Transform Array Values into Enum Instances with Laravel's mapInto Method

Ever struggled with transforming array values into enum instances in Laravel? The enhanced Collection::mapInto method now offers first-class support for PHP 8.1 Enums, making enum mapping elegant and straightforward.

When PHP 8.1 introduced Enums as a first-class feature, it gave developers a powerful way to define a set of possible values for a type. Laravel has fully embraced this feature, and the Collection::mapInto method now provides a clean solution for transforming raw values into proper enum instances - especially useful when handling user input that needs conversion to type-safe enum cases.

Let's see how it works:

public function store(Request $request)
{
    $request->validate([
        'features' => ['array'],
        'features.*' => [new Enum(Feature::class)],
    ]);
    
    $features = $request
        ->collect('features')
        ->mapInto(Feature::class);
    
    if ($features->contains(Feature::DarkMode)) {
        // Enable dark mode functionality
    }
}

Real-World Example

Here's a more comprehensive example showing how you might use this feature in a user preferences system:

<?php

namespace App\Enums;

enum Feature: string
{
    case DarkMode = 'dark_mode';
    case BetaFeatures = 'beta_features';
    case AdvancedAnalytics = 'advanced_analytics';
    case CustomThemes = 'custom_themes';
    
    public function isEnterprise(): bool
    {
        return in_array($this, [
            self::AdvancedAnalytics,
            self::CustomThemes
        ]);
    }
}

class UserPreferencesController extends Controller
{
    public function update(Request $request)
    {
        $request->validate([
            'features' => ['array'],
            'features.*' => [new Enum(Feature::class)],
        ]);
        
        // Transform string values into Feature enum instances
        $features = $request
            ->collect('features')
            ->mapInto(Feature::class);
        
        // Check for enterprise features
        $hasEnterpriseFeatures = $features
            ->filter(fn (Feature $feature) => $feature->isEnterprise())
            ->isNotEmpty();
            
        if ($hasEnterpriseFeatures && !$request->user()->hasEnterpriseAccess()) {
            return back()->withErrors([
                'features' => 'Some selected features require an enterprise subscription'
            ]);
        }
        
        // Store the selected features
        $request->user()->preferences()->update([
            'features' => $features->all()
        ]);
        
        return redirect()->route('user.preferences.show')
            ->with('status', 'Preferences updated successfully');
    }
}

Behind the scenes, the mapInto method creates each enum instance by passing the original value to the enum class. For string-backed enums, this process converts string values like 'dark_mode' to the corresponding enum case Feature::DarkMode.

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