5 powerful features to make your Laravel code compact.

Introduction

Laravel is an efficient and open-source PHP framework designed to build modern web applications. It further employs the model-view-controller architectural pattern that enhances organization and maintainability of the code.

This framework not only promotes cleaner code but also encourages best practices among developers. With its focus on speed and security, Laravel has become a popular choice for developers looking to create scalable and efficient web applications.

Laravel offers many features to help you write compact and clean code. In this article, I will show you 5 Laravel features which will make your code more compact.

What is Laravel?

Laravel which is an open source PHP framework is quite efficient and easy to understand. It follows a model-view controller design pattern. Laravel reuses an existing component of a different framework which lets you create a web application. The web application therefore which is designed would be more structured and pragmatic.

Moreover, Laravel offers a rich set of functionalities which incorporates the basic features of PHP frameworks like CodeIgniter, Yii and more programming languages like Ruby on Rails. Laravel has a very rich set of features which will boost its speed and help develop the web faster.

If you are aware of Core PHP and Advanced PHP, then Laravel will make your task easier. Additionally, it also saves tons of time if you are planning to develop a website from scratch. Moreover, a website which is built in Laravel is secure and it also prevents several web attacks.

Now, further let us understand what are the advantages of Laravel.

What are the advantages of Laravel?

Laravel offers the below mentioned advantages when you are designing a web application using this popular PHP framework

• The web application becomes more scalable, thus owing to the Laravel framework.

• A considerable amount of time is saved in designing the web application, thanks to Laravel which uses some reusable components from other frameworks in developing web applications.

• Moreover, it includes namespaces and interfaces which would help in organizing and managing resources.

Now, further let us talk about what Laravel is used for?

What is Laravel used for?

Laravel is an easy-to-use web framework which will help you create an extensible PHP-based website and web application at scale.

Before developing a web app or website, you need to make a critical decision as to what technology you should be using. This could be one of the trickiest questions in the web development process.

To develop something simple like an online store or portfolio you can rely on a no-code website creator. If you are looking to develop something more advanced, a no-code solution might not sound enough. Instead,  you should choose a framework and start writing code on it. Laravel is a good choice as an easy-to-use open-source framework to build a modern web application at scale.

Now, further let us understand the features of Laravel which can make your code compact.

5 Laravel Features that makes your code compact

tap()

Imagine you must create a method which adds new photo data to the database and then returns the model with the data. The Eloquent’s save() or update() methods would return a boolean value but won’t return the current model. To return the model, you need to write the below mentioned code.

<?php

use App\Models\Photo;

public function addPhoto(): Photo

{

 $photo = new Photo();

 $photo->name = 'Photo 1';

 $photo->path = '/path/to/photo';

 $photo->save();

return $photo;

}

public function updatePhoto($id, $data): Photo

{

 $photos = Photo::find($id);

$test = $photos->update($data);

return $photos;

}

Your code will be more compact if you use the tap() helper.

use App\Models\Photo;

public function addPhoto(): Photo

{

 return tap(new Photo(), function ($instance) {

     $instance->name = 'Photo 1'; // $instance is a Photo model

     $instance->path = '/path/to/photo';

     $instance->save();

 });

}

public function updatePhoto($id, $data): Photo

{

 return tap(Photo::find($id))->update($data);

};

The first parameter of tap() help is returned by the helper, whereas the second parameter is anonymous function which receives the first parameter as an argument.

Now, let’s see the second feature known as Conditional Clause. when() method

Conditional Clause. when() method

Imagine that you receive an optional field from the user. If this field exists and its value is true, then in this database, we should search for records by their value. Without using the when() method, our case would look like below:

$role = $request->input('role');

$photos = Photo::where('path', 'path/to/file');

// In this example, you can also use

// $request->has('role') method for check

if($role) {

   $photos->where('role_id', $role);

}

dump($photos->get());

The code given above can be made cleaner by using when() method, an anonymous function passed to the when() method will only be executed when the value of $role is correct.

$photos = Photo::where('path', 'path/to/file')

             ->when($role, function ($query, $role) {

                 $query->where('role_id', $role);

             })

             ->get();

dump($photos);

Now, let’s see the third feature known as Number:abbreviate () method

Number:abbreviate ()

The abbreviate() method of the Number helper will help you if you are required to output a number to the blade in a human-readable format.

<span class="count">

 {{ Number::abbreviate(500000) }} Output: 500K

</span>

You can also set the precision

<span class="count">

 {{ Number::abbreviate(525678, precision: 2) }} Output: 525.68K

</span>

Now, let’s see the fourth feature known as abort_if() function

abort_if() function

Think of a situation where you need to throw exceptions which depend on the same condition. This can be done using the below.

$forbidden = true; // Some variable

if($forbidden) {

   abort(403, 'You don\'t have access');

}

Or you can use the abort_if() method which will throw an exception only when the value of the first argument is correct.

$forbidden = true;

abort_if($forbidden, 403, 'You don\'t have access');

Arr:toCssClasses()

Imagine a situation where in blade you need to add classes to a few HTML elements based on some conditions.

Without the Arr:toCssClasses () method, you are focused enough to use a lot of conditional statements, which are not very convenient and readable. In the example given below, we will get the following output of the classes <div class= “result active”>. Where we get classes with extra spaces, so removing these spaces would not be convenient.

@php

// Some variables

$status = true;

$error = false;

@endphp

<div class="result @if($status) active @endif @if($error) error @endif">

   Lorem...

</div>

Now, let us implement the Arr::toCssClasses method where the keys whose value is true will be displayed. In this example, we will get the classes without spaces <div class = “result active”> and the code will be more readable. Arr::toCssClasses would generate classes from an array depending on different conditions.

@php

$status = true;

$error = false;

// Array with classes

$classes = ['result', 'active' => $status, 'error' => $error];

@endphp

<div class="{{ Arr::toCssClasses($classes) }}">

Lorem...

</div>

Moreover, you can also use Balde directive @class if you need to only use this feature in Blade.

<div @class([

   'result',

   'active' => $status,

   'error' => $error

])>

   Lorem...

</div>

Conclusion

In summary, Laravel is an invaluable tool for developers aiming to write clean, concise, and efficient code. The five features discussed—tap(), when(), abbreviate(), abort_if(), and Arr::toCssClasses()—demonstrate how Laravel enhances code readability and reduces redundancy.

By leveraging these features, developers can streamline their workflows and focus on building robust applications without getting bogged down by unnecessary complexity. As web development continues to evolve, frameworks like Laravel will remain essential in facilitating rapid application development while maintaining high standards of code quality.

FAQ

What is Laravel?

Laravel is an open-source PHP framework that simplifies web application development by following the MVC architectural pattern.

What are the key features of Laravel?

Key features include Eloquent ORM for database management, Blade templating engine, built-in authentication, routing capabilities, and Artisan CLI for command-line operations.

How does Laravel improve code quality?

Laravel provides various helper functions and methods that reduce redundancy in code, making it cleaner and easier to maintain.

Is Laravel suitable for large-scale applications?

Yes, Laravel is designed to handle both small and large-scale applications efficiently due to its modular architecture and scalability features.

Can I use Laravel for API development?

Absolutely! Laravel is well-suited for building RESTful APIs thanks to its routing capabilities and middleware support.