Benefits of Laravel

Laravel deliver amazing application and provides pinch of magic tool kit for modern and maintainable php. It also provides all services, configuration, as well as what you have to need for your application provided into your application directory. Some key benefits of Laravel as follows:

1. Artisan:

Laravel provide the built-in tool command line interface called Artisan. Which help to developer to build and handles laravel project environment.

For example: To view a list of all artisan command “list” command is used: “php artisan list”

In command line every command includes a “help” command which displays and describes the command’s available arguments and options. For view the help screen, precede the name of the command with “help”: “php artisan help list”.

2. Database

Laravel makes databases extremely simple with interacting with variety of database backends using either raw SQL, the Query builder and the Eloquent ORM. Currently, Laravel supports four databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite and SQL Server.

For your application the configuration of database is located at “config/database.php”. This file may define all of your database connections, as well as this specifies which connection should be used by default.

2.1. Eloquent ORM(Object Relational Mapping)

Eloquent ORM (object relational mapping) provides a simple ActiveRecord, beautiful and expressive implementation for working with your database. Each database table has a corresponding “Model” which is used to interact and allow querying for data in your table, as well as insert new records into the table.

Models typically live in your project “app” directory, but you can place them anywhere that can be auto-loaded according to your “composer.json” file. Artisan command “make:model” is the easiest way to create a model instance: “php artisan make:model ModelName”. And all eloquent models extend the “Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model” class.

This model will be used for retrieve and store information from our Flight2 database table:

Example:

2.2. Query Builder:

In your web application query builder used to perform databases operations and work on all supported database systems. It provides the convenient, fluent interface to creating and running database queries.

This query builder perform the operations like Retrieving Results such as retrieving all rows/ single row or column from a table, Chunking Results when you need to work with thousands of database records, the “chunk” method is used and as well as provides operation insert, delete, joins, unions, updates, ordering, grouping, limit & offset, conditional clauses and debugging.

Laravel query builder uses the PHP Data Object (PDO) parameter binding to protect application form SQL injection attacks.

2.3. Migration System for Database

In Laravel, migration is like version control for database, allowing you to expand the database structure and easily re-create when we make a change. Migration typically paired with the query builder for maintain and creating database schema. This migration system solves the problem of manually adding column into their local database schema.

For creating migration, use Artisan command: “php artisan make:migration create_user_table”.

Migration class contains two methods: up and down. The up method is used for adding new table, columns or indexes to your databases, while the down method reverse the operations performed by the up method. You can expressively create and modify tables using these both methods in Laravel schema builder.

3. Authentication & Authorized System

Laravel makes the authentication very simple and everything is configured out of the box. The authentication configuration file is located at “config/auth.php”.

Laravel’s authentication facilities are made up of “defaults”, “guard”, “providers” and “resetting password”.

Authentication Defaults
This option is used for “guard” and reset password for your application. And this is perfect start for most of application but you may change as required.

Authentication Guard
This guard defines how users are authenticating for each request. This guard uses session storage and the eloquent user provider.

User Providers
defines how users are actually retrieved out of your database or other storage mechanism used by this application to persist your user’s data. If you have multiple table or models you may configure multiple sources which represent each model or table. These sources may then be assigned to any extra authentication guards you have defined.

Resetting Passwords
If you have more than one user table or model in your application and you want to have separate password reset settings based on the specific user types, you may specify multiple password reset configurations. The expire time is the number of minutes that the reset token should be considered valid. This security features keeps tokens short-lived so they have less time to be guessed.

4. MVC (Model View Controller):

MVC is a software architecture pattern that separates business logic from the user interface. It is divided into three part Model, View and Controller. All three works components work together to create three basic components. Model manages the fundamental database operation such fetching data or update data, the view provides the user interface of the application while controller contain business logic and provide link between model and view.

Laravel support MVC structure which automatically care of segregation between logic and expression syntax. Such segregation makes it easier to designer to work on enhancing user interface without disturbing the core functionalities. Laravel provides the benefits for using this such as: Faster development of application, no conflict between designer and developer and easily debugging at any stage of development.

5. Simplified Mail Integration System

Laravel uses the “SwiftMailer” library that can be used for provide clean, simple API mail configuration. Laravel support sending emails and notification across multiple channels and offers drivers for different local and cloud based mail services such as SMTP, Mailgun, Postmark, SparkPost, Amazon SES and sendmail. The Mailgun, SparkPost, and Postmark are faster and simpler than SMTP severs. These all are required the Guzzle HTTP library, which may be installed via the composer package manager.

Mail integration provides the benefits for you application like: send emails and notification via SMS & Slack, integrate mail notification systems and Notify users on performing each and every activity.

Mailgun Driver
To use this first you have to configure this option in your “config/mail.php”. Next, verify that your “config/services.php” which contains following option:

Postmark Driver
first you have to configure the file in “config/mail.php” directory and finally verify that your “config/service.php” file that contain following options:

SparkPost Driver
To use this driver, configure the “mail.php” file and verify your “config/services.php” file.

6. Authentication:

Laravel is built with to keep testing in mind. Laravel already set up the phpunit.xml file for your application. In Laravel, by defaults your application’s tests directory contains two directories: Feature and Unit. Where Feature tests focus on larger portion of your code while Unit tests focus on a very small, isolated portion of your code. When running the “phpunit”, Laravel automatically set the configuration environment to testing because of their environment variables defined in the “phpuint.xml” file.

Creating test in the Feature directory

Once the tests has been generated. Execute the phpunit command in your terminal.

Creating test in the Unit directory

Executes the phpunit command

automatically configured the session and cache to the array driver, means that no session and cache data will be persisted while testing. For creating a new test case, use “make:test” command.