Laravel is a PHP web framework known for its elegant syntax and powerful tools. One of its core components is the Controller, which helps manage the application logic, route handling, and data flow. Controllers serve as a crucial bridge between the user and the system, ensuring the separation of concerns, making code more maintainable, and enabling clean architecture.
In this post, we’ll dive deep into Laravel Controllers, explaining their purpose, types, and usage.
<h3>1. What is a Laravel Controller?</h3>
A controller in Laravel is a class that handles the incoming HTTP requests and returns responses. Instead of defining all logic inside routes (which would become unmanageable in large applications), Laravel encourages the use of controllers to keep the code modular, readable, and maintainable.
Key responsibilities of controllers:
<ul>
<li>Processing HTTP requests</li>
<li>Retrieving or manipulating data from models</li>
<li>Passing data to views</li>
<li>Handling business logic for routes</li>
</ul>
For instance, a <code>UserController</code> might handle user-related requests such as showing user data, updating profiles, or managing authentication.
<h3>2. Creating a Basic Controller</h3>
In Laravel, you can create a controller using the Artisan command-line tool. Let’s start by generating a basic controller.
<h4>Generating a Controller</h4>
To create a controller, run the following Artisan command:
<pre><code class="language-bash">php artisan make:controller UserController
</code></pre>
This creates a new file named <code>UserController.php</code> in the <code>app/Http/Controllers</code> directory. It looks like this:
<pre><code class="language-php">&lt;?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class UserController extends Controller
{
 //
}
</code></pre>
<h4>Adding Methods to the Controller</h4>
Once the controller is generated, you can define methods for handling different types of requests. Let’s add some basic actions, like showing a user profile and updating user data:
<pre><code class="language-php">class UserController extends Controller
{
 // Show user profile
 public function show($id)
 {
 $user = User::find($id);
 return view(&#x27;user.profile&#x27;, [&#x27;user&#x27; =&gt; $user]);
 }

 // Update user data
 public function update(Request $request, $id)
 {
 $user = User::find($id);
 $user-&gt;update($request-&gt;all());
 return redirect()-&gt;back()-&gt;with(&#x27;status&#x27;, &#x27;Profile updated!&#x27;);
 }
}
</code></pre>
<h4>Defining Routes</h4>
Now, you can define routes in <code>routes/web.php</code> to use the methods in your <code>UserController</code>:
<pre><code class="language-php">use App\Http\Controllers\UserController;

Route::get(&#x27;/user/{id}&#x27;, [UserController::class, &#x27;show&#x27;]);
Route::post(&#x27;/user/{id}/update&#x27;, [UserController::class, &#x27;update&#x27;]);
</code></pre>
<hr>
<h3>3. Single-Action Controllers</h3>
Sometimes, a controller only needs to handle a single action. For example, if you’re only handling a single page or a single form submission, using a controller with multiple methods might be overkill.
Laravel allows you to create single-action controllers using the <code>__invoke</code> method.
<h4>Creating a Single-Action Controller</h4>
To generate a single-action controller, run:
<pre><code class="language-bash">php artisan make:controller ContactController --invokable
</code></pre>
The generated controller looks like this:
<pre><code class="language-php">&lt;?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class ContactController extends Controller
{
 public function __invoke(Request $request)
 {
 // Handle the contact form submission
 return view(&#x27;contact&#x27;);
 }
}
</code></pre>
<h4>Defining the Route</h4>
Since the controller only has one action, you don’t need to specify the method in the route. Laravel will automatically invoke the <code>__invoke</code> method:
<pre><code class="language-php">Route::get(&#x27;/contact&#x27;, ContactController::class);
</code></pre>
<hr>

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Laravel Controllers 101: A Comprehensive Guide Part 1