name: acc-check-leaky-abstractions description: Detects leaky abstractions in PHP code. Identifies implementation details exposed in interfaces, concrete returns from abstract methods, framework leakage into domain, and infrastructure concerns in application layer.
Leaky Abstractions Detector
Overview
This skill analyzes PHP codebases for leaky abstractions — situations where implementation details "leak" through interface boundaries, violating encapsulation and creating tight coupling.
Leaky Abstraction Types
| Type | Description | Severity |
|---|---|---|
| Interface Leakage | Implementation details in interface | CRITICAL |
| Framework Leakage | Framework types in domain/application | CRITICAL |
| Return Type Leakage | Concrete types returned from abstractions | WARNING |
| Parameter Leakage | Implementation-specific parameters | WARNING |
| Exception Leakage | Infrastructure exceptions crossing boundaries | WARNING |
| Dependency Leakage | Inner dependencies exposed | INFO |
Detection Patterns
Phase 1: Interface Leakage
# Doctrine types in interfaces
Grep: "Collection|ArrayCollection|PersistentCollection" --glob "**/Domain/**/*Interface.php"
Grep: "Doctrine\\\\|Illuminate\\\\|Symfony\\\\" --glob "**/Domain/**/*Interface.php"
# Infrastructure types in domain interfaces
Grep: "Redis|Memcached|Elasticsearch|Guzzle|Http" --glob "**/Domain/**/*Interface.php"
# Database types in repository interfaces
Grep: "QueryBuilder|EntityManager|Connection|PDO" --glob "**/Domain/**/*RepositoryInterface.php"
# ORM annotations/attributes in interfaces
Grep: "#\\[ORM\\\\|@ORM\\\\|@Entity|@Table" --glob "**/Domain/**/*Interface.php"
Example Violations:
// BAD: Leaky interface
interface UserRepositoryInterface
{
public function findByQuery(QueryBuilder $query): Collection; // Doctrine leak!
}
// GOOD: Clean interface
interface UserRepositoryInterface
{
/** @return User[] */
public function findByCriteria(UserCriteria $criteria): array;
}
Phase 2: Framework Leakage into Domain
# Symfony components in Domain
Grep: "use Symfony\\\\Component\\\\" --glob "**/Domain/**/*.php"
Grep: "use Symfony\\\\Contracts\\\\" --glob "**/Domain/**/*.php"
# Laravel components in Domain
Grep: "use Illuminate\\\\" --glob "**/Domain/**/*.php"
# Doctrine in Domain entities
Grep: "use Doctrine\\\\ORM\\\\Mapping" --glob "**/Domain/**/*.php"
Grep: "#\\[ORM\\\\|@ORM\\\\|@Entity|@Column|@ManyToOne" --glob "**/Domain/**/*.php"
# HTTP in Domain
Grep: "Request|Response|HttpFoundation" --glob "**/Domain/**/*.php"
Domain Should NOT Contain:
- Framework service containers
- HTTP request/response objects
- ORM annotations (use separate mapping files)
- Framework validators
- Framework events (use domain events)
Phase 3: Return Type Leakage
# Concrete class returns from interface methods
Grep: "public function.*\):\s*[A-Z][a-z]+[A-Z]" --glob "**/*Interface.php"
# Should return interfaces, not concrete classes
# Collection returns instead of arrays
Grep: "): Collection|): ArrayCollection" --glob "**/Domain/**/*Interface.php"
# Nullable entity returns (might indicate infrastructure concern)
Grep: "): \?[A-Z][a-z]+\s*;|): null\|[A-Z]" --glob "**/*Interface.php"
# Framework response types
Grep: "): Response|): JsonResponse|): View" --glob "**/Application/**/*.php"
Phase 4: Parameter Leakage
# ORM-specific parameters in domain methods
Grep: "function.*EntityManager|function.*Connection" --glob "**/Domain/**/*.php"
# Query parameters
Grep: "function.*QueryBuilder|function.*Criteria\s*\$" --glob "**/Domain/**/*.php"
# HTTP request as parameter
Grep: "function.*Request \$request" --glob "**/Application/**/*UseCase.php"
Grep: "function.*Request \$request" --glob "**/Application/**/*Handler.php"
# Framework config in domain
Grep: "function.*Config|function.*Parameters" --glob "**/Domain/**/*.php"
Phase 5: Exception Leakage
# Database exceptions in domain
Grep: "throw.*Doctrine\\\\|catch.*Doctrine\\\\" --glob "**/Domain/**/*.php"
Grep: "throw.*PDOException|catch.*PDOException" --glob "**/Domain/**/*.php"
# HTTP exceptions in application
Grep: "throw.*HttpException|throw.*NotFoundHttpException" --glob "**/Application/**/*.php"
# Infrastructure exceptions crossing boundaries
Grep: "catch.*\\\\Infrastructure\\\\" --glob "**/Application/**/*.php"
# Missing exception translation
Grep: "catch.*Exception" --glob "**/Infrastructure/**/*Repository.php" -A 3
# Should translate to domain exceptions
Phase 6: Dependency Leakage
# Constructor exposing internal dependencies
Grep: "__construct.*EntityManager|__construct.*Connection" --glob "**/Application/**/*.php"
# Public methods with infrastructure types
Grep: "public function.*Logger|public function.*Cache" --glob "**/Domain/**/*.php"
# Getter exposing internal state
Grep: "public function get.*\(\).*EntityManager|public function get.*\(\).*Repository" --glob "**/*.php"
Phase 7: Serialization Leakage
# JSON serialization in domain
Grep: "JsonSerializable|jsonSerialize" --glob "**/Domain/**/*.php"
# Symfony serializer attributes in domain
Grep: "#\\[Serializer\\\\|#\\[Groups|@Groups" --glob "**/Domain/**/*.php"
# API platform attributes in domain
Grep: "#\\[ApiResource|#\\[ApiProperty" --glob "**/Domain/**/*.php"
Report Format
# Leaky Abstractions Report
## Summary
| Leak Type | Critical | Warning | Info |
|-----------|----------|---------|------|
| Interface Leakage | 2 | 3 | - |
| Framework Leakage | 4 | 2 | - |
| Return Type Leakage | - | 5 | 3 |
| Parameter Leakage | 1 | 4 | - |
| Exception Leakage | 2 | 3 | - |
| Dependency Leakage | - | 2 | 4 |
**Total Leaks:** 8 critical, 19 warnings, 7 info
## Critical Issues
### LEAK-001: Doctrine Collection in Interface
- **File:** `src/Domain/User/UserRepositoryInterface.php:12`
- **Issue:** ORM-specific type in domain interface
- **Code:**
```php
public function findActive(): Collection;
- Expected:
/** @return User[] */ public function findActive(): array; - Impact: Domain tied to Doctrine, cannot switch ORM
- Skills:
acc-create-repository
LEAK-002: Framework in Domain Entity
- File:
src/Domain/Order/Entity/Order.php:8 - Issue: Doctrine ORM annotations in domain entity
- Code:
use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping as ORM; #[ORM\Entity] #[ORM\Table(name: 'orders')] class Order - Expected: Use XML/YAML mapping files in Infrastructure
- Impact: Domain depends on persistence framework
LEAK-003: HTTP Request in UseCase
- File:
src/Application/UseCase/CreateOrderUseCase.php:23 - Issue: HTTP Request in application layer
- Code:
public function __invoke(Request $request): Response - Expected:
public function __invoke(CreateOrderCommand $command): OrderId - Impact: UseCase tied to HTTP, cannot reuse in CLI
- Skills:
acc-create-command,acc-create-use-case
Warning Issues
LEAK-004: PDOException Not Translated
- File:
src/Infrastructure/Repository/DoctrineUserRepository.php:45 - Issue: Database exception not translated to domain exception
- Code:
public function save(User $user): void { $this->em->persist($user); $this->em->flush(); // PDOException can leak! } - Expected:
public function save(User $user): void { try { $this->em->persist($user); $this->em->flush(); } catch (UniqueConstraintViolationException $e) { throw new UserAlreadyExistsException($user->email()); } }
LEAK-005: Concrete Return Type
- File:
src/Application/Service/PaymentServiceInterface.php:15 - Issue: Returns concrete class instead of interface
- Code:
public function process(Payment $payment): StripePaymentResult; - Expected:
public function process(Payment $payment): PaymentResultInterface;
LEAK-006: Infrastructure Logger in Domain
- File:
src/Domain/Order/Service/OrderValidator.php:12 - Issue: Logger dependency in domain service
- Code:
public function __construct( private LoggerInterface $logger, ) {} - Expected: Domain should not log, or use domain events
Abstraction Boundaries
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Presentation Layer │
│ Request, Response, Controller, View │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Application Layer │
│ Commands, Queries, Handlers, DTOs │
│ ❌ No HTTP types, ❌ No framework services │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Domain Layer │
│ Entities, Value Objects, Domain Services, Interfaces │
│ ❌ No ORM, ❌ No framework, ❌ No infrastructure │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Infrastructure Layer │
│ Repositories, Adapters, External Services │
│ ✅ ORM, ✅ Framework, ✅ Database │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Refactoring Strategies
Interface Abstraction
| Leaky | Clean |
|---|---|
Collection | array or custom *Collection |
QueryBuilder | Criteria or Specification |
EntityManager | RepositoryInterface |
Request | Command / Query DTO |
Response | Return value + Responder |
Exception Translation
// Infrastructure layer
try {
$this->connection->execute($sql);
} catch (UniqueConstraintViolationException $e) {
throw new DuplicateEmailException($email);
} catch (\PDOException $e) {
throw new PersistenceException('Failed to save user', 0, $e);
}
Framework Independence
// Instead of Doctrine Collection
interface UserRepositoryInterface
{
/** @return User[] */
public function findActive(): array;
}
// Implementation can use Collection internally
class DoctrineUserRepository implements UserRepositoryInterface
{
public function findActive(): array
{
return $this->createQueryBuilder('u')
->where('u.active = true')
->getQuery()
->getResult(); // Returns array
}
}
## Quick Analysis Commands
```bash
# Detect leaky abstractions
echo "=== Framework in Domain ===" && \
grep -rn "use Doctrine\\|use Symfony\\|use Illuminate\\" --include="*.php" src/Domain/ && \
echo "=== ORM in Interfaces ===" && \
grep -rn "Collection|QueryBuilder|EntityManager" --include="*Interface.php" src/ && \
echo "=== HTTP in Application ===" && \
grep -rn "Request|Response|HttpFoundation" --include="*.php" src/Application/ && \
echo "=== Unhandled Exceptions ===" && \
grep -rn "throw.*PDO\|throw.*Doctrine" --include="*.php" src/Domain/ src/Application/
Integration
Works with:
acc-structural-auditor— Layer boundary analysisacc-ddd-auditor— Domain purity checksacc-create-repository— Clean repository interfacesacc-create-anti-corruption-layer— External system isolation
References
- "The Law of Leaky Abstractions" — Joel Spolsky
- "Clean Architecture" (Robert C. Martin) — Dependency Rule
- "Domain-Driven Design" (Eric Evans) — Layered Architecture