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Getting started

Build a mutable collection​

Pass an array or another iterable to the constructor. An omitted argument creates an empty collection.

use Dirthara\Collection\MutableCollection;

$names = new MutableCollection(['first' => 'Ada']);
$names->set('second', 'Lin');
$names->set('first', 'Grace');

$first = $names->get('first');
$keys = $names->keys();

$first is 'Grace', and $keys is ['first', 'second']. Replacing an entry does not move it. Mutable operations change the same collection object.

Keep the original with an immutable collection​

use Dirthara\Collection\ImmutableCollection;

$original = new ImmutableCollection(['first' => 'Ada']);
$extended = $original->with('second', 'Lin');
$remaining = $extended->without('first');

$original still contains only 'first'. $extended contains both entries, and $remaining contains only 'second'. Always use the returned value from immutable operations.

Read and iterate​

use Dirthara\Collection\ImmutableCollection;

$names = new ImmutableCollection(['first' => 'Ada', 'second' => 'Lin']);

foreach ($names as $key => $name) {
    echo $key . ': ' . $name . PHP_EOL;
}

Iteration preserves keys and insertion order. Both variants support count(), isEmpty(), has(), get(), contains(), keys(), values(), and toArray(). See the shared API.

Handle absence explicitly​

use Dirthara\Collection\MutableCollection;

$settings = new MutableCollection(['label' => null]);

$present = $settings->has('label');
$value = $settings->get('label');
$missing = $settings->has('other');

$present is true, $value is null, and $missing is false. Calling get('other') throws a missing-key exception.

Choose a contract for consumers​

Use the read-only contract when a function only needs to read. Choose the mutable or immutable child contract when it needs update operations. A read-only typehint limits the exposed API; it does not turn a mutable object into an immutable one.