How to insert/update/delete a record with Eloquent

Overview

Eloquent is an object-relational mapper (ORM) included with Laravel, which makes it easy for developers to interact with database operations using expressive, object-oriented syntax. In this tutorial, we will focus on the basic Create, Read, Update and Delete (CRUD) operations using Eloquent.

Before you begin, ensure you have a Laravel project set up. Eloquent relationships and models should also be defined appropriately in accordance with your database’s structure.

Inserting Records with Eloquent

To insert a new record into the database, you will first need to create a new instance of the model, set the model’s properties, and then call the save() method.

$post = new Post; 
$post->title = 'My first post'; 
$post->body = 'This is the body of my first post'; 
$post->save(); 

This code creates a new post with a title and body, and then saves it to the database.

Mass Assignment

If you have many fields to insert at once, you can also use mass assignment for convenience.

$post = Post::create([ 
   'title' => 'My first post', 
   'body' => 'Content of the first post', 
]); 

In this case, ensure your model has the correct fields listed in its $fillable or $guarded array to protect against mass-assignment vulnerabilities.

Updating Records with Eloquent

To update a record, you need to retrieve the model from the database, change the attributes you wish to update, and then call save().

$post = Post::find(1); 
$post->title = 'Updated post title'; 
$post->save(); 

This code snippet finds the post with an id of 1 and updates its title.

Bulk Updates

If you need to update multiple records at once, Eloquent’s update() method can be used in combination with a query.

Post::where('active', 1) ->update(['active' => 0]); 

This updates the ‘active’ field of all posts that are currently active to be inactive.

Deleting Records with Eloquent

To delete a record, retrieve the model from the database and call the delete() method.

$post = Post::find(1); 
$post->delete(); 

This code snippet will delete the post with an id of 1 from the database.

Soft Deleting

Laravel also provides a handy feature called ‘soft deletes’, which allows you to retain the records in the database and just mark them as ‘deleted’ using a timestamp. Here’s how to soft delete a record:

$post = Post::find(1); 
$post->delete(); 

Note that, to use soft deletes, you must have a deleted_at column in your table, and your model should use the SoftDeletes trait.

Advanced Examples

Below are some advanced examples of how to insert, update, and delete records using Eloquent, Laravel’s ORM. These examples will cover more than just the basics, showcasing some of the powerful features Eloquent offers.

Insert with Relationship

Assuming a User has many Posts.

$user = App\Models\User::find(1);

$post = new App\Models\Post([
  'title' => 'New Post', 
  'content' => 'Post content'
]);

$user->posts()->save($post);

Conditional Update

Updating a user’s status only if they are currently ‘active’.

$user = App\Models\User::find(1);

if ($user->isActive()) {
    $user->status = 'inactive';
    $user->save();
}

Force Delete

To permanently remove a soft deleted record.

$user = App\Models\User::withTrashed()->find(1);
$user->forceDelete();

Conditional Delete

Deleting a record based on a condition.

$user = App\Models\User::find(1);

if ($user->canBeDeleted()) {
    $user->delete();
}

Delete with Relationship

Deleting all posts of a specific user.

$user = App\Models\User::find(1);
$user->posts()->delete();

Conclusion

Through this introductory guide, you’ve learned the basics of inserting, updating, and deleting records with Eloquent ORM. With Eloquent, these fundamental database operations are simplified, allowing for clear and expressive code.