swagger-php

A PHP library that generates OpenAPI specification documents from PHP source code by scanning annotations (attributes and docblocks) and processing them into a complete spec.

Language

Core Concepts

Annotation: An OpenAPI specification element declared as a PHP 8+ attribute or legacy docblock comment on a class, method, or property. Avoid: Attribute (too narrow), decorator, metadata

Analysis: The aggregate result of scanning source code — contains all discovered annotations and structural definitions, before processing. Avoid: Result, scan output

Context: Nested metadata describing where an annotation was found in the source hierarchy (file, namespace, class, method, property). Avoid: Location, position

Generator: The orchestrator that coordinates scanning, processing, and output — it generates an OpenAPI spec from annotations, not code from a spec. Avoid: Builder, compiler

Processor: A single transformation step in an ordered pipeline that converts raw Analysis into a valid, complete OpenAPI specification. Avoid: Handler, middleware, transformer

Annotation Lifecycle

Unmerged: An annotation that has been discovered but not yet incorporated into the target OpenAPI root object. Avoid: Pending, orphaned

Merge: Incorporating an annotation into its correct position within the OpenAPI object tree, guided by the nesting map. Avoid: Combine, attach

Augment: Filling in missing annotation fields with values inferred from code (e.g. deriving a schema type from a PHP type hint). Avoid: Enrich, hydrate

Expand: Resolving PHP inheritance (classes, interfaces, traits, enums) by copying parent annotations into child schemas. Avoid: Inherit, flatten

Structural Concepts

Nesting: The declarative parent-child mapping ($_nested) that defines which annotation types can belong inside other annotation types — distinct from PHP class inheritance. Avoid: Hierarchy (ambiguous with class hierarchy)

Component: A reusable named definition stored in #/components/ and referenced via $ref elsewhere in the spec. Avoid: Shared schema, template

Ref: A JSON Pointer ($ref) linking to another part of the spec, resolved by processors into #/components/... paths. Avoid: Link (means something else in OpenAPI), pointer

Scanning

Analyser: Reflects on PHP source files to discover annotations and produce an Analysis. Avoid: Scanner (too narrow — TokenScanner is a sub-component), parser

AnnotationFactory: Creates annotation objects from discovered PHP attributes or docblock comments during analysis. Avoid: Builder, constructor

Relationships

A Generator uses an Analyser to produce an Analysis
An Analysis contains Annotations, each carrying a Context
Processors run sequentially on an Analysis, first merging unmerged annotations, then expanding inheritance, then augmenting missing fields
Nesting defines where an Annotation can be merged within the OpenAPI tree
A Component is an Annotation that has been merged into #/components/ and is reachable by Ref

Example dialogue

Dev: "I added a @OA\Schema on a class but it's not appearing in the output." Domain expert: "Is it still unmerged? Check that the nesting map allows it to be merged into Components, and that a processor hasn't filtered it out."

Dev: "Why does the child class schema include the parent's properties?" Domain expert: "That's expansion — the ExpandClasses processor copies parent annotations into the child during the pipeline."

Flagged ambiguities

"generate" — resolved: reserve for the full end-to-end pipeline (Generator::generate()). Use analyse for the discovery phase and serialize for producing JSON/YAML output.
"merge" — resolved: reserve for tree-placement (moving an annotation into its correct position in the OpenAPI object). Combining multiple annotations' fields into one (e.g. Properties into a Schema) is part of augment.
"nested" — resolved: use nesting map when referring to the $_nested declaration. Use enclosing when talking about the physical source code structure (file, class, method) that Context tracks.

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