Serialization

Serialize objects to structs and JSON in ColdBox with mementifier — composable, fast API responses.

mementifier turns your objects into plain structs (their "memento") with fine-grained control — the standard way to build JSON API responses in ColdBox.

box install mementifier

📖 Full documentation: mementifier.ortusbooks.com

Quick Example

BoxLang

// models/User.bx
class accessors="true" {

    this.memento = {
        defaultIncludes : [ "id", "email", "name" ],
        defaultExcludes : [ "password" ]
    }

    property name="id"
    property name="email"
    property name="name"
    property name="password"
}

CFML

// models/User.cfc
component accessors="true" {

    this.memento = {
        defaultIncludes : [ "id", "email", "name" ],
        defaultExcludes : [ "password" ]
    }

    property name="id"
    property name="email"
    property name="name"
    property name="password"
}

// In a handler
function show( event, rc, prc ){
    var user = userService.get( rc.id )

    event.renderData(
        type : "json",
        data : user.getMemento()   // password never leaves the server
    )
}

Why Not serializeJSON( user )?

Raw serialization leaks internal state, follows relationships infinitely deep, and breaks on lazily-loaded ORM proxies. mementifier gives you an explicit contract:

• defaultIncludes / defaultExcludes — the default shape

• Per-call overrides: user.getMemento( includes : [ "roles" ] )

• Nested mementos for relationships, with their own include rules

• Custom formatters per property (dates, masks, computed values)

When to Use It

• JSON API responses (pairs with the REST Handler)

• Serializing ORM/Quick entities safely

• Any time an object crosses a boundary: APIs, queues, caches

See Also

• Data & Persistence — ORM options

• Rendering Data — renderData() types