# Models

# Introduction

Laravel includes Eloquent, an object-relational mapper (ORM) that makes it enjoyable to interact with your database. When using Eloquent, each database table has a corresponding "Model" that is used to interact with that table. In addition to retrieving records from the database table, Eloquent models allow you to insert, update, and delete records from the table as well. To understand Models in detail, you can visit the Laravel documentation here (opens new window).

We are using the konekt/concord (opens new window) package, which is an extension of Laravel. It helps in building modular Laravel applications.

Let's create a new model for your application. We will assume that the package name is "Blog". Follow these steps:

# Using Bagisto Package Generator

To create a new Post Model inside your package using the Bagisto Package Generator, follow these steps

Execute the following command in your terminal:

php artisan package:make-model Post Webkul/Blog

This command creates the following files:

  • New model Post.php in the packages/Webkul/Blog/src/Models directory.
  • New model proxy PostProxy.php in the packages/Webkul/Blog/src/Models directory.
  • New model contract Post.php* in the packages/Webkul/Blog/src/Contracts directory.

# Using Laravel Artisan Command

Before creating the model class, it's essential to create two additional components: the Contract and the Proxy.

# Create the Contract

Laravel's Contracts are a set of interfaces that define the core services provided by the framework. For example, the Illuminate\Contracts\Queue\Queue contract defines the methods needed for queueing jobs, while the Illuminate\Contracts\Mail\Mailer contract defines the methods needed for sending an email.

Each contract has a corresponding implementation provided by the framework. For example, Laravel provides a queue implementation with various drivers and a mailer implementation powered by SwiftMailer.

All Laravel contracts are stored in their own GitHub repository. This provides a quick reference for all available contracts and a single, decoupled package that can be used by package developers.

Now, create a folder named Contracts inside Webkul/Blog/src/ and create an interface file named Post.php.

packages
└── Webkul
    └── Blog
        └── src
            ├── ...
            └── Contracts
                └── Post.php

Copy the following code into the Post.php file.

<?php

namespace Webkul\Blog\Contracts;

interface Post
{
}

# Create the Proxy

Proxies, as their name suggests, act as intermediaries to the actual model class. Model proxies are used to override the functionality of existing models without creating a new database table.

Navigate to the directory packages/Webkul/Blog/src/ and create a new folder named Models.

└── packages
  └── Webkul
    └── Blog
    └── src
      ├── ...
      └── Models

Inside the Models folder, create a new PHP file named PostProxy.php.

└── packages
    └── Webkul
        └── Blog
            └── src
                ├── ...
                ├── Contracts
                │   └── Post.php
                └── Models
                    └── PostProxy.php

Copy the following code into the PostProxy.php file.

<?php

namespace Webkul\Blog\Models;

use Konekt\Concord\Proxies\ModelProxy;

class PostProxy extends ModelProxy
{
}

# Create the Model

The simple way to create a model is to execute the make:model artisan command

php artisan make:model Post

Now, move your Post model from the project root directory (i.e., App/Models) to the packages/Webkul/Blog/src/Models folder.

└── packages
    └── Webkul
        └── Blog
            └── src
                ├── ...
                ├── Contracts
                │   └── Post.php
                └── Models
                    ├── Post.php
                    └── PostProxy.php

Copy the following code into the Post.php file.

<?php

namespace Webkul\Blog\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Relations\BelongsTo;
use Webkul\User\Models\Admin;
use Webkul\Blog\Contracts\Post as PostContract;

class Post extends Model implements PostContract
{
   /**
    * The attributes that are mass assignable.
    *
    * @var $fillable
    */
    protected $fillable = [
        'title',
        'description',
        'user_id',
        'status'
    ];

   /**
    * Get the user that owns the post.
    */
    public function author(): BelongsTo
    {
        return $this->belongsTo(Admin::class, 'user_id');
    }
}

The Post model represents a blog post in the application. It implements the PostContract and is part of the Webkul\Blog\Models namespace.

public function author(): BelongsTo This method defines a BelongsTo relationship between the Post model and the Admin model.

# Create Module Service Provider

To create a provider named ModuleServiceProvider.php inside Webkul/Blog/src/Providers for your Laravel package, follow these steps.

└── packages
  └── Webkul
      └── Blog
          └── src
              ├── ...
              └── Providers
                  ├── BlogServiceProvider.php
                  └── ModuleServiceProvider.php

In this file, we register the models used in this package. You can see the code below.

<?php

namespace Webkul\Blog\Providers;

use Konekt\Concord\BaseModuleServiceProvider;

class ModuleServiceProvider extends BaseModuleServiceProvider
{
    protected $models = [
        \Webkul\Blog\Models\Post::class,
    ];
}

The ModuleServiceProvider class registers models used in the Blog package. It extends BaseModuleServiceProvider from the Konekt\Concord package.

# Registering ModuleServiceProvider

To integrate the ModuleServiceProvider with the Concord module system in Laravel, you need to register it in the config/concord.php configuration file.

  • Navigate to Configuration File Locate and open the config/concord.php file in your Laravel application.

  • Add ServiceProvider Inside the modules array, add the ModuleServiceProvider class to register it with Concord.

<?php

return [
    'modules' => [
        // Other service providers
        \Webkul\Blog\Providers\ModuleServiceProvider::class,
    ]
];

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