Bi-Directional Synchronization

The mapping engine tracks mapping context and field origin, allowing modified domain entities to sync back to the original source or reconstruct the original entity class.

Syncing Back to the Source Instance

$shieldUser = $shieldUserModel->find(1);
$appUser = AppUser::from($shieldUser);

// Modify application state
$appUser->email = 'updated@example.com';
$appUser->name = 'Jane Doe';

// Sync modified values back into the original $shieldUser instance
$appUser->syncTo($shieldUser);

// Save through the 3rd-party repository or model
$shieldUserModel->save($shieldUser);

When no argument is passed to syncTo(), the entity automatically updates the captured origin instance:

$appUser->name = 'Jane Doe';
$appUser->syncTo(); // Automatically syncs to the captured $shieldUser
$shieldUserModel->save($shieldUser);

To sync only attributes that were actually modified, pass onlyChanged: true:

$appUser->syncTo($shieldUser, onlyChanged: true);

Reconstructing the Original Entity (toOriginal)

// Reconstruct the 3rd-party entity with reversed mappings
$shieldUser = $appUser->toOriginal();
$shieldUserModel->save($shieldUser);

// When mapped from an array, toOriginal() exports back to an array
$data = ['user_id' => 5, 'user_name' => 'alex'];
$user = AppUser::from($data);
$user->name = 'alex_updated';

$originalArray = $user->toOriginal();
// ['user_id' => 5, 'user_name' => 'alex_updated']