Laravel Model: Everything You Need to Know 🚀

In Laravel, Models are used for interacting with the database. They represent database tables and allow us to perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations using Eloquent ORM.

1. What is a Model in Laravel?

A Model is a class that connects to a specific database table and allows you to interact with its records.

✅ Example: A User model interacts with the users table.

📄 File: app/Models/User.php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\HasFactory;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class User extends Model
{
    use HasFactory;
}

2. Creating a Model

To create a model, use the Artisan command:

php artisan make:model Product

This creates:
📄 app/Models/Product.php

To create a model with migration:

php artisan make:model Product -m

This also creates a migration file in database/migrations/.

3. Database Table Mapping

By default, Laravel maps the model name to a table name (plural form).

✅ Example:

• Model: Product
• Table: products

If your table name is different, define it manually:

📄 File: app/Models/Product.php

class Product extends Model
{
    protected $table = 'items'; // Custom table name
}

4. Mass Assignment Protection ($fillable & $guarded)

To allow mass assignment, define $fillable or $guarded:

✅ Using $fillable (Recommended)

class Product extends Model
{
    protected $fillable = ['name', 'price', 'description'];
}

✅ Using $guarded (Alternative)

class Product extends Model
{
    protected $guarded = []; // Allows all fields
}

5. Performing CRUD Operations with Eloquent

Create (Insert Data)

Product::create([
    'name' => 'Laptop',
    'price' => 50000,
    'description' => 'A high-performance laptop'
]);

Read (Get Data)

$products = Product::all(); // Get all products
$product = Product::find(1); // Find by ID
$expensive = Product::where('price', '>', 30000)->get(); // Filter

Update (Modify Data)

$product = Product::find(1);
$product->price = 55000;
$product->save();

Or use mass update:

Product::where('id', 1)->update(['price' => 55000]);

Delete (Remove Data)

$product = Product::find(1);
$product->delete();

Or directly:

Product::destroy(1); // Delete by ID
Product::where('price', '<', 1000)->delete(); // Delete by condition

6. Model Relationships

Eloquent makes handling relationships between models easy.

One-to-One Relationship

📄 File: User.php

class User extends Model
{
    public function profile()
    {
        return $this->hasOne(Profile::class);
    }
}

One-to-Many Relationship

📄 File: Post.php

class Post extends Model
{
    public function comments()
    {
        return $this->hasMany(Comment::class);
    }
}

Many-to-Many Relationship

📄 File: User.php

class User extends Model
{
    public function roles()
    {
        return $this->belongsToMany(Role::class);
    }
}

7. Soft Deletes (Keeping Deleted Records)

To enable soft deletes, add the SoftDeletes trait:

📄 File: app/Models/Product.php

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\SoftDeletes;

class Product extends Model
{
    use SoftDeletes;
}

Run migration to add the deleted_at column:

php artisan make:migration add_deleted_at_to_products_table --table=products

Now, instead of permanently deleting a record, Laravel marks it as deleted.

✅ Soft Delete

$product->delete(); // Moves to trash

✅ Restore Soft Deleted Record

Product::withTrashed()->where('id', 1)->restore();

✅ Force Delete (Permanent)

$product->forceDelete();

8. Query Scopes (Reusable Filters)

Scopes allow you to reuse queries across your project.

📄 File: Product.php

class Product extends Model
{
    public function scopeExpensive($query)
    {
        return $query->where('price', '>', 50000);
    }
}

✅ Use in Controller

$expensiveProducts = Product::expensive()->get();

Conclusion

✅ Laravel Models make database interactions simple with Eloquent ORM.
✅ Define database structure using $fillable or $guarded.
✅ Use Eloquent methods for CRUD operations.
✅ Establish relationships like One-to-One, One-to-Many, and Many-to-Many.
✅ Use Soft Deletes and Query Scopes for advanced functionality.

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