Laravel Collective Forms & HTML – Simplified form and HTML generation

Laravel Collective Forms & HTML is a package designed to simplify the process of generating forms and HTML elements in Laravel applications. This package provides a clean and fluent interface for creating forms and form elements, making it easier for developers to build complex forms quickly and efficiently.

 

Key Features of Laravel Collective Forms & HTML:

1. Fluent Syntax: Provides a simple and expressive syntax for generating forms and HTML elements.
2. Customization: Supports various options for customization, including attributes, classes, and styles for form elements.
3. CSRF Protection: Automatically includes CSRF tokens in forms for security.
4. Blade Integration: Works seamlessly with Blade templates, allowing for easy integration into your views.
5. Form Validation: Simplifies error handling and validation messages in forms.

Installation

To get started with Laravel Collective Forms & HTML, follow these steps:

1. Require the Package: You can install the package via Composer by running:
   
   composer require "laravelcollective/html"

   1	composer require "laravelcollective/html"

2. Add Service Provider (for Laravel 5.4 and below): If you’re using Laravel 5.4 or below, you need to add the service provider to the config/app.php file:
   
   'providers' => [ ... Collective\Html\HtmlServiceProvider::class, ],

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   'providers' => [     ...     Collective\Html\HtmlServiceProvider::class, ],

3. Add Aliases: Also in the config/app.php file, add the aliases for the HTML and Form Facades:
   
   'aliases' => [ ... 'Form' => Collective\Html\FormFacade::class, 'Html' => Collective\Html\HtmlFacade::class, ],

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   'aliases' => [     ...     'Form' => Collective\Html\FormFacade::class,     'Html' => Collective\Html\HtmlFacade::class, ],

4. Publish Configuration (optional): If you want to customize the configuration, you can publish the configuration file:
   
   php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Collective\Html\HtmlServiceProvider"

   1	php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Collective\Html\HtmlServiceProvider"

    

Creating Forms

Once the package is installed, you can start using it to create forms in your Blade templates. Here’s how to create a simple form:

1. Create a Form: To create a form, use the Form::open method. Here’s an example of a basic form for creating a new post:
   
   @extends('layouts.app') @section('content') <div class="container"> <h1>Create New Post</h1> {!! Form::open(['route' => 'posts.store']) !!} <div class="form-group"> {!! Form::label('title', 'Title') !!} {!! Form::text('title', null, ['class' => 'form-control', 'placeholder' => 'Enter post title']) !!} </div> <div class="form-group"> {!! Form::label('content', 'Content') !!} {!! Form::textarea('content', null, ['class' => 'form-control', 'placeholder' => 'Enter post content']) !!} </div> <div class="form-group"> {!! Form::submit('Create Post', ['class' => 'btn btn-primary']) !!} </div> {!! Form::close() !!} </div> @endsection

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   @extends('layouts.app')   @section('content') <div class="container">     <h1>Create New Post</h1>     {!! Form::open(['route' => 'posts.store']) !!}         <div class="form-group">             {!! Form::label('title', 'Title') !!}             {!! Form::text('title', null, ['class' => 'form-control', 'placeholder' => 'Enter post title']) !!}         </div>           <div class="form-group">             {!! Form::label('content', 'Content') !!}             {!! Form::textarea('content', null, ['class' => 'form-control', 'placeholder' => 'Enter post content']) !!}         </div>           <div class="form-group">             {!! Form::submit('Create Post', ['class' => 'btn btn-primary']) !!}         </div>     {!! Form::close() !!} </div> @endsection

2. Handle the Form Submission: In your controller, handle the form submission by creating a method to store the post:
   
   namespace App\Http\Controllers; use App\Http\Requests\PostRequest; use App\Models\Post; class PostController extends Controller { public function store(PostRequest $request) { Post::create($request->validated()); return redirect()->route('posts.index')->with('success', 'Post created successfully.'); } }

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   namespace App\Http\Controllers;   use App\Http\Requests\PostRequest; use App\Models\Post;   class PostController extends Controller {     public function store(PostRequest $request)     {         Post::create($request->validated());         return redirect()->route('posts.index')->with('success', 'Post created successfully.');     } }

    

Form Validation and Error Handling

You can easily integrate form validation and display error messages using Laravel’s validation features. Here’s an example of how to show validation errors:

 

Generating HTML Elements

Laravel Collective also allows you to generate various HTML elements easily. Here are some examples:

• Creating a Link:
  
  {!! Html::link('http://example.com', 'Visit Example', ['class' => 'btn btn-link']) !!}

  1	{!! Html::link('http://example.com', 'Visit Example', ['class' => 'btn btn-link']) !!}

• Creating a Button:
  
  {!! Form::button('Click Me', ['type' => 'button', 'class' => 'btn btn-success']) !!}

  1	{!! Form::button('Click Me', ['type' => 'button', 'class' => 'btn btn-success']) !!}

• Generating a Select Dropdown:
  
  {!! Form::select('category', ['tech' => 'Technology', 'health' => 'Health'], null, ['class' => 'form-control']) !!}

  1	{!! Form::select('category', ['tech' => 'Technology', 'health' => 'Health'], null, ['class' => 'form-control']) !!}

   

Conclusion

Laravel Collective Forms & HTML is a powerful tool for simplifying form creation and HTML generation in Laravel applications. Its fluent syntax and seamless integration with Laravel’s validation and Blade templating make it an excellent choice for developers looking to build forms quickly and efficiently.

 

Additional Considerations

• Documentation: For more detailed information on features and advanced usage, refer to the official Laravel Collective documentation.
• Customization: You can customize form elements and validation messages according to your application’s requirements.