N°9066 - Serialization/Unserialization from XML to Forms

application/datamodel.application.xml

@@ -863,22 +863,13 @@ Call $this->AddInitialAttributeFlags($sAttCode, $iFlags) for all the initial att
             </node>
             <node id="query" xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-OQL">
               <label>UI:DashletGroupBy:Prop-Query</label>
-              <data-transform>
-                <xml-node-empty-not-allowed/> <!-- mandatory quoi ! -->
-              </data-transform>
             </node>
             <node id="group_by" xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-ClassAttributeGroupBy">
               <label>UI:DashletGroupBy:Prop-GroupBy</label>
-              <data-transform>
-                <xml-node-empty-not-allowed/>
-              </data-transform>
               <class>{{query.selected_class}}</class>
             </node>
             <node id="style" xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-Choice"> <!-- Possible de le cacher, etc celui-ci nous met dedans -->
               <label>UI:DashletGroupBy:Prop-Style</label>
-              <data-transform>
-                <xml-node-empty-defaults-to>bars</xml-node-empty-defaults-to>
-              </data-transform>
               <values>
                 <value id="bars">
                   <label>UI:DashletGroupByBars:Label</label>
@@ -893,17 +884,11 @@ Call $this->AddInitialAttributeFlags($sAttCode, $iFlags) for all the initial att
             </node>
             <node id="aggregation_function" xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-AggregateFunction">
               <label>UI:DashletGroupBy:Prop-Function</label>
-              <data-transform>
-                <xml-node-empty-not-allowed/> <!-- mandatory quoi ! -->
-              </data-transform>
               <class>{{query.selected_class}}</class> <!-- pour savoir si il y a des attributs additionnables -->
             </node>
             <node id="aggregation_attribute" xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-ClassAttribute">
               <label>UI:DashletGroupBy:Prop-FunctionAttribute</label>
               <relevance-condition>{{aggregation_function.value != 'count'}}</relevance-condition>
-              <data-transform>
-                <xml-node-empty-not-allowed/> <!-- mandatory quoi ! -->
-              </data-transform>
               <class>{{query.selected_class}}</class>
               <category>numeric</category>
             </node>
@@ -924,9 +909,6 @@ Call $this->AddInitialAttributeFlags($sAttCode, $iFlags) for all the initial att
             </node>
             <node id="order_direction" xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-Choice">
               <label>UI:DashletGroupBy:Prop-OrderDirection</label>
-              <data-transform>
-                <xml-node-empty-not-allowed/>
-              </data-transform>
               <values>
                 <value id="asc">
                   <label>UI:DashletGroupBy:Order:asc</label>
@@ -966,23 +948,15 @@ Call $this->AddInitialAttributeFlags($sAttCode, $iFlags) for all the initial att
             </node>
             <node id="query" xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-OQL">
               <label>UI:DashletHeaderDynamic:Prop-Query</label>
-              <data-transform>
-                <xml-node-empty-not-allowed/>
-              </data-transform>
             </node>
             <node id="group_by" xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-ClassAttribute">
               <label>UI:DashletHeaderDynamic:Prop-GroupBy</label>
-              <data-transform>
-                <xml-node-empty-not-allowed/>
-              </data-transform>
               <class>{{query.selected_class}}</class>
               <category>enum</category>
             </node>
             <node id="values" xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-CollectionOfValues">
               <label>UI:DashletHeaderDynamic:Prop-Values</label>
-              <data-transform>
+              <xml-format xsi:type="Combodo-XMLFormat-CSV"/>
-                <xml-format xsi:type="xml-format-csv"/>
-              </data-transform>
               <value-type xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-ClassAttributeValue">
                 <class>{{query.selected_class}}</class>
                 <attribute>{{group_by.attribute}}</attribute>

lib/composer/autoload_classmap.php

@@ -556,6 +556,13 @@ return array(
     'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\PropertyTypeException' => $baseDir . '/sources/PropertyType/PropertyTypeException.php',
     'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\PropertyTypeFactory' => $baseDir . '/sources/PropertyType/PropertyTypeFactory.php',
     'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\PropertyTypeService' => $baseDir . '/sources/PropertyType/PropertyTypeService.php',
+    'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\Serializer\\SerializerException' => $baseDir . '/sources/PropertyType/Serializer/SerializerException.php',
+    'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\Serializer\\XMLFormat\\AbstractXMLFormat' => $baseDir . '/sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLFormat/AbstractXMLFormat.php',
+    'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\Serializer\\XMLFormat\\XMLFormatCSV' => $baseDir . '/sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLFormat/XMLFormatCSV.php',
+    'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\Serializer\\XMLFormat\\XMLFormatFactory' => $baseDir . '/sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLFormat/XMLFormatFactory.php',
+    'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\Serializer\\XMLFormat\\XMLFormatFlatArray' => $baseDir . '/sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLFormat/XMLFormatFlatArray.php',
+    'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\Serializer\\XMLFormat\\XMLFormatValueAsId' => $baseDir . '/sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLFormat/XMLFormatValueAsId.php',
+    'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\Serializer\\XMLSerializer' => $baseDir . '/sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLSerializer.php',
     'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\ValueType\\AbstractValueType' => $baseDir . '/sources/PropertyType/ValueType/AbstractValueType.php',
     'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\ValueType\\Branch\\AbstractBranchValueType' => $baseDir . '/sources/PropertyType/ValueType/Branch/AbstractBranchValueType.php',
     'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\ValueType\\Branch\\ValueTypeCollection' => $baseDir . '/sources/PropertyType/ValueType/Branch/ValueTypeCollection.php',

lib/composer/autoload_static.php

@@ -942,6 +942,13 @@ class ComposerStaticInit7f81b4a2a468a061c306af5e447a9a9f
         'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\PropertyTypeException' => __DIR__ . '/../..' . '/sources/PropertyType/PropertyTypeException.php',
         'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\PropertyTypeFactory' => __DIR__ . '/../..' . '/sources/PropertyType/PropertyTypeFactory.php',
         'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\PropertyTypeService' => __DIR__ . '/../..' . '/sources/PropertyType/PropertyTypeService.php',
+        'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\Serializer\\SerializerException' => __DIR__ . '/../..' . '/sources/PropertyType/Serializer/SerializerException.php',
+        'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\Serializer\\XMLFormat\\AbstractXMLFormat' => __DIR__ . '/../..' . '/sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLFormat/AbstractXMLFormat.php',
+        'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\Serializer\\XMLFormat\\XMLFormatCSV' => __DIR__ . '/../..' . '/sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLFormat/XMLFormatCSV.php',
+        'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\Serializer\\XMLFormat\\XMLFormatFactory' => __DIR__ . '/../..' . '/sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLFormat/XMLFormatFactory.php',
+        'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\Serializer\\XMLFormat\\XMLFormatFlatArray' => __DIR__ . '/../..' . '/sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLFormat/XMLFormatFlatArray.php',
+        'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\Serializer\\XMLFormat\\XMLFormatValueAsId' => __DIR__ . '/../..' . '/sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLFormat/XMLFormatValueAsId.php',
+        'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\Serializer\\XMLSerializer' => __DIR__ . '/../..' . '/sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLSerializer.php',
         'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\ValueType\\AbstractValueType' => __DIR__ . '/../..' . '/sources/PropertyType/ValueType/AbstractValueType.php',
         'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\ValueType\\Branch\\AbstractBranchValueType' => __DIR__ . '/../..' . '/sources/PropertyType/ValueType/Branch/AbstractBranchValueType.php',
         'Combodo\\iTop\\PropertyType\\ValueType\\Branch\\ValueTypeCollection' => __DIR__ . '/../..' . '/sources/PropertyType/ValueType/Branch/ValueTypeCollection.php',

sources/PropertyType/Compiler/PropertyTypeCompiler.php

@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ class PropertyTypeCompiler
 	 * @throws \Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\PropertyTypeException
 	 * @throws \DOMFormatException
 	 */
-	protected function CompilePropertyTypeFromXML(string $sXMLContent): PropertyType
+	public function CompilePropertyTypeFromXML(string $sXMLContent): PropertyType
 	{
 		$oDoc = new DesignDocument();
 		libxml_clear_errors();
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ class PropertyTypeCompiler
 	 * @return string
 	 * @throws \Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Compiler\PropertyTypeCompilerException
 	 */
-	protected function GetXMLContent(string $sId, string $sType): string
+	public function GetXMLContent(string $sId, string $sType): string
 	{
 		$sPath = utils::GetAbsoluteModulePath('core')."property_types/$sType/$sId.xml";
 		if (!file_exists($sPath)) {
@@ -93,21 +93,6 @@ class PropertyTypeCompiler
 		return $oPropertyType->ToPHPFormBlock();
 	}
 
-	/**
-	 * @param string $sXMLContent
-	 *
-	 * @return string
-	 * @throws \Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Compiler\PropertyTypeCompilerException
-	 * @throws \Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\PropertyTypeException
-	 * @throws \DOMFormatException
-	 */
-	public function CompileEntityFromXML(string $sXMLContent): string
-	{
-		$oPropertyType = $this->CompilePropertyTypeFromXML($sXMLContent);
-
-		return $oPropertyType->ToPHPEntity();
-	}
-
 	/**
 	 * @param string $sId
 	 * @param string $sType
@@ -123,11 +108,4 @@ class PropertyTypeCompiler
 
 		return $this->CompileFormFromXML($sXMLContent);
 	}
-
-	public function CompileEntity(string $sId, string $sType): string
-	{
-		$sXMLContent = $this->GetXMLContent($sId, $sType);
-
-		return $this->CompileEntityFromXML($sXMLContent);
-	}
 }

sources/PropertyType/PropertyType.php

@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ class PropertyType
 		$sDefinitionNodeType = $oDefinitionNode->getAttribute('xsi:type');
 
 		if (!is_a($sDefinitionNodeType, AbstractValueType::class, true)) {
-			throw new PropertyTypeException('Unsupported type '.json_encode($sDefinitionNodeType).' in ');
+			throw new PropertyTypeException('Unsupported xsi:type '.json_encode($sDefinitionNodeType), $oDomNode);
 		}
 
 		$this->oValueType = new $sDefinitionNodeType();
@@ -50,18 +50,11 @@ class PropertyType
 		$aPHPFragments = [];
 
 		if ($this->oValueType->IsLeaf()) {
+			$sFormBlockClass = $this->oValueType->GetFormBlockClass();
 
 			$sLocalPHP = <<<PHP
-class FormFor__$this->sId extends Combodo\iTop\Forms\Block\Base\FormBlock
+class FormFor__$this->sId extends $sFormBlockClass
 {
-	protected function BuildForm(): void
-	{
-PHP;
-
-			$sLocalPHP .= "\n".$this->oValueType->ToPHPFormBlock($aPHPFragments);
-
-			$sLocalPHP .= <<<PHP
-	}
 }
 PHP;
 			$aPHPFragments[] = $sLocalPHP;
@@ -76,4 +69,14 @@ PHP;
 	{
 		return $this->sParentType;
 	}
+
+	public function SerializeToDOMNode(mixed $value, DesignElement$oDOMNode): void
+	{
+		$this->oValueType->SerializeToDOMNode($value, $oDOMNode);
+	}
+
+	public function UnserializeFromDOMNode(DesignElement $oDOMNode): mixed
+	{
+		return $this->oValueType->UnserializeFromDOMNode($oDOMNode);
+	}
 }

sources/PropertyType/PropertyTypeException.php

@@ -7,11 +7,21 @@
 
 namespace Combodo\iTop\PropertyType;
 
+use Combodo\iTop\DesignDocument;
+use Combodo\iTop\DesignElement;
 use Exception;
+use Throwable;
 
 /**
  * @since 3.3.0
  */
 class PropertyTypeException extends Exception
 {
+	public function __construct(string $message = "", ?DesignElement $oNode = null, ?Throwable $previous = null)
+	{
+		if (!is_null($oNode)) {
+			$message = DesignDocument::GetItopNodePath($oNode).': '.$message;
+		}
+		parent::__construct($message, 0, $previous);
+	}
 }

sources/PropertyType/Serializer/SerializerException.php

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+<?php
+
+/*
+ * @copyright   Copyright (C) 2010-2026 Combodo SAS
+ * @license     http://opensource.org/licenses/AGPL-3.0
+ */
+
+namespace Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer;
+
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\PropertyTypeException;
+
+class SerializerException extends PropertyTypeException
+{
+}

sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLFormat/AbstractXMLFormat.php

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+<?php
+
+/*
+ * @copyright   Copyright (C) 2010-2026 Combodo SAS
+ * @license     http://opensource.org/licenses/AGPL-3.0
+ */
+
+namespace Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\XMLFormat;
+
+use Combodo\iTop\DesignElement;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\AbstractValueType;
+
+abstract class AbstractXMLFormat
+{
+	public function InitFromDomNode(DesignElement $oDomNode): void
+	{
+	}
+
+	abstract public function SerializeToDOMNode(mixed $value, DesignElement $oDOMNode, AbstractValueType $oValueType): void;
+
+	abstract public function UnserializeFromDOMNode(DesignElement $oDOMNode, AbstractValueType $oValueType): mixed;
+}

sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLFormat/XMLFormatCSV.php

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+<?php
+
+/*
+ * @copyright   Copyright (C) 2010-2026 Combodo SAS
+ * @license     http://opensource.org/licenses/AGPL-3.0
+ */
+
+namespace Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\XMLFormat;
+
+use Combodo\iTop\DesignElement;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\AbstractValueType;
+
+class XMLFormatCSV extends AbstractXMLFormat
+{
+	public function SerializeToDOMNode($value, $oDOMNode, AbstractValueType $oValueType): void
+	{
+		$sXmlValue = implode(',', $value);
+		$oTextNode = $oDOMNode->ownerDocument->createTextNode($sXmlValue);
+		$oDOMNode->appendChild($oTextNode);
+	}
+
+	public function UnserializeFromDOMNode(DesignElement $oDOMNode, AbstractValueType $oValueType): mixed
+	{
+		$sValue = $oDOMNode->GetText('');
+		return explode(',', $sValue);
+	}
+}

sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLFormat/XMLFormatFactory.php

@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+<?php
+
+/*
+ * @copyright   Copyright (C) 2010-2026 Combodo SAS
+ * @license     http://opensource.org/licenses/AGPL-3.0
+ */
+
+namespace Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\XMLFormat;
+
+use Combodo\iTop\DesignElement;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\SerializerException;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\AbstractValueType;
+use utils;
+
+class XMLFormatFactory
+{
+	private static XMLFormatFactory $oInstance;
+
+	protected function __construct()
+	{
+	}
+
+	final public static function GetInstance(): XMLFormatFactory
+	{
+		if (!isset(static::$oInstance)) {
+			static::$oInstance = new XMLFormatFactory();
+		}
+
+		return static::$oInstance;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @param \Combodo\iTop\DesignElement $oDomNode
+	 *
+	 * @return \Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\XMLFormat\AbstractXMLFormat
+	 * @throws \Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\SerializerException
+	 */
+	public function CreateXMLFormatFromDomNode(DesignElement $oDomNode): AbstractXMLFormat
+	{
+		$sNodeType = $oDomNode->getAttribute('xsi:type');
+
+		if (utils::IsNullOrEmptyString($sNodeType)) {
+			throw new SerializerException("Missing xsi:type in node specification", $oDomNode);
+		}
+
+		if (is_a($sNodeType, AbstractXMLFormat::class, true)) {
+			$oNode = new $sNodeType();
+			$oNode->InitFromDomNode($oDomNode);
+
+			return $oNode;
+		}
+
+		throw new SerializerException("Unknown type node class: ".json_encode($sNodeType), $oDomNode);
+	}
+
+}

sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLFormat/XMLFormatFlatArray.php

@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+<?php
+
+/*
+ * @copyright   Copyright (C) 2010-2026 Combodo SAS
+ * @license     http://opensource.org/licenses/AGPL-3.0
+ */
+
+namespace Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\XMLFormat;
+
+use Combodo\iTop\DesignElement;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\SerializerException;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\XMLFormat\AbstractXMLFormat;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\AbstractValueType;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\Branch\ValueTypeCollection;
+
+class XMLFormatFlatArray extends AbstractXMLFormat
+{
+	private string $sTagFormat;
+	private string $sCountTag;
+
+	public function InitFromDomNode(DesignElement $oDomNode): void
+	{
+		$sTagFormat = $oDomNode->GetChildText('tag-format');
+		if (is_null($sTagFormat)) {
+			throw new SerializerException('Missing <tag-name> element', $oDomNode);
+		}
+		$this->sTagFormat = $sTagFormat;
+
+		$sCountTag = $oDomNode->GetChildText('count-tag');
+		if (is_null($sCountTag)) {
+			throw new SerializerException('Missing <count-tag> element', $oDomNode);
+		}
+		$this->sCountTag = $sCountTag;
+	}
+
+	public function SerializeToDOMNode($value, $oDOMNode, AbstractValueType $oValueType): void
+	{
+		if (!$oValueType instanceof ValueTypeCollection) {
+			throw new SerializerException('XMLFormatFlatArray is allowed only in ValueTypeCollection nodes');
+		}
+
+		$oCountNode = $oDOMNode->ownerDocument->createElement($this->sCountTag, count($value));
+		$oDOMNode->appendChild($oCountNode);
+		foreach ($value as $iRank => $aValues) {
+			foreach ($oValueType->GetChildren() as $oChild) {
+				$sId = $oChild->GetId();
+				if (isset($aValues[$sId])) {
+					$sTagName = \MetaModel::ApplyParams($this->sTagFormat, ['rank' => $iRank, 'id' => $sId]);
+					$oChildNode = $oDOMNode->ownerDocument->createElement($sTagName);
+					$oDOMNode->appendChild($oChildNode);
+					$oChild->SerializeToDOMNode($aValues[$sId], $oChildNode);
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	public function UnserializeFromDOMNode(DesignElement $oDOMNode, AbstractValueType $oValueType): mixed
+	{
+		$aResults = [];
+
+		if (!$oValueType instanceof ValueTypeCollection) {
+			throw new SerializerException('XMLFormatFlatArray is allowed only in ValueTypeCollection nodes');
+		}
+
+		$iCount = $oDOMNode->GetUniqueElement($this->sCountTag)->GetText(0);
+		for ($iRank = 0; $iRank < $iCount; $iRank++) {
+			foreach ($oValueType->GetChildren() as $oChild) {
+				$sId = $oChild->GetId();
+				$sTagName = \MetaModel::ApplyParams($this->sTagFormat, ['rank' => $iRank, 'id' => $sId]);
+				$oChildNode = $oDOMNode->GetOptionalElement($sTagName);
+				if ($oChildNode) {
+					$aResults[$iRank][$sId] = $oChildNode->GetText('');
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		return $aResults;
+	}
+}

sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLFormat/XMLFormatValueAsId.php

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+<?php
+
+/*
+ * @copyright   Copyright (C) 2010-2026 Combodo SAS
+ * @license     http://opensource.org/licenses/AGPL-3.0
+ */
+
+namespace Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\XMLFormat;
+
+use Combodo\iTop\DesignElement;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\SerializerException;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\XMLFormat\AbstractXMLFormat;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\AbstractValueType;
+
+class XMLFormatValueAsId extends AbstractXMLFormat
+{
+	private string $sTagName;
+
+	public function InitFromDomNode(DesignElement $oDomNode): void
+	{
+		$sTagName = $oDomNode->GetChildText('tag-name');
+		if (is_null($sTagName)) {
+			throw new SerializerException("Missing <tag-name> element", $oDomNode);
+		}
+		$this->sTagName = $sTagName;
+	}
+
+	public function SerializeToDOMNode($value, $oDOMNode, AbstractValueType $oValueType): void
+	{
+		foreach ($value as $item) {
+			$oChildNode = $oDOMNode->ownerDocument->createElement($this->sTagName);
+			$oChildNode->setAttribute('id', "$item");
+			$oDOMNode->appendChild($oChildNode);
+		}
+	}
+
+	public function UnserializeFromDOMNode(DesignElement $oDOMNode, AbstractValueType $oValueType): mixed
+	{
+		$aResult = [];
+
+		foreach ($oDOMNode->getElementsByTagName($this->sTagName) as $oNode) {
+			$sValue = $oNode->getAttribute('id');
+			$aResult[] = $sValue;
+		}
+
+		return $aResult;
+	}
+}

sources/PropertyType/Serializer/XMLSerializer.php

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+<?php
+
+/*
+ * @copyright   Copyright (C) 2010-2026 Combodo SAS
+ * @license     http://opensource.org/licenses/AGPL-3.0
+ */
+
+namespace Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer;
+
+use Combodo\iTop\DesignElement;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Compiler\PropertyTypeCompiler;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\PropertyType;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\AbstractValueType;
+
+class XMLSerializer
+{
+	private static XMLSerializer $oInstance;
+
+	protected function __construct()
+	{
+	}
+
+	final public static function GetInstance(): XMLSerializer
+	{
+		if (!isset(static::$oInstance)) {
+			static::$oInstance = new XMLSerializer();
+		}
+
+		return static::$oInstance;
+	}
+
+	public function Serialize(mixed $value, DesignElement $oParentNode, string $sId, string $sType): void
+	{
+		$sPropertyTypeXML = PropertyTypeCompiler::GetInstance()->GetXMLContent($sId, $sType);
+
+		$this->SerializeForPropertyType($value, $oParentNode, $sPropertyTypeXML);
+	}
+
+	public function Unserialize(DesignElement $oDOMNode, string $sId, string $sType): mixed
+	{
+		return null;
+	}
+
+	public function SerializeForPropertyType(mixed $value, DesignElement $oParentNode, string $sPropertyTypeXML): void
+	{
+		$oPropertyType = PropertyTypeCompiler::GetInstance()->CompilePropertyTypeFromXML($sPropertyTypeXML);
+
+		$oPropertyType->SerializeToDOMNode($value, $oParentNode);
+	}
+
+	public function UnserializeForPropertyType(DesignElement $oParentNode, string $sPropertyTypeXML): mixed
+	{
+		$oPropertyType = PropertyTypeCompiler::GetInstance()->CompilePropertyTypeFromXML($sPropertyTypeXML);
+
+		return $oPropertyType->UnserializeFromDOMNode($oParentNode);
+	}
+}

sources/PropertyType/ValueType/AbstractValueType.php

@@ -219,6 +219,11 @@ PHP;
 		}
 	}
 
+	public function GetId(): string
+	{
+		return $this->sId;
+	}
+
 	protected function GetSibling(string $sId): ?AbstractValueType
 	{
 		if (is_null($this->oParent)) {
@@ -228,4 +233,20 @@ PHP;
 		return $this->oParent->GetChild($sId);
 	}
 
+	public function SerializeToDOMNode(mixed $value, DesignElement $oDOMNode): void
+	{
+		$sXmlValue = $value;
+		$oTextNode = $oDOMNode->ownerDocument->createTextNode($sXmlValue);
+		$oDOMNode->appendChild($oTextNode);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @param $oDOMNode
+	 *
+	 * @return mixed
+	 */
+	public function UnserializeFromDOMNode(DesignElement $oDOMNode): mixed
+	{
+		return $oDOMNode->GetText();
+	}
 }

sources/PropertyType/ValueType/Branch/ValueTypeCollection.php

@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ namespace Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\Branch;
 
 use Combodo\iTop\DesignElement;
 use Combodo\iTop\Forms\Block\Base\CollectionBlock;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\XMLFormat\AbstractXMLFormat;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\XMLFormat\XMLFormatFactory;
 use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\AbstractValueType;
 use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\ValueTypeFactory;
 use utils;
@@ -18,6 +20,8 @@ use utils;
  */
 class ValueTypeCollection extends ValueTypePropertyTree
 {
+	private AbstractXMLFormat $oXMLFormat;
+
 	/**
 	 * @param \Combodo\iTop\DesignElement $oDomNode
 	 * @param \Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\Branch\AbstractBranchValueType|null $oParent
@@ -33,6 +37,9 @@ class ValueTypeCollection extends ValueTypePropertyTree
 		$this->sSubTreeClass = 'SubFormFor__'.$this->sIdWithPath;
 		$this->aFormBlockOptionsForPHP['block_entry_type'] = utils::QuoteForPHP($this->sSubTreeClass);
 
+		$oNode = $oDomNode->GetUniqueElement('xml-format');
+		$this->oXMLFormat = XMLFormatFactory::GetInstance()->CreateXMLFormatFromDomNode($oNode);
+
 		// read child properties
 		foreach ($oDomNode->GetUniqueElement('prototype')->childNodes as $oNode) {
 			if ($oNode instanceof DesignElement) {
@@ -74,4 +81,14 @@ class ValueTypeCollection extends ValueTypePropertyTree
 
 		return $this->GetLocalPHPForValueType();
 	}
+
+	public function SerializeToDOMNode(mixed $value, DesignElement $oDOMNode): void
+	{
+		$this->oXMLFormat->SerializeToDOMNode($value, $oDOMNode, $this);
+	}
+
+	public function UnserializeFromDOMNode(DesignElement $oDOMNode): mixed
+	{
+		return $this->oXMLFormat->UnserializeFromDOMNode($oDOMNode, $this);
+	}
 }

sources/PropertyType/ValueType/Branch/ValueTypePropertyTree.php

@@ -9,19 +9,7 @@ namespace Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\Branch;
 
 use Combodo\iTop\DesignElement;
 use Combodo\iTop\Forms\Block\Base\FormBlock;
-use Combodo\iTop\Forms\Block\Expression\BooleanExpressionFormBlock;
-use Combodo\iTop\Forms\Block\Expression\NumberExpressionFormBlock;
-use Combodo\iTop\Forms\Block\Expression\StringExpressionFormBlock;
-use Combodo\iTop\Forms\IO\Format\BooleanIOFormat;
-use Combodo\iTop\Forms\IO\Format\ClassIOFormat;
-use Combodo\iTop\Forms\IO\Format\NumberIOFormat;
-use Combodo\iTop\Forms\IO\Format\StringIOFormat;
-use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\PropertyTypeException;
-use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\AbstractValueType;
 use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\ValueTypeFactory;
-use Exception;
-use Expression;
-use utils;
 
 /**
  * @since 3.3.0
@@ -86,4 +74,32 @@ PHP;
 
 		return $this->GetLocalPHPForValueType($this->sSubTreeClass);
 	}
+
+	public function SerializeToDOMNode(mixed $value, DesignElement $oDOMNode): void
+	{
+		foreach ($this->aChildren as $oChild) {
+			$sId = $oChild->sId;
+			if (isset($value[$sId])) {
+				/** @var DesignElement $oChildNode */
+				$oChildNode = $oDOMNode->ownerDocument->createElement($sId);
+				$oDOMNode->appendChild($oChildNode);
+				$oChild->SerializeToDOMNode($value[$sId], $oChildNode);
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	public function UnserializeFromDOMNode(DesignElement $oDOMNode): mixed
+	{
+		$aResults = [];
+
+		foreach ($this->aChildren as $oChild) {
+			$sId = $oChild->sId;
+			$oChildNode = $oDOMNode->GetOptionalElement($sId);
+			if ($oChildNode) {
+				$aResults[$sId] = $oChild->UnserializeFromDOMNode($oChildNode);
+			}
+		}
+
+		return $aResults;
+	}
 }

sources/PropertyType/ValueType/Leaf/ValueTypeClass.php

@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ class ValueTypeClass extends AbstractLeafValueType
 	{
 		parent::InitFromDomNode($oDomNode, $oParent);
 
-		$sCategories = $oDomNode->GetChildText('categories-csv');
+		$sCategories = $oDomNode->GetChildText('categories-csv', '');
 		/** @var \ModelReflection $oModelReflection */
 		$oModelReflection = ServiceLocator::GetInstance()->get('ModelReflection');
 

sources/PropertyType/ValueType/Leaf/ValueTypeCollectionOfValues.php

@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ namespace Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\Leaf;
 use Combodo\iTop\DesignElement;
 use Combodo\iTop\Forms\Block\Base\ChoiceFormBlock;
 use Combodo\iTop\Forms\Block\Base\FormBlock;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\XMLFormat\AbstractXMLFormat;
+use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\XMLFormat\XMLFormatFactory;
 use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\Branch\AbstractBranchValueType;
 use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\Leaf\AbstractLeafValueType;
 use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\ValueTypeFactory;
@@ -17,6 +19,7 @@ use Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\ValueTypeFactory;
 class ValueTypeCollectionOfValues extends AbstractLeafValueType
 {
 	private string $sFormBlockClass;
+	private AbstractXMLFormat $oXMLFormat;
 
 	public function GetFormBlockClass(): string
 	{
@@ -33,6 +36,19 @@ class ValueTypeCollectionOfValues extends AbstractLeafValueType
 			$this->aFormBlockOptionsForPHP['multiple'] = 'true';
 		}
 
+		$oNode = $oDomNode->GetUniqueElement('xml-format');
+		$this->oXMLFormat = XMLFormatFactory::GetInstance()->CreateXMLFormatFromDomNode($oNode);
+
 		parent::InitFromDomNode($oDomNode, $oParent);
 	}
+
+	public function SerializeToDOMNode(mixed $value, DesignElement $oDOMNode): void
+	{
+		$this->oXMLFormat->SerializeToDOMNode($value, $oDOMNode, $this);
+	}
+
+	public function UnserializeFromDOMNode(DesignElement $oDOMNode): mixed
+	{
+		return $this->oXMLFormat->UnserializeFromDOMNode($oDOMNode, $this);
+	}
 }

sources/PropertyType/ValueType/ValueTypeFactory.php

@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ class ValueTypeFactory
 
 		if (utils::IsNullOrEmptyString($sNodeType)) {
 			$sId = $oDomNode->getAttribute('id');
-			throw new PropertyTypeException("Node: $sId, missing value-type in node specification");
+			throw new PropertyTypeException("Missing value-type in node specification", $oDomNode);
 		}
 
 		if (is_a($sNodeType, AbstractValueType::class, true)) {
@@ -57,6 +57,6 @@ class ValueTypeFactory
 		}
 
 		$sId = $oDomNode->getAttribute('id');
-		throw new PropertyTypeException("Node: $sId, unknown type node class: ".json_encode($sNodeType));
+		throw new PropertyTypeException("Unknown value-type node class: ".json_encode($sNodeType), $oDomNode);
 	}
 }

sources/alias.php

@@ -117,3 +117,7 @@ class_alias(\Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\Leaf\ValueTypeLabel::class, 'Co
 class_alias(\Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\Leaf\ValueTypeOQL::class, 'Combodo-ValueType-OQL');
 class_alias(\Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\Leaf\ValueTypeString::class, 'Combodo-ValueType-String');
 class_alias(\Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\ValueType\Leaf\ValueTypeText::class, 'Combodo-ValueType-Text');
+
+class_alias(\Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\XMLFormat\XMLFormatCSV::class, 'Combodo-XMLFormat-CSV');
+class_alias(\Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\XMLFormat\XMLFormatValueAsId::class, 'Combodo-XMLFormat-ValueAsId');
+class_alias(\Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\XMLFormat\XMLFormatFlatArray::class, 'Combodo-XMLFormat-FlatArray');

tests/php-unit-tests/src/BaseTestCase/ItopTestCase.php

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ namespace Combodo\iTop\Test\UnitTest;
 
 use CMDBSource;
 use DeprecatedCallsLog;
+use DOMDocument;
 use MySQLTransactionNotClosedException;
 use ParseError;
 use Symfony\Bundle\FrameworkBundle\Test\KernelTestCase;
@@ -717,4 +718,34 @@ abstract class ItopTestCase extends KernelTestCase
 
 		return $this->CallUrl($sUrl, $aPostFields, $aCurlOptions, $bXDebugEnabled);
 	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @param $sXML
+	 *
+	 * @return false|string
+	 */
+	protected function CanonicalizeXML($sXML)
+	{
+		// Canonicalize the expected XML (to cope with indentation)
+		$oExpectedDocument = new DOMDocument();
+		$oExpectedDocument->preserveWhiteSpace = false;
+		$oExpectedDocument->formatOutput = true;
+		$oExpectedDocument->loadXML($sXML);
+
+		$sSavedXML = $oExpectedDocument->SaveXML();
+
+		return str_replace(' encoding="UTF-8"', '', $sSavedXML);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @param $sExpected
+	 * @param $sActual
+	 * @param string $sMessage
+	 */
+	protected function AssertEqualiTopXML($sExpected, $sActual, string $sMessage = '')
+	{
+		// Note: assertEquals reports the differences in a diff which is easier to interpret (in PHPStorm)
+		// as compared to the report given by assertEqualXMLStructure
+		static::assertEquals($this->CanonicalizeXML($sExpected), $this->CanonicalizeXML($sActual), $sMessage);
+	}
 }

tests/php-unit-tests/unitary-tests/setup/ModelFactoryTest.php

@@ -64,36 +64,6 @@ class ModelFactoryTest extends ItopTestCase
 		return $oFactory;
 	}
 
-	/**
-	 * @param $sXML
-	 *
-	 * @return false|string
-	 */
-	protected function CanonicalizeXML($sXML)
-	{
-		// Canonicalize the expected XML (to cope with indentation)
-		$oExpectedDocument = new DOMDocument();
-		$oExpectedDocument->preserveWhiteSpace = false;
-		$oExpectedDocument->formatOutput = true;
-		$oExpectedDocument->loadXML($sXML);
-
-		$sSavedXML = $oExpectedDocument->SaveXML();
-
-		return str_replace(' encoding="UTF-8"', '', $sSavedXML);
-	}
-
-	/**
-	 * @param $sExpected
-	 * @param $sActual
-	 * @param string $sMessage
-	 */
-	protected function AssertEqualiTopXML($sExpected, $sActual, string $sMessage = '')
-	{
-		// Note: assertEquals reports the differences in a diff which is easier to interpret (in PHPStorm)
-		// as compared to the report given by assertEqualXMLStructure
-		static::assertEquals($this->CanonicalizeXML($sExpected), $this->CanonicalizeXML($sActual), $sMessage);
-	}
-
 	/**
 	 * Assertion ignoring some of the unexpected decoration brought by DOM Elements.
 	 */

tests/php-unit-tests/unitary-tests/sources/PropertyType/Compiler/FormsCompilerTest.php

@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ PHP,
 	        </node>
 			<node id="class_property" xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-Class">
 				<label>UI:Class</label>
-	              <categories-csv>test</categories-csv>
+	            <categories-csv>test</categories-csv>
 	        </node>
 			<node id="class_attribute_property" xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-ClassAttribute">
 				<label>UI:ClassAttribute</label>
@@ -244,6 +244,10 @@ PHP,
     <nodes>
 	    <node id="sub_tree_collection" xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-Collection">
 	      <label>UI:SubTree</label>
+	      <xml-format xsi:type="Combodo-XMLFormat-FlatArray">
+	        <count-tag>item_count</count-tag>
+            <tag-format>item_\$rank\$_\$id\$</tag-format>
+	      </xml-format>
 	      <prototype>
 	        <node id="string_property" xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-String">
 	          <label>UI:String</label>
@@ -580,6 +584,7 @@ PHP,
 	    <nodes>
 	      <node id="coll" xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-CollectionOfValues">
 	          <label>UI:ClassAttributeValue</label>
+	          <xml-format xsi:type="Combodo-XMLFormat-CSV"/>
               <value-type xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-ClassAttributeValue">
                 <class>Contact</class>
                 <attribute>status</attribute>
@@ -600,6 +605,22 @@ class FormFor__CollectionOfValuesTest extends Combodo\iTop\Forms\Block\Base\Form
 		]);
 	}
 }
+PHP,
+			],
+			'Single value' => [
+				'sXMLContent' => <<<XML
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<property_typeproperty_type id="SingleValueTest" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:type="Combodo-PropertyType" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation = "https://www.combodo.com/itop-schema/3.3">
+	<extends>Dashlet</extends>
+    <definition xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-Label">
+      <label>Single Test</label>
+	</definition>
+</property_typeproperty_type>
+XML,
+				'sExpectedPHP' => <<<PHP
+class FormFor__SingleValueTest extends Combodo\iTop\Forms\Block\DataModel\LabelFormBlock
+{
+}
 PHP,
 			],
 			'test' => [
@@ -731,7 +752,7 @@ XML,
 			'Missing value-type in node specification' => [
 				'sXMLContent'      => <<<XML
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<property_type id="RelevanceCondition" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:type="Combodo-PropertyType" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation = "https://www.combodo.com/itop-schema/3.3">
+<property_type id="WrongDefinition" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:type="Combodo-PropertyType" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation = "https://www.combodo.com/itop-schema/3.3">
 	<extends>Dashlet</extends>
     <definition xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-PropertyTree">
     <nodes>
@@ -743,13 +764,12 @@ XML,
 </property_type>
 XML,
 				'sExpectedClass'   => 'Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\PropertyTypeException',
-				'sExpectedMessage' => 'Node: source_property, missing value-type in node specification',
+				'sExpectedMessage' => '/property_type[WrongDefinition]/definition/nodes/node[source_property]: Missing value-type in node specification',
 			],
-
 			'Wrong class for value-type in node specification' => [
 				'sXMLContent'      => <<<XML
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<property_type id="RelevanceCondition" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:type="Combodo-PropertyType" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation = "https://www.combodo.com/itop-schema/3.3">
+<property_type id="WrongDefinition" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:type="Combodo-PropertyType" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation = "https://www.combodo.com/itop-schema/3.3">
 	<extends>Dashlet</extends>
     <definition xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-PropertyTree">
     <nodes>
@@ -761,7 +781,71 @@ XML,
 </property_type>
 XML,
 				'sExpectedClass'   => 'Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\PropertyTypeException',
-				'sExpectedMessage' => 'Node: source_property, unknown type node class: "Test-Combodo"',
+				'sExpectedMessage' => '/property_type[WrongDefinition]/definition/nodes/node[source_property]: Unknown value-type node class: "Test-Combodo"',
+			],
+			'Wrong class for xml-format in node specification' => [
+				'sXMLContent'      => <<<XML
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<property_type id="WrongDefinition" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:type="Combodo-PropertyType" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation = "https://www.combodo.com/itop-schema/3.3">
+	<extends>Dashlet</extends>
+    <definition xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-PropertyTree">
+	    <nodes>
+	      <node id="coll" xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-CollectionOfValues">
+	          <label>UI:ClassAttributeValue</label>
+	          <xml-format xsi:type="Combodo-test"/>
+	          <value-type xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-ClassAttributeValue">
+	            <class>Contact</class>
+	            <attribute>status</attribute>
+	          </value-type>
+	      </node>
+		</nodes>
+	</definition>
+</property_type>
+XML,
+				'sExpectedClass'   => 'Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\SerializerException',
+				'sExpectedMessage' => '/property_type[WrongDefinition]/definition/nodes/node[coll]/xml-format: Unknown type node class: "Combodo-test"',
+			],
+			'Missing class for xml-format in node specification' => [
+				'sXMLContent'      => <<<XML
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<property_type id="WrongDefinition" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:type="Combodo-PropertyType" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation = "https://www.combodo.com/itop-schema/3.3">
+	<extends>Dashlet</extends>
+    <definition xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-PropertyTree">
+	    <nodes>
+	      <node id="coll" xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-CollectionOfValues">
+	          <label>UI:ClassAttributeValue</label>
+	          <xml-format/>
+	          <value-type xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-ClassAttributeValue">
+	            <class>Contact</class>
+	            <attribute>status</attribute>
+	          </value-type>
+	      </node>
+		</nodes>
+	</definition>
+</property_type>
+XML,
+				'sExpectedClass'   => 'Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\SerializerException',
+				'sExpectedMessage' => '/property_type[WrongDefinition]/definition/nodes/node[coll]/xml-format: Missing xsi:type in node specification',
+			],
+			'Missing tag in xml-format ' => [
+				'sXMLContent'      => <<<XML
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<property_type id="WrongDefinition" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:type="Combodo-PropertyType" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation = "https://www.combodo.com/itop-schema/3.3">
+	<extends>Dashlet</extends>
+    <definition xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-PropertyTree">
+	    <nodes>
+		    <node xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-CollectionOfValues">
+		      <xml-format xsi:type="Combodo-XMLFormat-ValueAsId">
+			  </xml-format>
+		      <value-type xsi:type="Combodo-ValueType-Class">
+		      </value-type>
+		    </node>
+		</nodes>
+	</definition>
+</property_type>
+XML,
+				'sExpectedClass'   => 'Combodo\iTop\PropertyType\Serializer\SerializerException',
+				'sExpectedMessage' => '/property_type[WrongDefinition]/definition/nodes/node/xml-format: Missing <tag-name> element',
 			],
 		];
 	}