Doctrine Category–Product Mini Framework

A small PHP project built with native PHP 8+, Doctrine ORM, and a custom dependency injection container, without relying on Laravel or Symfony.

It demonstrates basic backend architecture, including entity relationships, simple API handling, and data filtering.

This project is intended to showcase real backend skills in PHP and Doctrine for European backend opportunities, focusing on clean, maintainable, and framework-independent code.

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✅ Project Highlights

• Native PHP & Doctrine Mastery

  • Full control of entity mapping using Doctrine Attributes
  • One-to-Many and Many-to-One relationships without relying on a framework
  • Repository pattern and advanced QueryBuilder usage
  • Filtering using Doctrine Criteria, Collection filters, and custom queries

• Custom Dependency Injection Container

  • Handmade container showing understanding of DI principles
  • Lazy-loaded services and controllers
  • Clean separation between business logic and routing

• Services & Controllers Layered Architecture

  • CategoryService and ProductService contain business logic
  • Controllers handle only requests and output, keeping code modular

• Caching with Symfony Cache Adapter

  • Caching categories and products for performance
  • Debug routes to inspect cached data

• Multiple Filtering Techniques for Products

  1. QueryBuilder – database-level filtering
  2. Collection filter – in-memory PHP filtering
  3. Doctrine Criteria – reusable and expressive filters

• Clean, Minimal, Readable Code

  • No boilerplate from Laravel/Symfony
  • Focus on real-world backend architecture and native PHP skills

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📁 Project Structure

src/
 └── App/
      ├── Controllers/
      │     ├── CategoryController.php
      │     └── ProductController.php
      ├── Services/
      │     ├── CategoryService.php
      │     └── ProductService.php
      ├── Entity/
      │     ├── Category.php
      │     └── Product.php
      ├── Repository/
      │     ├── CategoryRepository.php
      │     └── ProductRepository.php
      └── Core/
            └── Container.php   ← handcrafted DI container
config/
 └── bootstrap.php             ← container setup + services registration
 index.php                 ← front controller with routing

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🛠 Requirements

• PHP ≥ 8.1 (native features & attributes)
• Composer
• MySQL / MariaDB
• Doctrine ORM (installed via Composer)

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📦 Installation

1. Clone repository:

git clone https://github.com/your-username/native-doctrine-orm.git
cd native-doctrine-orm

2. Install dependencies:

composer install

3. Configure your database in config/bootstrap.php.

4. Generate database tables:

vendor/bin/doctrine orm:schema-tool:update --force

5. Start local server:

php -S localhost:8000

Open in browser: http://localhost:8000

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🧭 Available Routes

Categories

Route	Description
?uri=categories	List all categories
?uri=category-detail&name=Electronics	Show a single category
?uri=category-prices1	Filter products (QueryBuilder)
?uri=category-prices2	Filter products (PHP Collection filter)
?uri=category-prices3	Filter products (Doctrine Criteria)
?uri=cache-debug	Inspect cached category cache

Products

Route	Description
?uri=products	List all products
?uri=product-detail&product_id=1	Show single product
?uri=products-by-category&category_id=3	Products in a category
?uri=products-by-price&min=5000	Products above minimum price
?uri=products-with-category	Join products with their categories

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🎯 Why This Project Matters for European Recruiters

• Native PHP & Doctrine skills – you demonstrate mastery of backend without frameworks
• Clean architecture – services, controllers, repositories, and DI container
• Scalable & maintainable – shows understanding of real enterprise projects
• Problem-solving mindset – multiple filtering solutions, caching, and entity relationships

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🧠 Learning Purpose

• Deep understanding of Doctrine ORM internals (Unit of Work, Proxies, Repositories)
• Building MVC applications from scratch using native PHP
• Designing scalable, maintainable backend systems with clean architecture
• Implementing AI-powered workflow automation and intelligent backend processes
• Developing robust APIs and integration with 3rd-party services
• Preparing for open Backend PHP roles in the European Union, showcasing native PHP, automation, and API skills

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🤝 Contributions

• Extend entities and relationships
• Add custom router or event system
• Implement autowiring for the container
• Add tests and CI/CD pipelines