Best way to document Array options in PHPDoc?

Question

I\'m struggling to write readable and easy to understand documentation that describes the multi-tree structure for Array options that are passed to a function.

Here

Answer 1

I wrote a plugin for phpstorm that allows specifying keys like this:

(basically just a slightly stricter version of @siannone's format)

/**
 * @param array $arr = [
 *     'fields' => [ // Defines the feilds to be shown by scaffolding
 *         $anyKey => [
 *             'name' => 'sale', // Overrides the field name (default is the array key)
 *             'model' => 'customer', // (optional) Overrides the model if the field is a belongsTo associated value.
 *             'width' => '100px', // Defines the width of the field for paginate views. Examples are "100px" or "auto"
 *             'align' => 'center', // Alignment types for paginate views (left, right, center)
 *             'format' => 'nice', // Formatting options for paginate fields. Options include ('currency','nice','niceShort','timeAgoInWords' or a valid Date() format)
 *             'title' => 'Sale', // Changes the field name shown in views.
 *             'desc' => 'A deal another person that results in money', // The description shown in edit/create views.
 *             'readonly' => false, // True prevents users from changing the value in edit/create forms.
 *             'type' => 'password', // Defines the input type used by the Form helper
 *             'options' => ['option1', 'option2'], // Defines a list of string options for drop down lists.
 *             'editor' => false, // If set to True will show a WYSIWYG editor for this field.
 *             'default' => '', // The default value for create forms.
 *         ],
 *     ],
 * ]
 */
public static function processForm($arr)
{
    $fieldName = 'sale';
    $arr['fields'][$fieldName][''];
}

It allows to specify @return keys as well:

/**
 * @return array [
 *     'success' => true,
 *     'formObject' => new Form,
 *     'errors' => [],
 * ]
 */
public static function processForm($arr);

Answer 2

Markdown Syntax for Object Notation (MSON) may be a better choice.

example

/**
 * @param array $config
 *   + app (string, required) - app directory name
 *   + view (string, required) - view directory name
 *   + type (enum[string]) - site type
 *     + pc - PC version
 *     + wap - mobile version
 *     + other - other, default value
 *   + table_prefix (string) - database table prefix
 */

Answer 3

Can you use objects instead of arrays? That would make documentation easy.

class Field {

    /**
     * The name of the thing.
     * @var string
     */
    protected $name;

    protected $model;
    protected $width;
    //...

    public function getName() {...}
    public function setName() {...}
    //...
}

class FieldList implements SomeKindOfIterator {

    /**
     * Some fields.
     * @var Field[]
     */
    protected $fields = array();

    /**
     * ...
     */
    public function push(Field $field) {
         $this->fields[] = $field;
    }

    //...
}

Then you can use a type hint where the class is required.

/**
 * Do something.
 * @param FieldList $field_list The field.
 */
function doSomething(FieldList $field_list) {...}