Models

Eloquent ORM

Eloquent is Laravel's ORM for working with database records as PHP objects. Each model represents a table, and each instance represents a row.

// Good
class User extends Model
{
    // properties and methods
}

// Bad
class user extends Model
{
    // properties and methods
}

• Always extend the base Model class.
• Use singular, PascalCase names for models (e.g., User, Invoice).
• Place models in the app/Models directory.

Naming Conventions

Model names should be singular and use PascalCase. Table names should be plural (Laravel does this automatically).

// Good
class User extends Model
{
    // properties and methods
}

// Bad
class user_table extends Model
{
    // properties and methods
}

Relationships

Define relationships using Eloquent's built-in methods. Use plural method names for relationships that return collections.

// Good
public function posts()
{
    return $this->hasMany(Post::class);
}
public function profile()
{
    return $this->hasOne(Profile::class);
}
public function roles() {
    return $this->belongsToMany(Role::class);
}

// Bad
public function get_posts()
{
    return $this->hasMany(Post::class);
}
public function getProfile()
{
    return $this->hasOne(Profile::class);
}

• Use hasMany, hasOne, belongsTo, and belongsToMany for relationships.
• Document relationships with PHPDoc for clarity.

Scopes

Use local scopes for reusable query logic. Scope methods should start with scope and use camelCase.

// Good
public function scopeActive($query)
{
    return $query->where('active', 1);
}
public function scopeOfType($query, $type)
{
    return $query->where('type', $type);
}

// Bad
public function getActiveUsers($query)
{
    return $query->where('active', 1);
}

• Call scopes as $users = User::active()->get();

Best Practices

• Use mass assignment protection ($fillable or $guarded).
• Use accessors and mutators for attribute transformation.
• Use casting for automatic type conversion.
• Avoid business logic in models; use service classes for complex operations.
• Use soft deletes for models that should not be permanently removed.

Example: Comprehensive Model

/**
 * User model representing application users.
 */
class User extends Model
{
    use SoftDeletes;

    protected $fillable = ['name', 'email', 'password'];

    public function casts()
    {
      return [

      ]
    }

    /**
     * Get the user's posts.
     */
    public function posts()
    {
        return $this->hasMany(Post::class);
    }

    /**
     * Scope for active users.
     */
    public function scopeActive($query)
    {
        return $query->where('active', 1);
    }

    /**
     * Accessor for full name.
     */
    public function getFullNameAttribute()
    {
        return $this->first_name . ' ' . $this->last_name;
    }
}