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PHP Thin Client SDK

This guide provides detailed information about our PHP Thin SDK. All of our SDKs are open source. Go to our PHP Thin SDK GitHub repository to learn more.

Language support​

The PHP Thin SDK supports PHP language version 7.3 and later.

Architecture​

The PHP Thin SDK depends on the Split Daemon (splitd) which should be set up on the same host. The PHP Thin SDK factory client uses splitd to maintain the local cached copy of the FME definitions and return feature flag evaluations.

Initialization​

1. Import the SDK into your project​

PHP
composer require splitsoftware/thin-sdk:1.5.0

The public release of the PHP Thin SDK is available at packagist.org.

2. Set up the splitd service​

When the composer is done, follow the guidance of our Split Daemon (splitd) doc to integrate splitd into your application infrastructure.

3. Instantiate the SDK and create a new SDK factory client​

We recommend instantiating the SDK factory once as a singleton and reusing it throughout your application.

PHP
<?php

require_once '../vendor/autoload.php';

use \SplitIO\ThinSdk\Factory;

$factory = Factory::withConfig([
    'transfer' => ['address' => 'path/to/socket/file.sock'],
    'logging' => ['level' => \Psr\Log\LogLevel::INFO],
]);

$client = $factory->client();

Using the SDK​

Basic use​

After you instantiate the SDK factory client, you can start using the getTreatment method of the SDK factory client to decide what version of your features your customers are served. The method requires the FEATURE_FLAG_NAME attribute that you want to ask for a treatment and a unique key attribute that corresponds to the end user that you want to serve the feature to.

From there, you simply need to use an if-else-if block as shown below and insert the code for the different treatments that you defined in Harness FME. Remember the final else branch in your code to handle the client returning the control treatment.

PHP
<?php
// The key here represents the ID of the user/account/etc you're trying to evaluate a treatment for
$treatment = $client->getTreatment('key', 'bucketingKey', 'FEATURE_FLAG_NAME', null);
 
if ($treatment === 'on') {
    // insert code here to show on treatment
} elseif ($treatment === 'off') {
    // insert code here to show off treatment
} else {
    // insert your control treatment code here
}

Attribute syntax​

To target based on custom attributes, the SDK's getTreatment method needs to pass an attribute map at runtime.

In the example below, we are rolling out a feature flag to users. The provided attributes plan_type, registered_date, permissions, paying_customer, and deal_size are passed to the getTreatment call. These attributes are compared and evaluated against the attributes used in the rollout plan as defined in Harness FME to decide whether to show the on or off treatment to this account.

The getTreatment method supports five types of attributes: strings, numbers, dates, booleans, and sets. The proper data type and syntax for each are:

  • Strings: Use type String.
  • Numbers: Use type Integer.
  • Dates: Express the value in seconds since epoch. Use a timestamp represented by an Integer.
  • Booleans: Use type Boolean.
  • Sets: Use type Array.
PHP
<?php

$attributes["plan_type"] = "growth";
$attributes["registered_date"] = (new DateTime("now", new DateTimeZone("UTC")))->getTimestamp();
$attributes["deal_size"] = 10000;
$attributes["paying_customer"] = True;
$attributes["permissions"] = array("gold","silver","platinum");
 
$treatment = $client->getTreatment('key', 'bucketingKey', 'FEATURE_FLAG_NAME', $attributes);
 
if ($treatment === 'on') {
    // insert code here to show on experience
} elseif ($treatment === 'off') {
    // insert code here to show off experience
} else {
    // insert your control treatment code here to show no reporting
}

Multiple evaluations at once​

In some instances, you may want to evaluate treatments for multiple feature flags at once. Use the different variations of getTreatments from the SDK factory client to do this.

  • getTreatments: Pass a list of the feature flag names you want treatments for.
  • getTreatmentsByFlagSet: Evaluate all flags that are part of the provided set name and are cached on the SDK instance.
  • getTreatmentsByFlagSets: Evaluate all flags that are part of the provided set names and are cached on the SDK instance.
$treatments = $client->getTreatments('key', 'bucketingKey', ['FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_1', 'FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_2'], null);

echo json_encode($treatments);

You can also use the Split Manager to get all of your treatments at once.

Get Treatments with Configurations​

To leverage dynamic configurations with your treatments, you should use the getTreatmentWithConfig method. This method returns an object containing the treatment and associated configuration.

The config element is a stringified version of the configuration JSON defined in Harness FME. If there is no configuration defined for a treatment, the SDK returns null for the config parameter.

This method takes the exact same set of arguments as the standard getTreatment method. See below for examples on proper usage:

PHP
$result = $splitClient->getTreatmentWithConfig("KEY", null, "FEATURE_FLAG_NAME", attributes);
$config = json_decode($result["config"], true);
$treatment = $result["treatment"];

If you need to get multiple evaluations at once, you can also use the getTreatmentsWithConfig methods. These methods take the exact same arguments as the getTreatments methods but return a mapping of feature flag names to SplitResult instead of strings. See example usage below:

PHP
$TreatmentResults = $splitClient->getTreatmentsWithConfig("KEY", null, ["FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_1", "FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_2"], attributes);
// TreatmentResults will have the following form: 
// {
//   FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_1: {treatment: 'on',
//                  config: "{ 'color' : 'red'}}",
//   FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_2: {treatment: 'v2',
//                  config: "{ 'copy' : 'better copy'}}",
// }

Shutdown​

Due to the nature of PHP and the way HTTP requests are handled, the client is instantiated on every request and automatically destroyed when the request lifecycle comes to an end. The data is synchronized by an external tool and stored in memory, so the SDK factory client does not need to invoke any shutdown tasks.

Track​

Use the track method to record any actions your customers perform. Each action is known as an event and corresponds to an event type. Calling track through one of our SDKs or via the API is the first step to and allows you to measure the impact of your feature flags on your users’ actions and metrics.

Refer to the Events documentation for more information about using track events in feature flags.

In the examples below you can see that the .track() method can take up to five arguments. The proper data type and syntax for each are:

  • key: The key variable used in the getTreatment call and firing this track event. The expected data type is String.
  • TRAFFIC_TYPE: The traffic type of the key in the track call. The expected data type is String. You can only pass values that match the names of traffic types that you have defined in Harness FME.
  • EVENT_TYPE: The event type that this event should correspond to. The expected data type is String. Full requirements on this argument are:
    • Contains 63 characters or fewer.
    • Starts with a letter or number.
    • Contains only letters, numbers, hyphen, underscore, or period.
    • This is the regular expression we use to validate the value:
      [a-zA-Z0-9][-_\.a-zA-Z0-9]{0,62}
  • VALUE: (Optional) The value to be used in creating the metric. This field can be sent in as null or 0 if you intend to purely use the count function when creating a metric. The expected data type is Integer or Float.
  • PROPERTIES: (Optional) A Map of key value pairs that can be used to filter your metrics. Learn more about event property capture in the Events guide. FME currently supports three types of properties: strings, numbers, and booleans.

The track method returns a boolean value of true or false to indicate whether or not the event was successfully queued to be sent back to Harness servers on the next event post. The SDK will return false if the current queue on the Split Daemon is full or if an incorrect input to the track method has been provided.

In the case that a bad input has been provided, you can read more about our SDK's expected behavior in the Events documentation

PHP 7.3+
<?php

// If you would like to send an event without a value
$trackEvent = $splitClient->track("KEY", "TRAFFIC_TYPE", "EVENT_TYPE", null, null);
// Example
$trackEvent = $splitClient->track("john@doe.com", "user", "page_load_time", null, null);

// If you would like to associate a value to an event
$trackEvent = $splitClient->track("KEY", "TRAFFIC_TYPE", "EVENT_TYPE", VALUE, null);
// Example
$trackEvent = $splitClient->track("john@doe.com", "user", "page_load_time", 83.334, null);

// If you would like to associate just properties to an event
$trackEvent = $splitClient->track("KEY", "TRAFFIC_TYPE", "EVENT_TYPE", null, {PROPERTIES});

// If you would like to associate a value and properties to an event
$trackEvent = $splitClient->track("KEY", "TRAFFIC_TYPE", "EVENT_TYPE", VALUE, {PROPERTIES});
// Example
$properties = array(
    "package" => "premium",
    "admin" => true,
    "discount" => 50
);
$trackEvent = $splitClient->track("KEY", "TRAFFIC_TYPE", "EVENT_TYPE", 83.334, $properties);

Configuration​

With the SDK architecture, there is a set of options that you can configure to get everything connected and working as expected.

OptionDescription
transferIPC socket parameters (type, address, timeouts)
loggingLogging parameters
utilsInstance of an impression listener to send impression data to a custom location
PHP
<?php
 
$sdkConfig = [
   'transfer' => ['address' => '/var/run/splitd.sock'],
   'logging' => ['psr-instance' => $myLogger],
];
 
$splitFactory = \SplitIO\ThinSdk\Factory::withConfig($sdkConfig);
$splitClient = $splitFactory->client();

Impressions data​

By default, the SDK sends small amounts of information to the Harness servers indicating the reason for each treatment returned from a feature flag. An example would be that a user saw the on treatment because they are in segment all.

Manager​

Use the Split Manager to get a list of feature flags available to the SDK factory client.

To instantiate a Manager in your code base, use the same factory that you used for your client.

Manager
<?php

$splitManager = $splitFactory->manager();

The Manager then has the following methods available.

PHP
<?php

namespace SplitIO\ThinSdk;

use SplitIO\ThinSdk\SplitView;

interface ManagerInterface
{
    /**
     * Retrieves the names of feature flags that are currently registered with the
     * SDK.
     *
     * @return array of strings
     */
    function splitNames(): array;

/**
     * Returns the feature flags registered with the SDK of this name.
     *
     * @param $featureFlagName
     * @return \SplitIO\ThinSdk\SplitView
     */
    function split(string $featureFlagName): ?SplitView;

/**
     * Retrieves the feature flags that are currently registered with the
     * SDK.
     *
     * @return array of \SplitIO\ThinSdk\SplitView
     */
    function splits(): array;
}

The SplitView object referenced above has the following structure.

PHP
<?php
namespace SplitIO\ThinSdk;
 
class SplitView
{
    private $name;
    private $trafficType; // the name of the traffic type
    private $killed;
    private $treatments;
    private $changeNumber;
    private $configs;
    private $defaultTreatment;
    private $sets;
  
  // Getter and Setter methods have been omitted
}

Listener​

FME SDKs send impression data back to Harness servers periodically when evaluating feature flags. To send this information to a location of your choice, define an impression listener. Use the impressionListener parameter, where you can provide an implementation of an ImpressionListener. This implementation must define the accept method, with the signature public function accept(Impression $impression, ?array $attributes) and with parameters as defined below.

NameTypeDescription
impressionSplitIO\ThinSdk\Models\ImpressionImpression object that has the feature name, treatment result, label, etc.
attributes?arrayA list of attributes passed by the client.

Implement a custom impression listener​

Here is an example of how to implement a custom impression listener.

PHP
use \SplitIO\ThinSdk\Utils\ImpressionListener;
use \SplitIO\ThinSdk\Models\Impression;

class CustomListener implements ImpressionListener
{
    public function accept(Impression $i, ?array $a)
    {
        echo "got an impression for: key=".$i->getKey()
            ." feat=".$i->getFeature()
            ." treatment=".$i->getTreatment()
            ." label=".$i->getLabel()
            ." cn=".$i->getChangeNumber()
            ." #attrs=".(($a == null) ? 0 : count($a))."\n";
    }
}

Attach a custom impression listener​

Here is an example of how to attach a custom impression listener.

PHP
$sdkConfig = [
   'transfer' => ['address' => '/var/run/splitd.sock'],
   'logging' => ['psr-instance' => $myLogger],
   'utils' => ['impressionListener' => new \App\Utils\CustomListener()], ## <-- custom listener
];
 
$splitFactory = \SplitIO\ThinSdk\Factory::withConfig($sdkConfig);
$splitClient = $splitFactory->client();

Logging​

The SDK provides a custom logger that implements the PSR-3 standard. By default, the SDK logs to stdout at the INFO log level. To configure the logger, set the adapter and the desired log level.

Production environments

For production environments, we strongly recommend passing a proper psr-instance parameter with a PSR3 compliant logger (or custom wrapper for a non-cmpliant one).

PHP - Logger configuration
<?php
$sdkConfig = [
   'logging' => ['level' => \Psr\Log\LogLevel::DEBUG],
);
 
$splitFactory = \SplitIO\ThinSdk\Factory::withConfig($sdkConfig);
$splitClient = $splitFactory->client();

The log configuration parameters are described below.

ConfigurationDescriptionDefault value
levelThe log level message. According the PSR-3 standard the supported levels are:
  • emergency
  • alert
  • critical
  • error
  • warning
  • notice
  • info
  • debug
  • info
psr-instanceYour custom logger instance that implements the PSR-3 standardnull

Custom logging​

You can integrate a third-party logger to format logging or to push logging info to a configurable location.

Zend logger​

The Zend logger can be integrated with the SDK as shown below.

PHP
<?php
 
$zendLogLogger = new Zend\Log\Logger;
$psrLogger = new Zend\Log\PsrLoggerAdapter($zendLogLogger);
 
/** SDK options */
$sdkConfig = [
    'logging'   => ['psr-instance' => $psrLogger],
];
 
/** Create the client instance. */
$splitFactory = \SplitIO\ThinSdk\Factory::withConfig($sdkConfig);
$splitClient = $splitFactory->client();
Monolog​

Monolog sends your logs to files, sockets, inboxes, databases, and various web services. See the complete list of handlers in the Monolog documentation.

The following is a demonstration of Monolog integration for the SDK.

PHP
<?php
use Monolog\Logger;
use Monolog\Handler\StreamHandler;
 
/** create a log channel */
$psrLogger = new Logger('SplitIO');
$psrLogger->pushHandler(new StreamHandler('path/to/your.log', Logger::WARNING));
 
/** SDK options */
$sdkConfig = [
    'logging'   => ['psr-instance' => $psrLogger],
];
 
/** Create the client instance. */
$splitFactory = \SplitIO\ThinSdk\Factory::withConfig($sdkConfig);
$splitClient = $splitFactory->client();