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Php – Why getContent() and request->get doesn't give same result when using POST with symfony 7?

I’m trying to get POST content in php side (using PHP 8.3, Symfony 7.1)

Here is an example backend:

#[Route("test")]
public function testing(Request $request) {
    $_POST = json_decode($request->getContent(), true);
    if(isset($_POST["line"])) { // FIRST METHOD
        // try when using JS query (see code below)
    }
    if($request->request->get("line") != null) { // SECOND METHOD
        // true when using Symfony queries
    }
    return $this->json([]);
}

Two if are never true at the same time.

  • The first method is multiple times recommended in stackoverflow (like here, here or here), and worked for me since long time
  • The second method is mentionned in Symfony documentation
  1. When using this JS code:
await fetch("/test", {
    method: "POST",
    body: JSON.stringify({
        "line": "the line"
    }),
    headers: {
        'Accept': 'application/json',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    }
});

It works by using the first method $_POST.

  1. When using this code with PHPUnit:
$client->request('POST', "/test", [
    "line" => "the line"
], [], [ 'CONTENT_TYPE' => 'application/json', 'ACCEPT' => 'application/json' ]);

It the second method that works (by using request->get).

Why is there a difference and what am I doing wrong?

Tags:

3

Answers


  1. 0

    When you use $request->request->get("line") Symfony is expecting application/x-www-form-urlencoded as content type.

    So you need to handle your body as a json in your symfony controller:

    $line = json_decode($request->getContent(), true);

    Or in symfony >= 5.2

    $line = $request->toArray();

    You could also modify your ajax request to be treated as application/x-www-form-urlencoded.

    You may also use of the new symfony 6 attribute to map your payload to a new dto in your method parameters (symfony >= 6.3).

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  2. 0

    In your JavaScript example, you send the POST data as a JSON body:

    • body is built by using body: JSON.stringify()
    • you specified the HTTP header 'Content-Type': 'application/json'

    It means the HTTP request body has been sent as a JSON string:

    {"line":"the line"}

    That’s why your 1st option works, but you can see that you need to decode the JSON before any other operation: json_decode($request->getContent(), true). PHP is not built to handle POST data in JSON format by default.

    The 2nd example is the standard one. By default, POST data is sent with a Content-Type HTTP header with the value application/x-www-form-urlencoded. The request body looks like a query string (like GET data):

    line=the%20line

    In this case, the $_POST superglobal is already configured to contain a line key, you don’t need to JSON decode anything. That’s why Symfony’s Request (as it uses the $_POST superglobal in its web runtime) can get your data using $request->request->get().

    If you want your JS code and PHPUnit code to work, you should either:

    • send the POST data in your JSON in the "default" format: x-www-form-urlencoded
    • encode the POST data from your PHPUnit test case in JSON (looks like you did not use the request() method properly)

    PS: don’t create/rewrite superglobals like $_POST, if not a bad practice, it’s at least very confusing. Never use such variables in Symfony anyways.

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  3. 0

    What you are doing is wrong:

    Nothing crazy needs to be done, it’s just the the approaches to send data, and each approach requires a different way to handle the data on the PHP side.

    If you want to use the same approach for both scenarios, you could consider using a library like symfony/http-foundation to handle the JSON requests in a more standardized way.

    Here is the example on your code base to handle the request the PHPUnit test to send a raw JSON payload, similar to the JavaScript example, by using the json key in the request method.

    $client->request('POST', "/test", [], [], [
    'CONTENT_TYPE' => 'application/json',
    'ACCEPT' => 'application/json',
    'json' => ['line' => 'the line']
]);

    This would send a raw JSON payload; you could use the first method to handle it in your PHP code.

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