MongoDB - PHP

Modern MongoDB with PHP

**Important Note:** This tutorial has been completely rewritten to use the modern MongoDB PHP Driver. The old `mongo` extension and `MongoClient` class are deprecated and have been removed from recent PHP versions. All new projects must use the `mongodb` extension and the official Composer library.

1. Setting Up Your Environment

Modern PHP development with MongoDB relies on two components:

• The PHP Extension (mongodb): A low-level driver installed via PECL that handles the binary communication with the database. You’ll need to add extension=mongodb.so (or .dll on Windows) to your php.ini.
• The PHP Library (mongodb/mongodb): A high-level, user-friendly library installed via Composer. This is what you will interact with in your code.

First, create a project directory and initialize Composer. Then, require the MongoDB library:

mkdir php-mongo-project
cd php-mongo-project
composer require mongodb/mongodb

This will install the library and create a vendor/autoload.php file, which you must include in your scripts.

2. Making a Connection

Create a PHP file (e.g., index.php) and include the Composer autoloader. Then, instantiate the MongoDB\Client class with your connection string URI.

<?php
require_once __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

// Connection URI. For production, use environment variables!
$uri = 'mongodb://localhost:27017';

try {
    // Create a new client and connect to the server
    $client = new MongoDB\Client($uri);

    // Select a database and collection
    $database = $client->selectDatabase('myAppDb');
    $collection = $database->selectCollection('users');

    echo "Connection to database successful!\n";
    // You can also select the database and collection with magic properties:
    // $collection = $client->myAppDb->users;

} catch (Exception $e) {
    printf("Could not connect to MongoDB: %s\n", $e->getMessage());
}

3. CRUD Operations

Let’s perform the basic Create, Read, Update, and Delete operations.

Insert a Document (insertOne)

<?php
// ... (connection code from above)

$insertOneResult = $collection->insertOne([
    'username' => 'johndoe',
    'email' => 'john.doe@example.com',
    'registered_at' => new MongoDB\BSON\UTCDateTime(),
]);

printf("Inserted %d document(s)\n", $insertOneResult->getInsertedCount());
var_dump($insertOneResult->getInsertedId());

Find a Document (findOne)

<?php
// ... (connection code from above)

$document = $collection->findOne(['username' => 'johndoe']);

if ($document) {
    echo "Found user: " . $document['username'] . "\n";
    var_dump($document);
} else {
    echo "User not found.\n";
}

Find Multiple Documents (find)

The find() method returns a cursor, which you can iterate over.

<?php
// ... (connection code from above)

// Find all documents. For production, always use filters and projections!
$cursor = $collection->find([], [
    'sort' => ['registered_at' => -1], // Sort by newest first
    'limit' => 10,
]);

foreach ($cursor as $doc) {
    printf("User: %s, Email: %s\n", $doc['username'], $doc['email']);
}

Update a Document (updateOne)

<?php
// ... (connection code from above)

$updateResult = $collection->updateOne(
    ['username' => 'johndoe'],
    ['$set' => ['status' => 'active']]
);

printf("Matched %d document(s)\n", $updateResult->getMatchedCount());
printf("Modified %d document(s)\n", $updateResult->getModifiedCount());

Delete a Document (deleteOne)

<?php
// ... (connection code from above)

$deleteResult = $collection->deleteOne(['username' => 'johndoe']);

printf("Deleted %d document(s)\n", $deleteResult->getDeletedCount());

Project Best Practices

• Error Handling: Always wrap your database logic in try...catch blocks to handle exceptions gracefully.
• Configuration: Never hard-code connection strings. Use environment variables (e.g., via a .env file and a library like vlucas/phpdotenv) to manage configuration.
• Data Types: Use the BSON classes provided by the library (e.g., MongoDB\BSON\UTCDateTime, MongoDB\BSON\ObjectId) to ensure data is stored correctly.
• Advanced Topic (ODMs): For larger applications, consider using an Object-Document Mapper (ODM) like Doctrine MongoDB ODM, which allows you to work with PHP objects that map to MongoDB documents, simplifying complex data logic.