What is a controller in Laravel? How do you create one?

In Laravel, a controller is a class that handles HTTP requests and contains the logic for processing them. Controllers are a key part of the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture in Laravel, which helps in organizing your application’s code by separating the concerns of request handling, business logic, and presentation.

Creating a Controller

To create a controller in Laravel, you can use the Artisan command-line tool. Here’s how you can create a controller:

1. Using Artisan Command

   Open your terminal and navigate to your Laravel project directory. Run the following command:

   php artisan make:controller MyController
   

   This command will create a new controller file named MyController.php in the app/Http/Controllers directory.

2. Controller Code Example

   Once created, you can open the MyController.php file. Here’s an example of a basic controller with a few methods:

   <?php
   
   namespace App\Http\Controllers;
   
   use Illuminate\Http\Request;
   
   class MyController extends Controller
   {
       public function index()
       {
           return view('welcome'); // Returns a view named 'welcome'
       }
   
       public function show($id)
       {
           // Fetch a model or resource based on $id and return a view
           $data = Model::find($id);
           return view('show', ['data' => $data]);
       }
   
       public function store(Request $request)
       {
           // Handle form submission or data processing
           $validated = $request->validate([
               'name' => 'required|max:255',
           ]);
   
           Model::create($validated);
           return redirect()->route('home');
       }
   }
   

   • index Method: Returns a view named welcome.
   • show Method: Fetches a model or resource by ID and returns a view with the data.
   • store Method: Validates and processes data from a request, then redirects to a named route.

3. Routing to Controller

   To use this controller, you need to define routes in the routes/web.php file:

   use App\Http\Controllers\MyController;
   
   Route::get('/', [MyController::class, 'index']);
   Route::get('/show/{id}', [MyController::class, 'show']);
   Route::post('/store', [MyController::class, 'store']);
   

   • The / route calls the index method of MyController.
   • The /show/{id} route calls the show method with an ID parameter.
   • The /store route calls the store method when a POST request is made.

Summary

Controllers in Laravel help to handle HTTP requests and organize your application's logic. You can create a controller using the php artisan make:controller command, define methods for different types of requests, and route to these methods from your routes file.

If you need more specific examples or have any other questions about controllers, feel free to ask!