Add guide for creating custom choice field types

Author: lacatoire

form/create_custom_choice_type.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,289 @@
+.. index::
+   single: Form; Custom choice type
+
+How to Create a Custom Choice Field Type
+=========================================
+
+The :doc:`ChoiceType </reference/forms/types/choice>` is one of the most
+powerful form types in Symfony. When you need to reuse the same set of choices
+across multiple forms, creating a custom choice type avoids repetition and
+centralizes your logic::
+
+    use App\Form\Type\CategoryType;
+
+    $builder->add('category', CategoryType::class);
+
+Static Choices
+--------------
+
+When the list of choices is known ahead of time, create a type that inherits
+from ``ChoiceType`` and sets the ``choices`` option::
+
+    // src/Form/Type/CategoryType.php
+    namespace App\Form\Type;
+
+    use Symfony\Component\Form\AbstractType;
+    use Symfony\Component\Form\Extension\Core\Type\ChoiceType;
+    use Symfony\Component\OptionsResolver\OptionsResolver;
+
+    class CategoryType extends AbstractType
+    {
+        public function configureOptions(OptionsResolver $resolver): void
+        {
+            $resolver->setDefaults([
+                'choices' => [
+                    'Electronics' => 'electronics',
+                    'Books' => 'books',
+                    'Clothing' => 'clothing',
+                ],
+            ]);
+        }
+
+        public function getParent(): string
+        {
+            return ChoiceType::class;
+        }
+    }
+
+The ``getParent()`` method tells Symfony to use ``ChoiceType`` as the base,
+inheriting all its options (``expanded``, ``multiple``, ``placeholder``, etc.)
+and rendering logic.
+
+.. tip::
+
+    Read the :doc:`/form/create_custom_field_type` article for more details
+    about ``getParent()`` and other methods of the form type interface.
+
+Lazy-Loading Choices
+--------------------
+
+When loading choices is expensive (e.g. querying a database or calling an
+external service), you can defer the loading until the choices are actually
+needed by using the ``choice_loader`` option. This avoids the overhead when
+the form is submitted with valid data and no rendering is required::
+
+    // src/Form/Type/CategoryType.php
+    namespace App\Form\Type;
+
+    use App\Repository\CategoryRepository;
+    use Symfony\Component\Form\AbstractType;
+    use Symfony\Component\Form\ChoiceList\ChoiceList;
+    use Symfony\Component\Form\Extension\Core\Type\ChoiceType;
+    use Symfony\Component\OptionsResolver\OptionsResolver;
+
+    class CategoryType extends AbstractType
+    {
+        public function __construct(
+            private CategoryRepository $categoryRepository,
+        ) {
+        }
+
+        public function configureOptions(OptionsResolver $resolver): void
+        {
+            $resolver->setDefaults([
+                'choice_loader' => ChoiceList::lazy($this, function (): array {
+                    return $this->categoryRepository->findAllAsChoices();
+                }),
+            ]);
+        }
+
+        public function getParent(): string
+        {
+            return ChoiceType::class;
+        }
+    }
+
+The :method:`Symfony\\Component\\Form\\ChoiceList\\ChoiceList::lazy` method
+wraps the callback in a
+:class:`Symfony\\Component\\Form\\ChoiceList\\Loader\\CallbackChoiceLoader`
+and caches the result. The first argument (``$this``) identifies the type for
+caching purposes.
+
+When the loaded choices depend on other form options, pass a ``$vary`` argument
+to ensure a separate cache entry per combination::
+
+    use Symfony\Component\Form\ChoiceList\ChoiceList;
+    use Symfony\Component\OptionsResolver\Options;
+    use Symfony\Component\OptionsResolver\OptionsResolver;
+
+    public function configureOptions(OptionsResolver $resolver): void
+    {
+        $resolver->setDefaults([
+            'is_active' => true,
+            'choice_loader' => function (Options $options) {
+                $isActive = $options['is_active'];
+
+                return ChoiceList::lazy($this, function () use ($isActive): array {
+                    return $this->categoryRepository->findByActive($isActive);
+                }, [$isActive]);
+            },
+        ]);
+    }
+
+Creating a Custom Choice Loader
+--------------------------------
+
+When the loading logic is too complex for a simple callback, implement a
+dedicated choice loader. The easiest way is to extend
+:class:`Symfony\\Component\\Form\\ChoiceList\\Loader\\AbstractChoiceLoader`,
+which handles caching and avoids loading choices unnecessarily (e.g. when the
+form is submitted empty)::
+
+    // src/Form/ChoiceList/ApiCategoryLoader.php
+    namespace App\Form\ChoiceList;
+
+    use App\Service\CategoryApiClient;
+    use Symfony\Component\Form\ChoiceList\Loader\AbstractChoiceLoader;
+
+    class ApiCategoryLoader extends AbstractChoiceLoader
+    {
+        public function __construct(
+            private CategoryApiClient $api,
+            private string $locale,
+        ) {
+        }
+
+        protected function loadChoices(): iterable
+        {
+            // called when the full list is needed (e.g. rendering the form)
+            return $this->api->fetchCategories($this->locale);
+        }
+    }
+
+The ``loadChoices()`` method must return an iterable. Keys are used as labels
+unless the :ref:`choice_label <reference-form-choice-label>` option is set.
+You can also return grouped choices by using nested arrays where keys are group
+names.
+
+For better performance on form submission, you can override two additional
+methods:
+
+``doLoadChoicesForValues(array $values)``
+    Called when the form is submitted. You can load only the choices matching
+    the submitted values instead of the full list.
+
+``doLoadValuesForChoices(array $choices)``
+    Returns the string values for the given choices. This is an alternative to
+    the :ref:`choice_value <reference-form-choice-value>` option.
+
+::
+
+    protected function doLoadChoicesForValues(array $values): array
+    {
+        // only load the submitted categories instead of all of them
+        return $this->api->fetchCategoriesByIds($values, $this->locale);
+    }
+
+Then use the custom loader in your form type with
+:method:`Symfony\\Component\\Form\\ChoiceList\\ChoiceList::loader` for proper
+caching::
+
+    // src/Form/Type/CategoryType.php
+    namespace App\Form\Type;
+
+    use App\Form\ChoiceList\ApiCategoryLoader;
+    use App\Service\CategoryApiClient;
+    use Symfony\Component\Form\AbstractType;
+    use Symfony\Component\Form\ChoiceList\ChoiceList;
+    use Symfony\Component\Form\Extension\Core\Type\ChoiceType;
+    use Symfony\Component\OptionsResolver\Options;
+    use Symfony\Component\OptionsResolver\OptionsResolver;
+
+    class CategoryType extends AbstractType
+    {
+        public function __construct(
+            private CategoryApiClient $api,
+        ) {
+        }
+
+        public function configureOptions(OptionsResolver $resolver): void
+        {
+            $resolver->setDefaults([
+                'locale' => 'en',
+                'choice_loader' => function (Options $options) {
+                    return ChoiceList::loader(
+                        $this,
+                        new ApiCategoryLoader($this->api, $options['locale']),
+                        [$options['locale']]
+                    );
+                },
+            ]);
+        }
+
+        public function getParent(): string
+        {
+            return ChoiceType::class;
+        }
+    }
+
+Using ``choice_lazy`` for Large Datasets
+-----------------------------------------
+
+When dealing with a very large number of choices (e.g. thousands of users),
+rendering them all in a ``<select>`` element is impractical. Set the
+``choice_lazy`` option to ``true`` to only load the choices that are preset as
+default values or submitted by the user::
+
+    $builder->add('user', CategoryType::class, [
+        'choice_lazy' => true,
+    ]);
+
+The form will not render the full list of choices. You are responsible for
+providing a JavaScript-based UI (e.g. an autocomplete widget) that lets users
+search and select choices dynamically.
+
+.. versionadded:: 7.2
+
+    The ``choice_lazy`` option was introduced in Symfony 7.2.
+
+Reusing EntityType Choices
+--------------------------
+
+When your choices come from Doctrine entities, extend
+:doc:`EntityType </reference/forms/types/entity>` instead of ``ChoiceType``::
+
+    // src/Form/Type/CategoryType.php
+    namespace App\Form\Type;
+
+    use App\Entity\Category;
+    use App\Repository\CategoryRepository;
+    use Symfony\Bridge\Doctrine\Form\Type\EntityType;
+    use Symfony\Component\Form\AbstractType;
+    use Symfony\Component\OptionsResolver\Options;
+    use Symfony\Component\OptionsResolver\OptionsResolver;
+
+    class CategoryType extends AbstractType
+    {
+        public function configureOptions(OptionsResolver $resolver): void
+        {
+            $resolver->setDefaults([
+                'class' => Category::class,
+                'only_active' => true,
+                'query_builder' => function (Options $options) {
+                    $onlyActive = $options['only_active'];
+
+                    return function (CategoryRepository $repository) use ($onlyActive) {
+                        $qb = $repository->createQueryBuilder('c')
+                            ->orderBy('c.name', 'ASC');
+
+                        if ($onlyActive) {
+                            $qb->andWhere('c.active = :active')
+                                ->setParameter('active', true);
+                        }
+
+                        return $qb;
+                    };
+                },
+            ]);
+
+            $resolver->setAllowedTypes('only_active', 'bool');
+        }
+
+        public function getParent(): string
+        {
+            return EntityType::class;
+        }
+    }
+
+This inherits all ``EntityType`` and ``ChoiceType`` options, so you can use
+``expanded``, ``multiple``, ``choice_label``, etc.

forms.rst

@@ -1710,6 +1710,7 @@ Advanced Features:
     /controller/upload_file
     /security/csrf
     /form/create_custom_field_type
+    /form/create_custom_choice_type
     /form/data_transformers
     /form/data_mappers
     /form/create_form_type_extension