Laravel Categories – Handle categories for models

Handling categories in Laravel can be efficiently achieved using several approaches, depending on your application’s requirements. Below is a guide on how to implement a category system that associates categories with models (like posts, products, etc.) using a simple setup.

Step 1: Set Up Your Models

Assuming you have a Post model, we will create a Category model and establish a many-to-many relationship between posts and categories.

Create the Category Model and Migration:

bash

php artisan make:model Category -m

1	php artisan make:model Category -m

In the migration file, define the categories table:

php

public function up()
{
    Schema::create('categories', function (Blueprint $table) {
        $table->id();
        $table->string('name')->unique();
        $table->timestamps();
    });
}

public function up()

{

Schema::create('categories', function (Blueprint $table) {

$table->id();

$table->string('name')->unique();

$table->timestamps();

});

}

Modify the Post Model:

Assuming your Post model exists, you need to define the relationship:

php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class Post extends Model
{
    public function categories()
    {
        return $this->belongsToMany(Category::class);
    }
}

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class Post extends Model

{

public function categories()

{

return $this->belongsToMany(Category::class);

}

Step 2: Create Pivot Table Migration

For the many-to-many relationship, you need a pivot table, typically named category_post.

Create Migration for Pivot Table:

bash

php artisan make:migration create_category_post_table --create=category_post

1	php artisan make:migration create_category_post_table --create=category_post

In the migration file, set up the pivot table:

php

public function up()
{
    Schema::create('category_post', function (Blueprint $table) {
        $table->id();
        $table->foreignId('post_id')->constrained()->onDelete('cascade');
        $table->foreignId('category_id')->constrained()->onDelete('cascade');
        $table->timestamps();
    });
}

public function up()

{

Schema::create('category_post', function (Blueprint $table) {

$table->id();

$table->foreignId('post_id')->constrained()->onDelete('cascade');

$table->foreignId('category_id')->constrained()->onDelete('cascade');

$table->timestamps();

});

}

Step 3: Run Migrations

Run the migrations to create the tables:

bash

php artisan migrate

1	php artisan migrate

Step 4: Seed Some Categories

You might want to create some categories to work with. You can do this using a seeder.

Create a Seeder:

bash

php artisan make:seeder CategorySeeder

1	php artisan make:seeder CategorySeeder

In the CategorySeeder class, add some categories:

php

namespace Database\Seeders;

use Illuminate\Database\Seeder;
use App\Models\Category;

class CategorySeeder extends Seeder
{
    public function run()
    {
        $categories = ['Technology', 'Health', 'Lifestyle', 'Education'];

        foreach ($categories as $category) {
            Category::create(['name' => $category]);
        }
    }
}

namespace Database\Seeders;

use Illuminate\Database\Seeder;

use App\Models\Category;

class CategorySeeder extends Seeder

{

public function run()

{

$categories = ['Technology', 'Health', 'Lifestyle', 'Education'];

foreach ($categories as $category) {

Category::create(['name' => $category]);

}

Run the Seeder:

Make sure to call the CategorySeeder in DatabaseSeeder:

php

public function run()
{
    $this->call(CategorySeeder::class);
}

public function run()

{

$this->call(CategorySeeder::class);

}

Then run:

bash

php artisan db:seed

1	php artisan db:seed

Step 5: Using the Relationship

You can now associate categories with posts. Here’s an example of how to attach categories to a post:

php

$post = Post::find(1);
$categories = Category::whereIn('id', [1, 2])->get(); // Get categories with IDs 1 and 2

$post->categories()->attach($categories)

$post = Post::find(1);

$categories = Category::whereIn('id', [1, 2])->get(); // Get categories with IDs 1 and 2

$post->categories()->attach($categories)

To detach categories:

php

$post->categories()->detach($categories);

1	$post->categories()->detach($categories);

To sync categories (attach new ones and detach the ones not in the array):

php

$post->categories()->sync([1, 2])

1	$post->categories()->sync([1, 2])

Step 6: Retrieving Categories

You can easily retrieve the categories associated with a post:

php

$post = Post::find(1);
$categories = $post->categories; // This will return a collection of categories

1 2	$post = Post::find(1); $categories = $post->categories; // This will return a collection of categories

Step 7: Displaying Categories

In your Blade templates, you can loop through categories and display them:

blade

@foreach ($post->categories as $category)
    <span>{{ $category->name }}</span>
@endforeach

@foreach ($post->categories as $category)

<span>{{ $category->name }}</span>

@endforeach

Conclusion

This setup provides a flexible way to handle categories for your models in Laravel. You can extend this basic structure with additional features, such as category hierarchies, slugs for SEO, or category filters in queries. Using Laravel’s built-in relationship features makes managing and querying categories straightforward and efficient.

Laravel Categories – Handle categories for models

Step 1: Set Up Your Models

Step 2: Create Pivot Table Migration

Step 3: Run Migrations

Step 4: Seed Some Categories

Step 5: Using the Relationship

Step 6: Retrieving Categories

Step 7: Displaying Categories

Conclusion

Related Posts:

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply