
'statusCode' => 200,
// how should I use the resource collection class here?
], 200);
}
Or you might be going the other way around. Create a new resource collection class and add success and statusCode keys.
Method #1 (Adding Meta Data)
<?php
namespace App\Http\Resources;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Http\Resources\Json\ResourceCollection;
class UserCollection extends ResourceCollection
{
public function toArray(Request $request): array
{
return [
'success' => true,
'statusCode' => 200,
'data' => $this->collection,
];
}
}
Method #2 (Top Level Meta Data)
<?php
namespace App\Http\Resources;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Http\Resources\Json\ResourceCollection;
class UserCollection extends ResourceCollection
{
public function toArray(Request $request): array
{
return parent::toArray($request);
}
public function with(Request $request): array
{
return [
'success' => true,
'statusCode' => 200,
];
}
}
As you see, success and statusCode sit inside the resource collection class. You already know what kind of approach to use to reduce code duplication.
A cliffhanger: What if I want to create a trait and use it in the controller file?
Happy Tinkering ✌️
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