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Introduction

Code Stencil provides an elegant, easy to read pattern that is great for generating stub files, and will streamline your code generation tasks. A common occurrence with code generation is that readability and maintenance suffer, but with Code Stencil, it's a piece of cake!

Create a class​

Stencil::make()
    ->php()
    ->strictTypes()
    ->namespace('App/Models')
    ->curlyStatement('class MyClass', fn(Stencil $s) => $s
        ->line('private OtherClass $otherClass;')
        ->use(OtherClass::class) // This will add a use statement to the file
        ->line()
        ->phpdoc(
            summary: 'Create a new instance of MyClass',
            tags: ['param' => ['OtherClass $class', 'bool $options']]
        )
        ->curlyStatement('function __construct(OtherClass $class, bool $options = false)', fn(Stencil $s) => $s
            ->line('$this->otherClass = $class;')
        )
    )
    ->save('MyClass.php')
Show Result
<?php

declare(strict_types = 1);

namespace App\Models;

use OtherClass;

class MyClass
{
    private OtherClass $otherClass;

    /**
     * Create a new instance of MyClass
     * @param OtherClass $class
     * @param bool       $options
     */
    function __construct(OtherClass $class, bool $options = false)
    {
        $this->otherClass = $class;
    }
}

It can also become much more dynamic, with the addition of variables, functions, and conditional logic.

Variables, functions, and conditionals​

$properties = ['Id', 'Name', 'StartAt'];

$includeTimestamp = false;

Stencil::make()
    ->php()
    ->variable('__class__', 'MyClass')
    ->function('lcfirst', fn(string $value) => lcfirst($value))
    ->curlyStatement('class __class__', fn(Stencil $s) => $s
        ->foreach($properties, fn(Stencil $s, string $property) => $s
            ->line("private string % lcfirst %($property);") // We can call our 'lcfirst' function that we defined above using this syntax
        )
        ->when($includeTimestamp, fn(Stencil $s) => $s->line('private DateTime $timestamp;'))
    )
    ->save('__class__.php') // File output will be to MyClass.php
Show Result
<?php

class MyClass {
    private string id;
    private string name;
    private string startAt;
}

This example is basic, but there's no limit to the complexity of code you can generate!