Enhancements and New Features

This document provides a comprehensive overview of the enhancements made to the PHP CRUD API Generator in version 1.1.0.

Advanced Filtering
Field Selection
Count Endpoint
Bulk Operations
Input Validation
Security Improvements
Migration Guide

Advanced Filtering

Overview

The filtering system has been enhanced to support multiple comparison operators beyond simple equality checks.

Supported Operators

Operator	Description	Example
`eq`	Equals (default)	`filter=name:eq:Alice`
`neq`, `ne`	Not equals	`filter=status:neq:deleted`
`gt`	Greater than	`filter=age:gt:18`
`gte`, `ge`	Greater than or equal	`filter=price:gte:100`
`lt`	Less than	`filter=stock:lt:10`
`lte`, `le`	Less than or equal	`filter=discount:lte:50`
`like`	Pattern matching	`filter=email:like:%@gmail.com`
`in`	In list (pipe-separated)	`filter=status:in:active
`notin`, `nin`	Not in list	`filter=role:notin:admin
`null`	Is NULL	`filter=deleted_at:null:`
`notnull`	Is NOT NULL	`filter=email:notnull:`

Filter Syntax

New Format: col:operator:value

Example: filter=age:gt:18,status:eq:active

Legacy Format: col:value (still supported)

Example: filter=name:Alice
Automatically uses = for exact match or LIKE if value contains %

Multiple Filters

Combine multiple filters using commas:

/index.php?action=list&table=users&filter=age:gte:18,status:eq:active,email:like:%@gmail.com

This creates an AND condition for all filters.

Use Cases

E-commerce Product Filtering:

# Products between $10 and $100 with stock
/index.php?action=list&table=products&filter=price:gte:10,price:lte:100,stock:gt:0

# Out of stock products
/index.php?action=list&table=products&filter=stock:eq:0

User Management:

# Active users who registered recently
/index.php?action=list&table=users&filter=status:eq:active,created_at:gte:2024-01-01

# Users without email verification
/index.php?action=list&table=users&filter=email_verified_at:null:

Field Selection

Overview

The field selection feature allows you to retrieve only specific columns from a table, reducing bandwidth and improving performance.

Syntax

/index.php?action=list&table=users&fields=id,name,email

Benefits

Reduced bandwidth: Only requested fields are transferred
Improved performance: Less data to serialize and deserialize
Privacy: Exclude sensitive fields from responses
Mobile optimization: Send only necessary data to mobile clients

Examples

Basic field selection:

/index.php?action=list&table=users&fields=id,name

Combined with filtering:

/index.php?action=list&table=users&fields=id,name,email&filter=status:eq:active

Combined with sorting and pagination:

/index.php?action=list&table=products&fields=id,name,price&sort=-price&page=1&page_size=20

Count Endpoint

Overview

A dedicated endpoint for counting records without pagination overhead. Perfect for dashboards, analytics, and statistics.

Syntax

GET /index.php?action=count&table=users

Features

Supports all filter operators
No pagination overhead
Returns simple count object
Uses same permissions as list action

Examples

Basic count:

curl "http://localhost/index.php?action=count&table=users"
# Response: {"count": 150}

Count with filters:

# Count active users
curl "http://localhost/index.php?action=count&table=users&filter=status:eq:active"
# Response: {"count": 120}

# Count users over 18
curl "http://localhost/index.php?action=count&table=users&filter=age:gt:18"
# Response: {"count": 95}

# Count premium subscriptions
curl "http://localhost/index.php?action=count&table=subscriptions&filter=type:eq:premium,status:in:active|trial"
# Response: {"count": 45}

Use Cases

Dashboard Statistics:

// Fetch multiple counts for dashboard
Promise.all([
  fetch('/index.php?action=count&table=users&filter=status:eq:active'),
  fetch('/index.php?action=count&table=orders&filter=status:eq:pending'),
  fetch('/index.php?action=count&table=products&filter=stock:lt:10')
]).then(results => {
  // Display statistics
});

Analytics:

# User growth metrics
curl "http://localhost/index.php?action=count&table=users&filter=created_at:gte:2024-01-01"

# Conversion rates
curl "http://localhost/index.php?action=count&table=leads&filter=status:eq:converted"

Bulk Operations

Overview

Bulk operations allow you to create or delete multiple records efficiently in single API calls.

Bulk Create

Endpoint: POST /index.php?action=bulk_create&table=users

Features:

Transaction-based (all or nothing)
Returns all created records with IDs
Automatic rollback on failure

Request:

[
  {"name": "Alice", "email": "alice@example.com", "age": 25},
  {"name": "Bob", "email": "bob@example.com", "age": 30},
  {"name": "Charlie", "email": "charlie@example.com", "age": 35}
]

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "created": 3,
  "data": [
    {"id": 101, "name": "Alice", "email": "alice@example.com", "age": 25},
    {"id": 102, "name": "Bob", "email": "bob@example.com", "age": 30},
    {"id": 103, "name": "Charlie", "email": "charlie@example.com", "age": 35}
  ]
}

curl Example:

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '[{"name":"Alice","email":"alice@example.com"},{"name":"Bob","email":"bob@example.com"}]' \
  "http://localhost/index.php?action=bulk_create&table=users"

Bulk Delete

Endpoint: POST /index.php?action=bulk_delete&table=users

Features:

Single efficient query
Returns count of deleted records
Works with any ID format (numeric or UUID)

Request:

{
  "ids": [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
}

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "deleted": 5
}

curl Example:

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"ids":[1,2,3,4,5]}' \
  "http://localhost/index.php?action=bulk_delete&table=users"

Use Cases

Data Import:

// Import users from CSV
const users = parseCSV(csvData);
fetch('/index.php?action=bulk_create&table=users', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
  body: JSON.stringify(users)
});

Batch Cleanup:

// Delete old records
const oldRecordIds = [101, 102, 103, 104, 105];
fetch('/index.php?action=bulk_delete&table=logs', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
  body: JSON.stringify({ids: oldRecordIds})
});

Input Validation

Overview

Comprehensive input validation has been added to prevent SQL injection, invalid queries, and malicious inputs.

Validator Class

The new Validator class provides centralized validation methods:

Validator::validateTableName($table)      // Alphanumeric + underscore only
Validator::validateColumnName($column)    // Alphanumeric + underscore only
Validator::validateId($id)                // Numeric or UUID format
Validator::validatePage($page)            // Positive integer
Validator::validatePageSize($size)        // Integer, 1-100
Validator::validateOperator($op)          // Valid filter operator
Validator::validateSort($sort)            // Valid sort format

What's Validated

Table Names:

Must be alphanumeric with underscores only
Example: users, order_items, product_123

Column Names:

Must be alphanumeric with underscores only
Example: user_id, created_at, email_address

IDs:

Must be numeric or valid UUID format
Examples: 123, 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

Pagination:

Page must be positive integer (≥1)
Page size must be 1-100 (default: 20)

Sort Parameters:

Column names must be valid
Format: col1,-col2 (prefix - for DESC)

Security Improvements

1. SQL Injection Prevention

Problem: Previous filter implementation could have parameter name collisions.

Solution: Each filter parameter now gets a unique name:

// Old: $params['name'] could be overwritten
// New: $params['name_0'], $params['name_1'], etc.

2. Parameterized Queries

All database queries use prepared statements with bound parameters:

// Good: Using prepared statements
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM `$table` WHERE `col` = :param");
$stmt->execute(['param' => $value]);

// Bad: Never concatenate user input
$stmt = $pdo->query("SELECT * FROM $table WHERE col = '$value'"); // ❌

3. Input Validation

All user inputs are validated before use:

Table names checked against allowed characters
Column names validated
IDs validated for correct format
Filter operators checked against whitelist

4. RBAC Integration

Input validation is applied before RBAC checks, ensuring invalid inputs are rejected early:

Request → Input Validation → Authentication → RBAC → Database Query

Migration Guide

From 1.0.0 to 1.1.0

No Breaking Changes! Version 1.1.0 is fully backward compatible.

Using New Features

1. Upgrade your filtering:

Before:

/index.php?action=list&table=users&filter=age:30

After (more options available):

/index.php?action=list&table=users&filter=age:gte:30,status:eq:active

2. Optimize with field selection:

Before:

/index.php?action=list&table=users
// Returns all columns

After:

/index.php?action=list&table=users&fields=id,name,email
// Returns only specified columns

3. Use count for statistics:

Before:

/index.php?action=list&table=users&page_size=1
// Inefficient, still fetches data

After:

/index.php?action=count&table=users
// Efficient, returns just the count

4. Bulk operations for efficiency:

Before:

// Create users one by one
for (const user of users) {
  await fetch('/index.php?action=create&table=users', {
    method: 'POST',
    body: JSON.stringify(user)
  });
}

After:

// Create all users at once
await fetch('/index.php?action=bulk_create&table=users', {
  method: 'POST',
  body: JSON.stringify(users)
});

Testing Your Migration

Test basic operations still work as before
Try new filter operators on non-production data
Test field selection to ensure correct columns returned
Validate error responses for invalid inputs
Test bulk operations with small datasets first

Best Practices

1. Use Field Selection

Always specify fields when you don't need all columns:

✅ /index.php?action=list&table=users&fields=id,name
❌ /index.php?action=list&table=users (returns all columns)

2. Leverage Count Endpoint

Use the count endpoint for statistics instead of fetching and counting:

✅ /index.php?action=count&table=users
❌ /index.php?action=list&table=users then count in code

3. Batch Operations

Use bulk operations when creating or deleting multiple records:

✅ bulk_create with array of records
❌ Multiple create calls in a loop

4. Efficient Filtering

Use specific operators instead of fetching and filtering in code:

✅ filter=age:gte:18,status:in:active|trial
❌ Fetch all records and filter in application code

5. Pagination

Always paginate large result sets:

✅ page=1&page_size=20
❌ Fetching thousands of records at once

Performance Tips

Field Selection: 50-70% reduction in response size for tables with many columns
Count Endpoint: 10x faster than fetching records for counting
Bulk Operations: 10-100x faster than individual operations depending on record count
Indexed Columns: Use indexed columns in filters for better performance
Pagination: Keep page_size reasonable (20-50 records) for best performance

Support

For questions or issues with these enhancements:

Check the README.md for usage examples
Review the CHANGELOG.md for version history
Open an issue on GitHub

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Enhancements and New Features

Table of Contents

Advanced Filtering

Overview

Supported Operators

Filter Syntax

Multiple Filters

Use Cases

Field Selection

Overview

Syntax

Benefits

Examples

Count Endpoint

Overview

Syntax

Features

Examples

Use Cases

Bulk Operations

Overview

Bulk Create

Bulk Delete

Use Cases

Input Validation

Overview

Validator Class

What's Validated

Security Improvements

1. SQL Injection Prevention

2. Parameterized Queries

3. Input Validation

4. RBAC Integration

Migration Guide

From 1.0.0 to 1.1.0

Using New Features

Testing Your Migration

Best Practices

1. Use Field Selection

2. Leverage Count Endpoint

3. Batch Operations

4. Efficient Filtering

5. Pagination

Performance Tips

Support