Are there any specific libraries or tools that support the whenLoaded() method

Libraries and Tools Supporting `whenLoaded()`

**Laravel Framework (Eloquent ORM and API Resources):
- The `whenLoaded()` method is a feature of Laravel's Eloquent ORM used in API Resource classes to conditionally include related model data in JSON responses. It checks if a relationship has been loaded on the model and only includes it if so. This helps prevent the N+1 query problem and improves API response efficiency.
- It is used by passing the name of the relationship to `whenLoaded()`, which returns the relationship data if loaded or excludes it otherwise. For example:

php
  public function toArray($request)
  {
      return [
          'id' => $this->id,
          'name' => $this->name,
          'posts' => PostResource::collection($this->whenLoaded('posts')),
      ];
  }
  

- This method is part of Laravel's API Resource classes and is documented in Laravel's official documentation and community tutorials[3][5][6].

**Ruby on Rails (Grape Entity Gem) - Inspired Implementation:
- While `whenLoaded()` is not natively available in Ruby on Rails, a similar conditional loading pattern can be implemented using the `grape` gem's entity exposure with conditional logic.
- In this approach, the exposure of associations like comments is conditioned on whether the association is loaded, mimicking Laravel's `whenLoaded()` behavior:

ruby
  expose :comments,
         using: CommentEntities,
         if: -> (instance, _options) { instance.association(:comments).loaded? }
  

- This allows Rails developers to achieve similar conditional relationship serialization when using Grape entities for APIs[7].

Limitations and Notes

- Laravel's `whenLoaded()` works only with relationships that have been loaded on the model instance. It does not support nested or deeper-than-one-level relations directly, which may require manual checks or alternative approaches[1].
- It is designed for use within Laravel's resource response system and does not exist as a standalone library or in other frameworks outside of Laravel without custom implementation.
- Alternatives or similar patterns in other frameworks usually require manual conditional checks or use of serialization libraries that support conditional exposure of associations.

Summary

- The `whenLoaded()` method is a Laravel-specific feature found in Eloquent API Resources for conditional inclusion of loaded relationships in JSON responses.
- It helps optimize API performance by avoiding unnecessary loading of relationships and database queries.
- A similar concept can be implemented in Ruby on Rails using the Grape gem's conditional exposure feature, but no direct equivalent library outside Laravel exists.
- It is not a general-purpose method but tied closely to Laravel's ORM and resource system.

Thus, if you are working within Laravel, `whenLoaded()` is supported natively in Eloquent API Resources. For other environments, you would need to implement similar conditional logic manually or using framework-specific serialization tools.

Citations:
[1] https://stackoverflow.com/questions/49965081/how-do-i-use-whenloaded-for-deeper-than-one-level-relations
[2] https://remysharp.com/2007/04/12/how-to-detect-when-an-external-library-has-loaded
[3] https://www.interviewsolutionshub.com/blog/laravel-whenloaded
[4] https://rencore.com/en/blog/loading-a-javascript-library-from-a-cdn
[5] https://laravel-news.com/whenloaded
[6] https://laravel.com/docs/12.x/eloquent-resources
[7] https://dev.to/whchi/how-to-implement-laravels-whenloaded-function-in-ror-57hm
[8] https://stackoverflow.com/questions/76692166/what-can-be-used-instead-of-whenloaded-in-resource-when-data-are-set-with-setatt