test(api): reproducer for DeserializeProvider enum validation bug

[vincentchalamon]

Status

Waiting for api-platform/core#7894

Summary

Reproducer for #601 — API Platform's DeserializeProvider uses the generic Type constraint message ("This value should be of type X.") even when the serializer exception provides a user-friendly message. This results in:

• Symfony 8.0: unhelpful "This value should be of type int|string." instead of the enum-specific message
• Symfony 8.1 (upcoming): broken "This value should be of type ." (empty type) when expectedTypes is null

Context

Symfony PR #62574 (commit 35b1aec) improves BackedEnumNormalizer error messages. This change was:

1. Merged to 8.1 branch (Dec 2025)
2. Accidentally cherry-picked into 8.0.5 — which broke this demo (see PR #587 comment)
3. Reworked in 8.0.6 (commit 388c311) — the expectedTypes = null behavior was removed from 8.0.x
4. The demo jumped from v8.0.4 → v8.0.7, skipping the broken v8.0.5

On the current Symfony 8.1 branch, BackedEnumNormalizer distinguishes:

• Type mismatch (TypeError): expectedTypes = [$backingType]
• Invalid value (ValueError): expectedTypes = ['int', 'string'], message = "The data must belong to a backed enumeration of type $type"

Where the bug is

In api-platform/state v4.3.3 — DeserializeProvider.php:

$message = (new Type($expectedTypes))->message;
// Always uses "This value should be of type {{ type }}."
// even when the exception has a better, user-friendly message
$violations->add(new ConstraintViolation(
    $this->translator->trans($message, ['{{ type }}' => implode('|', $expectedTypes)], 'validators'),
    ...
));

The DeserializeProvider ignores canUseMessageForUser() for the violation message — it only uses the exception message as a hint parameter, not as the main violation message.

What this PR does

• Adds a BackedEnumNormalizerDecorator that simulates the Symfony 8.1 behavior (two distinct error paths with expectedTypes = null for invalid values)
• Updates test expectations in BookTest::getInvalidData() to verify the expected correct behavior for both Symfony versions:
  • With decorator (Symfony 8.1): expects the list of valid enum values
  • Without decorator (Symfony 8.0): expects the enum FQCN message

Proposed fix (upstream in api-platform/core)

When canUseMessageForUser() is true, use the exception message directly as the violation message:

$parameters = [];
if ($exception->canUseMessageForUser()) {
    $parameters['hint'] = $exception->getMessage();
    $violationMessage = $exception->getMessage();
    $violations->add(new ConstraintViolation($violationMessage, $violationMessage, $parameters, null, $exception->getPath(), null, null, (string) Type::INVALID_TYPE_ERROR));
} else {
    $message = (new Type($expectedTypes))->message;
    $violations->add(new ConstraintViolation($this->translator->trans($message, ['{{ type }}' => implode('|', $expectedTypes)], 'validators'), $message, $parameters, null, $exception->getPath(), null, null, (string) Type::INVALID_TYPE_ERROR));
}

A git patch is included in this PR: 0001-fix-DeserializeProvider-use-exception-message-when-available.patch

Tested locally — results

Scenario	Decorator	Patch	Result
Symfony 8.0 current	No	No	"This value should be of type int|string." — unhelpful
Symfony 8.1 simulated	Yes	No	"This value should be of type ." — broken
Symfony 8.0 + patch	No	Yes	"The data must belong to a backed enumeration of type App\Enum\BookCondition" — 7/7 tests pass
Symfony 8.1 + patch	Yes	Yes	"The data must be one of the following values: '...', ..." — 7/7 tests pass

Test plan

• CI will show failing tests for the empty data and invalid condition cases — this is expected and demonstrates the bug in DeserializeProvider
• Applying the upstream patch makes all tests pass with both Symfony 8.0 and 8.1 behavior
• Once the fix lands upstream in api-platform/core, the decorator can be removed and tests will pass natively

Closes #601

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[vincentchalamon]

Fix merged on API Platform.