Refactored ObjectListFilter: modularized, added type coercion

- Moved filter operators and LINQ logic to ObjectListFilterModule.fs - Added `TypeCoercion.fs` for automatic filter value coercion (`Guid`, `DateTime`, F# DUs, etc.) - Introduced `FilterValueCoercer` and extended `ObjectListFilterLinqOptions` for custom coercion - Centralized filter suffix constants in `FilterSuffixConstants.fs` - Updated `SchemaDefinitions.fs` to use new suffix constants - Added `vtryFind` and `vtryPick` utilities for arrays/lists in `Extensions.fs` - Improved code style, documentation, and function signatures
xperiandri · Jul 9, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026 · Jul 8, 2026 · Jul 9, 2026
commit 143d46cca3825f17bd53296d8fcd3c4ffcd270e8
diff --git a/src/FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Server.Middleware/FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Server.Middleware.fsproj b/src/FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Server.Middleware/FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Server.Middleware.fsproj
@@ -20,8 +20,11 @@
   </ItemGroup>
 
   <ItemGroup>
+    <Compile Include="FilterSuffixConstants.fs" />
     <Compile Include="ObjectListFilter.fs" />
     <Compile Include="FilterSuffixConstants.fs" />
+    <Compile Include="TypeCoercion.fs" />
+    <Compile Include="ObjectListFilterModule.fs" />
     <Compile Include="TypeSystemExtensions.fs" />
     <Compile Include="SchemaDefinitions.fs" />
     <Compile Include="MiddlewareDefinitions.fs" />

diff --git a/src/FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Server.Middleware/ObjectListFilter.fs b/src/FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Server.Middleware/ObjectListFilter.fs
diff --git a/src/FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Server.Middleware/ObjectListFilterModule.fs b/src/FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Server.Middleware/ObjectListFilterModule.fs
diff --git a/src/FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Server.Middleware/SchemaDefinitions.fs b/src/FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Server.Middleware/SchemaDefinitions.fs
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ type private ComparisonOperator =
     | LessThanOrEqual of string
     | In of string
 
-
 let rec private coerceObjectListFilterInput (variables : Variables) inputValue : Result<ObjectListFilter voption, IGQLError list> =
 
     let parseFieldCondition (s : string) =

diff --git a/src/FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Server.Middleware/TypeCoercion.fs b/src/FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Server.Middleware/TypeCoercion.fs
@@ -0,0 +1,298 @@
+namespace FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Server.Middleware
+
+open System
+open System.Collections.Generic
+open System.Collections.Immutable
+open System.Reflection
+open FSharp.Data.GraphQL
+open FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Extensions
+open FSharp.Reflection
+
+[<RequireQualifiedAccess>]
+module TypeCoercion =
+
+    /// Case-insensitive instance property lookup. The middleware lowercases field names during
+    /// parsing, so we must also ignore casing here.
+    let propertyBindFlags =
+        BindingFlags.Public
+        ||| BindingFlags.Instance
+        ||| BindingFlags.IgnoreCase
+
+    /// DU/union member access flags. Internal cases must be resolvable through reflection.
+    let unionBindFlags = BindingFlags.Public ||| BindingFlags.NonPublic
+
+    // Cached type references
+    let private stringType = typeof<string>
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// If <paramref name="t"/> is <c>voption</c>, <c>option</c>, or <c>Skippable</c>, returns the inner type;
+    /// otherwise <see langword="ValueNone"/>.
+    /// </summary>
+    let tryUnwrapOption (t : Type) : Type voption =
+        if t.IsGenericType then
+            let fullName = t.GetGenericTypeDefinition().FullName
+            if
+                fullName.StartsWith ReflectionHelper.ValueOptionTypeName
+                || fullName.StartsWith ReflectionHelper.OptionTypeName
+                || fullName.StartsWith ReflectionHelper.SkippableTypeName
+            then
+                ValueSome (t.GetGenericArguments().[0])
+            else
+                ValueNone
+        else
+            ValueNone
+
+    let unwrapOption (t : Type) : Type =
+        tryUnwrapOption t |> ValueOption.defaultValue t
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// If <paramref name="t"/> is a generic collection, returns the element type. Handles both concrete
+    /// collections (where <c>IEnumerable</c> is an implemented interface) and properties typed directly as <c>IEnumerable&lt;T&gt;</c>.
+    /// </summary>
+    let tryUnwrapEnumerableElement (t : Type) : Type voption =
+        let isEnumerableInterface (i : Type) =
+            i.IsGenericType
+            && Type.(=) (i.GetGenericTypeDefinition (), typedefof<IEnumerable<_>>)
+        if Type.(=) (t, stringType) then
+            ValueNone
+        elif t.IsArray then
+            t.GetElementType () |> ValueOption.ofObj
+        elif isEnumerableInterface t then
+            ValueSome (t.GetGenericArguments()[0])
+        else
+            t.GetInterfaces ()
+            |> Array.vtryFind isEnumerableInterface
+            |> ValueOption.map (fun i -> i.GetGenericArguments()[0])
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Suffixes the middleware's parser preserves on <c>FieldFilter.FieldName</c> for scalar
+    /// operators (e.g. <c>meetingId_eq</c>, <c>validFrom_gte</c>). They must be stripped before
+    /// resolving the actual CLR property.
+    ///
+    /// These correspond to the lowercase variants produced after Phase 2 parsing in
+    /// <c>SchemaDefinitions.parseFieldCondition</c>. Longer suffixes are listed first to prevent
+    /// shorter ones (e.g. <c>_gt</c>) from incorrectly matching longer ones (e.g. <c>_gte</c>).
+    /// </summary>
+    let operatorSuffixes =
+        [|
+            // String operators (case-insensitive variants)
+            FilterSuffixConstants.CI.StartsWithSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.CI.EndsWithSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.CI.SWSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.CI.EWSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.CI.ContainsSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.CI.EqualsSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.CI.EQSuffix
+            // String operators (case-sensitive variants)
+            FilterSuffixConstants.CS.StartsWithSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.CS.EndsWithSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.CS.SWSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.CS.EWSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.CS.ContainsSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.CS.EqualsSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.CS.EQSuffix
+            // Numeric/comparison operators (from root)
+            FilterSuffixConstants.GreaterThanOrEqualSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.LessThanOrEqualSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.GreaterThanSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.LessThanSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.GTESuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.LTESuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.GTSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.LTSuffix
+            FilterSuffixConstants.InSuffix
+        |]
+
+    let stripOperatorSuffix (fieldName : string) : string =
+        operatorSuffixes
+        |> Array.vtryFind (fun s -> fieldName.EndsWith (s, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+        |> ValueOption.map (fun s -> fieldName.Substring (0, fieldName.Length - s.Length))
+        |> ValueOption.defaultValue fieldName
+
+    // Cached type references for coercion
+    let private guidType = typeof<Guid>
+    let private dateTimeOffsetType = typeof<DateTimeOffset>
+    let private dateTimeType = typeof<DateTime>
+    let private dateOnlyType = typeof<DateOnly>
+    let private timeOnlyType = typeof<TimeOnly>
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Built-in type coercers for common CLR types. Each coercer takes a boxed value
+    /// and attempts to parse it (typically from a string) into the target type.
+    /// </summary>
+    let private builtInCoercers : ImmutableDictionary<Type, obj -> obj voption> =
+        let tryParseString (tryParse : string -> bool * 'T) (value : obj) : obj voption =
+            match value with
+            | :? string as s ->
+                match tryParse s with
+                | true, result -> ValueSome (box result)
+                | false, _ -> ValueNone
+            | _ -> ValueNone
+
+        seq {
+            kvp guidType (tryParseString Guid.TryParse)
+            kvp dateTimeOffsetType (tryParseString DateTimeOffset.TryParse)
+            kvp dateTimeType (tryParseString DateTime.TryParse)
+            kvp dateOnlyType (tryParseString DateOnly.TryParse)
+            kvp timeOnlyType (tryParseString TimeOnly.TryParse)
+        }
+        |> ImmutableDictionary.CreateRange
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Tries to coerce a JSON-parsed primitive value (typically a <see cref="string"/>) into the
+    /// CLR <paramref name="targetType"/>. Supports <see cref="Guid"/>, <see cref="DateTime"/>,
+    /// <see cref="DateTimeOffset"/>, <see cref="DateOnly"/>, <see cref="TimeOnly"/>, and single-case F# DUs around any
+    /// of the above. Multi-case DUs with fieldless cases are also supported (matches case name
+    /// case-insensitively).
+    /// </summary>
+    // Suppress nullness warnings for the obj / objnull mixture: JSON values can theoretically
+    // be null but in our middleware path the caller always boxes a non-null primitive.
+    #nowarn "3261"
+    let rec tryCoerceValue (customCoercers : FilterValueCoercer list) (targetType : Type) (value : obj | null) : obj voption =
+        if isNull value then
+            ValueNone
+        elif targetType.IsInstanceOfType value then
+            // Fast path: already the right type.
+            ValueSome value
+        else
+            // Try custom coercers first
+            let customResult =
+                customCoercers
+                |> List.vtryPick (fun coercer -> coercer targetType value)
+
+            match customResult with
+            | ValueSome coerced -> ValueSome coerced
+            | ValueNone ->
+                // Try built-in coercers from the static dictionary
+                match builtInCoercers.TryGetValue targetType with
+                | true, coercer -> coercer value
+                | false, _ ->
+                    // F# DU handling
+                    if FSharpType.IsUnion (targetType, unionBindFlags) then
+                        let cases = FSharpType.GetUnionCases (targetType, unionBindFlags)
+                        if cases.Length = 1 then
+                            // Single-case DU wrapping: unwrap one layer and recurse.
+                            let case = cases[0]
+                            let fields = case.GetFields ()
+                            if fields.Length = 1 then
+                                let innerType = fields[0].PropertyType
+                                match tryCoerceValue customCoercers innerType value with
+                                | ValueSome innerVal ->
+                                    ValueSome (FSharpValue.MakeUnion (case, [| innerVal |], unionBindFlags))
+                                | ValueNone -> ValueNone
+                            else
+                                ValueNone
+                        else
+                            // Multi-case DU: if the value is a string matching a fieldless case, create that case.
+                            match value with
+                            | :? string as str ->
+                                cases
+                                |> Array.vtryFind (fun c ->
+                                    c.GetFields().Length = 0
+                                    && String.Equals (c.Name, str, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                                |> ValueOption.map (fun c -> FSharpValue.MakeUnion (c, [||], unionBindFlags))
+                            | _ -> ValueNone
+                    else
+                        ValueNone
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Coerces an entire <see cref="ObjectListFilter"/> tree recursively by resolving the
+    /// entities's properties and converting filter values into the property's CLR type.
+    /// </summary>
+    let rec coerceFilter (customCoercers : FilterValueCoercer list) (entityType : Type) (filter : ObjectListFilter) : ObjectListFilter =
+        match filter with
+        | And (l, r) -> And (coerceFilter customCoercers entityType l, coerceFilter customCoercers entityType r)
+        | Or (l, r) -> Or (coerceFilter customCoercers entityType l, coerceFilter customCoercers entityType r)
+        | Not f -> Not (coerceFilter customCoercers entityType f)
+        | OfTypes _ -> filter
+        | Equals (ff, cmp) ->
+            match entityType.GetProperty (stripOperatorSuffix ff.FieldName, propertyBindFlags) with
+            | null -> filter
+            | prop ->
+                let unwrapped = unwrapOption prop.PropertyType
+                match tryCoerceValue customCoercers unwrapped (box ff.Value) with
+                | ValueNone -> filter
+                | ValueSome coerced -> Equals ({ ff with Value = coerced :?> IComparable }, cmp)
+        | GreaterThan ff
+        | GreaterThanOrEqual ff
+        | LessThan ff
+        | LessThanOrEqual ff as originalFilter ->
+            match entityType.GetProperty (stripOperatorSuffix ff.FieldName, propertyBindFlags) with
+            | null -> filter
+            | prop ->
+                let unwrapped = unwrapOption prop.PropertyType
+                // For comparison operators, if the property is a single-case DU, coerce to the
+                // inner type only — not the DU itself. buildFilterExpr handles the cast via
+                // unsafeConvertTo, and the DU's op_GreaterThan etc. take the inner primitive.
+                let coercionTarget =
+                    match tryUnwrapOption unwrapped with
+                    | ValueSome inner -> inner   // already unwrapped above, shouldn't occur
+                    | ValueNone ->
+                        if FSharpType.IsUnion (unwrapped, unionBindFlags) then
+                            let cases = FSharpType.GetUnionCases (unwrapped, unionBindFlags)
+                            if cases.Length = 1 then
+                                let fields = cases[0].GetFields ()
+                                if fields.Length = 1 then fields[0].PropertyType
+                                else unwrapped
+                            else unwrapped
+                        else unwrapped
+                match tryCoerceValue customCoercers coercionTarget (box ff.Value) with
+                | ValueNone -> filter
+                | ValueSome coerced ->
+                    let coercedField = { ff with Value = coerced :?> IComparable }
+                    match originalFilter with
+                    | GreaterThan _ -> GreaterThan coercedField
+                    | GreaterThanOrEqual _ -> GreaterThanOrEqual coercedField
+                    | LessThan _ -> LessThan coercedField
+                    | LessThanOrEqual _ -> LessThanOrEqual coercedField
+                    | _ -> filter
+        | In ff ->
+            match entityType.GetProperty (stripOperatorSuffix ff.FieldName, propertyBindFlags) with
+            | null -> filter
+            | prop ->
+                let unwrapped = unwrapOption prop.PropertyType
+                let coercedList =
+                    ff.Value
+                    |> List.choose (fun item ->
+                        match tryCoerceValue customCoercers unwrapped item with
+                        | ValueSome coerced -> Some coerced
+                        | ValueNone -> None)
+                In { ff with Value = coercedList }
+        | StartsWith (ff, cmp)
+        | EndsWith (ff, cmp) as originalFilter ->
+            match entityType.GetProperty (stripOperatorSuffix ff.FieldName, propertyBindFlags) with
+            | null -> filter
+            | _ ->
+                // The pattern argument for string operators is always a plain string —
+                // never coerce it into the member's DU type.
+                match tryCoerceValue customCoercers stringType (box ff.Value) with
+                | ValueNone -> filter
+                | ValueSome coerced ->
+                    let coercedField = { ff with Value = coerced :?> string }
+                    match originalFilter with
+                    | StartsWith (_, cmp) -> StartsWith (coercedField, cmp)
+                    | EndsWith (_, cmp) -> EndsWith (coercedField, cmp)
+                    | _ -> filter
+        | Contains (ff, cmp) ->
+            match entityType.GetProperty (stripOperatorSuffix ff.FieldName, propertyBindFlags) with
+            | null -> filter
+            | prop ->
+                let unwrapped = unwrapOption prop.PropertyType
+                // For enumerable members coerce to the element type; for string-like members
+                // keep the pattern value as a plain string (same reasoning as StartsWith/EndsWith).
+                let coercionTarget =
+                    match tryUnwrapEnumerableElement unwrapped with
+                    | ValueSome elementType -> elementType
+                    | ValueNone -> stringType
+                match tryCoerceValue customCoercers coercionTarget (box ff.Value) with
+                | ValueNone -> filter
+                | ValueSome coerced -> Contains ({ ff with Value = coerced :?> IComparable }, cmp)
+        | FilterField ff ->
+            match entityType.GetProperty (ff.FieldName, propertyBindFlags) with
+            | null -> filter
+            | prop ->
+                let unwrapped = unwrapOption prop.PropertyType
+                let nestedType =
+                    tryUnwrapEnumerableElement unwrapped
+                    |> ValueOption.defaultValue unwrapped
+                FilterField { FieldName = ff.FieldName; Value = coerceFilter customCoercers nestedType ff.Value }
diff --git a/src/FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Server.Middleware/TypeSystemExtensions.fs b/src/FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Server.Middleware/TypeSystemExtensions.fs
@@ -3,9 +3,7 @@ namespace FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Server.Middleware
 open System
 open System.Collections.Immutable
 open System.Linq
-open FsToolkit.ErrorHandling
 
-open FSharp.Data.GraphQL
 open FSharp.Data.GraphQL.Types
 
 /// Contains extensions for the type system.