Sampling

Once you have described your object you can use the sampler to create samples for your object. To create samples you can use one of four methods inside the Dogmatist instance:

sample(builder)

When builder is a name, a sample from the named builder is created. If no builder can be found then a NoSuchIndexException is thrown. When the named builder has a limited set of samples, then one of these samples is returned. If builder is a named builder that is allowed to generate unlimited samples, or if builder is an instance of Builder, then a fresh sample is generated.

samples(builder, count)

This method is similar in behavior to the sample() method, however this method returns a provided number of samples. Note that if a builder only has a limited set of samples it is allowed to generate and you ask for more, then the sampler will throw a SampleException indicating that not enough samples are available. For Builder instances or named builders that are allowed to generate unlimited samples, a sample will always be generated as long as the Builder is valid for the type it describes.

freshSample(builder)

This method will always generate a fresh sample, even for builders which are only allowed to generate a limited set of samples.

freshSamples(builder, count)

Similar to freshSample(), this will always generate fresh samples.

Note

When a sample is fresh, this does not mean that it is unique from all previously generated samples when looked at the field level. However the sampler will have at least run it’s course once more and in the case of objects, no freshly generated sample will ever be exactly equal (===) to any of the previously generated samples.

$builder = $dogmatist->create('object')->fake('num', 'randomNumber');
$sample = $dogmatist->sample($builder);
var_dump($sample);