Laravel Tutorial #7: Create Routes, Controllers and Views

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You can download the source code of this tutorial here.

Table of Contents

Registering Routes

Route::get('/', IndexController::class);
Route::get('/category/{slug}', CategoryController::class);
Route::get('/tag/{slug}', TagController::class);
Route::get('/post/{slug}', [PostController::class, 'show']);

We didn’t use single action controller for post controller becase we are giong to add search function here in the next post.

Controllers

Index Controller

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Models\General;
use App\Models\Post;
use App\Models\Tag;
use App\Models\Category;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class IndexController extends Controller
{
    public function __invoke()
    {
        //get the general information about the website
        $website = General::query()->firstOrFail();

        //get the posts that are published, sort by decreasing order of "id".
        $posts = Post::query()
            ->where('is_published',true)
            ->orderBy('id','desc')
            ->get();

        //get the featured posts
        $featured_posts = Post::query()
            ->where('is_published',true)
            ->where('is_featured',true)
            ->orderBy('id','desc')
            ->take(5)
            ->get();

        //get all the categories
        $categories = Category::all();

        //get all the tags
        $tags = Tag::all();

        //get the recent 5 posts
        $recent_posts = Post::query()
            ->where('is_published',true)
            ->orderBy('created_at','desc')
            ->take(5)
            ->get();

        //return the data to the corresponding view
        return view('home', [
            'website' => $website,
            'posts' => $posts,
            'featured_posts' => $featured_posts,
            'categories' => $categories,
            'tags' => $tags,
            'recent_posts' => $recent_posts
        ]);
    }
}

Category Controller

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Models\General;
use App\Models\Post;
use App\Models\Tag;
use App\Models\Category;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class CategoryController extends Controller
{
    public function __invoke($slug)
    {
        //get the general information about the website
        $website = General::query()->firstOrFail();

        //get the requested category
        $category = Category::query()
            ->where('slug', $slug)
            ->firstOrFail();

        //get the posts in that category
        $posts = $category->posts()
            ->where('is_published',true)
            ->orderBy('id','desc')
            ->get();

        //get all the categories
        $categories = Category::all();

        //get all the tags
        $tags = Tag::all();

        //get the recent 5 posts
        $recent_posts = Post::query()
            ->where('is_published',true)
            ->orderBy('created_at','desc')
            ->take(5)
            ->get();

        //return the data to the corresponding view
        return view('category', [
            'website' => $website,
            'category' => $category,
            'posts' => $posts,
            'categories' => $categories,
            'tags' => $tags,
            'recent_posts' => $recent_posts
        ]);
    }
}

Tag Controller

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Models\General;
use App\Models\Post;
use App\Models\Tag;
use App\Models\Category;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class TagController extends Controller
{
    public function __invoke($slug)
    {
        //get the general information about the website
        $website = General::query()->firstOrFail();

        //get the requested tag
        $tag = Tag::query()
            ->where('slug', $slug)
            ->firstOrFail();

        //get the posts with that tag
        $posts = $tag->posts()
            ->where('is_published',true)
            ->orderBy('id','desc')
            ->get();

        //get all the categories
        $categories = Category::all();

        //get all the tags
        $tags = Tag::all();

        //get the recent 5 posts
        $recent_posts = Post::query()
            ->where('is_published',true)
            ->orderBy('created_at','desc')
            ->take(5)
            ->get();

        //return the data to the corresponding view
        return view('tag', [
            'website' => $website,
            'tag' => $tag,
            'posts' => $posts,
            'categories' => $categories,
            'tags' => $tags,
            'recent_posts' => $recent_posts
        ]);
    }
}

Post Controller

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Models\General;
use App\Models\Post;
use App\Models\Tag;
use App\Models\Category;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class PostController extends Controller
{
    public function show($slug)
    {
        //get the general information about the website
        $website = General::query()->firstOrFail();

        //get the requested post, if it is published
        $post = Post::query()
            ->where('is_published', true)
            ->where('slug', $slug)
            ->firstOrFail();

        //get all the categories
        $categories = Category::all();

        //get all the tags
        $tags = Tag::all();

        //get the recent 5 posts
        $recent_posts = Post::query()
            ->where('is_published', true)
            ->orderBy('created_at', 'desc')
            ->take(5)
            ->get();

        //return the data to the corresponding view
        return view('post', [
            'website' => $website,
            'post' => $post,
            'categories' => $categories,
            'tags' => $tags,
            'recent_posts' => $recent_posts,
        ]);
    }
}

Views

In this tutorial, we will be using this Bootstrap template for our views.

You can download the source code here:

Download Template

Assuming you understand how HTML, CSS and JS work. This is the view structure I designed:

Layout

views
- vendor
  - posts-list.blade.php
  - sidebar.blade.php
- master.blade.php
- home.blade.php
- category.blade.php
- tag.blade.php
- post.blade.php

Master

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>

@yield('meta')

@yield('title')

<!-- Bootstrap core CSS -->
    <link href="{{asset('vendor/bootstrap/css/bootstrap.css')}}" rel="stylesheet">

    <!-- Custom styles for this template -->
    <link href="{{asset('vendor/css/mystyle.css')}}" rel="stylesheet">
</head>

<body>

<!-- Navigation -->
<nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-dark bg-dark fixed-top">
    <div class="container">
        <a class="navbar-brand" href="/">{{$website['website_title']}}</a>
        <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#navbarResponsive"
                aria-controls="navbarResponsive" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation">
            <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
        </button>
        <div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="navbarResponsive">
            <ul class="navbar-nav ml-auto">
                <li class="nav-item active">
                    <a class="nav-link" href="/">Home</a>
                </li>
                <li class="nav-item">
                    <a class="nav-link" href="https://www.techjblog.com/index.php/laravel-tutorial-for-beginners/">Laravel
                        Tutorial</a>
                </li>
                <li class="nav-item">
                    <a class="nav-link" href="/nova">Admin</a>
                </li>
            </ul>
        </div>
    </div>
</nav>

<!-- Page Content -->
<div class="container">

    @yield('content')

</div>
<!-- /.container -->

<!-- Footer -->
<footer class="py-5 bg-dark">
    <div class="container">
        <p class="m-0 text-center text-white">Copyright
            © {{$website['website_title']}} <?php echo date("Y"); ?></p>
    </div>
    <!-- /.container -->
</footer>

<!-- Bootstrap core JavaScript -->
<script src="{{asset('vendor/bootstrap/js/jquery/jquery.min.js')}}"></script>
<script src="{{asset('vendor/bootstrap/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js')}}"></script>

</body>
</html>

Line 11, {{asset('vendor/css/bootstrap.min.css')}} generates the URL /public/vendor/css/bootstrap.min.css.

Post List

@foreach($posts as $post)
    <!-- Blog Post -->
    <div class="card mb-4">
        <img class="card-img-top" src="{{\Illuminate\Support\Facades\Storage::url($post['featured_image'])}}" alt="Card image cap">
        <div class="card-body">
            <h2 class="card-title">{{$post['title']}}</h2>
            <p class="card-text">{{\Illuminate\Support\Str::limit(strip_tags($post['content']), 200, '...')}}</p>
            <a href="/post/{{$post['slug']}}" class="btn btn-primary">Read More →</a>
        </div>
        <div class="card-footer text-muted">
            Posted on {{$post->created_at->format('M d Y')}} by
            <a href="#">{{$post->user['name']}}</a>
        </div>
    </div>
@endforeach

Line 7, strip_tags() will eliminate the HTML tags, \Illuminate\Support\Str::limit() can limit the number of characters that are shown, in this case, limit the string to 200 char and end with “...“

Line 11, format('M d Y') changes the format of the date.

Sidebar

<!-- Sidebar Widgets Column -->
<div class="col-md-4">

    <!-- Search Widget -->
    <div class="card my-4">
        <h5 class="card-header">Search</h5>
        <form class="card-body" action="" method="GET" role="search">
            <div class="input-group">
                <input type="text" class="form-control" placeholder="Search for..." name="q">
                <span class="input-group-btn">
                <button class="btn btn-secondary" type="submit">Go!</button>
              </span>
            </div>
        </form>
    </div>
    <a href="https://www.techjblog.com/index.php/tutorials/laravel-tutorial-9-search-pagination-related-posts-and-other-functions/#0-search/">How
        to Add Search Function for Your Blog</a>


    <!-- Categories Widget -->
    <div class="card my-4">
        <h5 class="card-header">Categories</h5>
        <div class="card-body">
            <div class="row">
                <div class="col-lg-6">
                    <ul class="list-unstyled mb-0">
                        @foreach($categories as $category)
                            <li>
                                <a href="/category/{{$category['slug']}}">{{$category['name']}}</a>
                            </li>
                        @endforeach
                    </ul>
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>

    <!-- Tags Widget -->
    <div class="card my-4">
        <h5 class="card-header">Tags</h5>
        <div class="card-body">
            <div class="row">
                <div class="col-lg-6">
                    <ul class="list-unstyled mb-0">
                        @foreach($tags as $tag)
                            <li>
                                <a href="/tag/{{$tag['slug']}}">{{$tag['name']}}</a>
                            </li>
                        @endforeach
                    </ul>
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>

    <!-- Recent Posts Widget -->
    <div class="card my-4">
        <h5 class="card-header">Recent Posts</h5>
        <div class="card-body">
            <div class="row">
                <div class="col-lg-12">
                    <ul class="list-unstyled mb-0">
                        @foreach($recent_posts as $post)
                            <li>
                                <a href="/post/{{$post['slug']}}">{{$post['title']}}</a>
                            </li>
                            <hr>
                        @endforeach
                    </ul>
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>

    <!-- Side Widget -->
    <div class="card my-4">
        <h5 class="card-header">Tutorial</h5>
        <div class="card-body">
            <ul class="list-unstyled mb-0">
                <li>
                    <a href="https://www.techjblog.com/index.php/laravel-tutorial-for-beginners/">Laravel Tutorial For
                        Beginners</a>
                </li>
            </ul>
        </div>
    </div>

</div>

Home Page

@extends('master')

@section('meta')
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no">
    <meta name="description" content="{{$website['description']}}">
    <meta name="author" content="Eric Hu">
@endsection

@section('title')
    <title>{{$website['website_title']}}</title>
@endsection

@section('content')
    <div class="row">
        <!-- Blog Entries Column -->
        <div class="col-md-8">

            <h1 class="my-4">Laravel Blog
                <small>Home Page</small>
            </h1>

            @include('vendor.posts-list')

        </div>
        @include('vendor.sidebar')
    </div>
@endsection

Category Page

@extends('master')

@section('meta')
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no">
    <meta name="description" content="{{$website['description']}}">
    <meta name="author" content="Eric Hu">
@endsection

@section('title')
    <title>{{$website['website_title']}} - Category:{{$category['name']}}</title>
@endsection

@section('content')
    <div class="row">
        <!-- Blog Entries Column -->
        <div class="col-md-8">

            <h1 class="my-4">Category:
                <small>{{$category['name']}}</small>
            </h1>

            @include('vendor.posts-list')

        </div>
        @include('vendor.sidebar')
    </div>
@endsection

Tag Page

@extends('master')

@section('meta')
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no">
    <meta name="description" content="{{$website['description']}}">
    <meta name="author" content="Eric Hu">
@endsection

@section('title')
    <title>{{$website['website_title']}} - Tag:{{$tag['name']}}</title>
@endsection

@section('content')
    <div class="row">
        <!-- Blog Entries Column -->
        <div class="col-md-8">

            <h1 class="my-4">Tag:
                <small>{{$tag['name']}}</small>
            </h1>

            @include('vendor.posts-list')

        </div>
        @include('vendor.sidebar')
    </div>
@endsection

Post Page

@extends('master')

@section('meta')
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no">
    <meta name="description" content="{{$website['description']}}">
    <meta name="author" content="Eric Hu">
@endsection

@section('title')
    <title>{{$post['title']}}{{$website['website_title']}}</title>
@endsection

@section('content')
    <div class="row">

        <!-- Post Content Column -->
        <div class="col-lg-8">

            <!-- Title -->
            <h1 class="mt-4">{{$post['title']}}</h1>

            <!-- Author -->
            <p class="lead">
                by
                <a href="#">{{$post->user['name']}}</a>
            </p>
            <hr>

            <!-- Date/Time -->
            <p>Posted on {{$post->created_at->format('M d, Y')}}</p>
            <hr>

            <!-- Preview Image -->
            <img class="img-fluid rounded" src="{{\Illuminate\Support\Facades\Storage::url($post->featured_image)}}" alt="">
            <hr>

            <!-- Post Content -->
            {!! $post->content !!}
            <hr>

        </div>
        @include('vendor.sidebar')

    </div>
@endsection

Line 39, {!! $post->content !!} get the content for the post. {!! !!} must be used or the HTML tags will not work.

By default, Blade {{ }} statements are automatically sent through PHP’s htmlspecialchars function to prevent XSS attacks.

Laravel Tutorial #7: Create Routes, Controllers and Views

Registering Routes

Controllers

Index Controller

Category Controller

Tag Controller

Post Controller

Views

Layout

Master

Post List

Sidebar

Home Page

Category Page

Tag Page

Post Page

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Laravel Tutorial #7: Create Routes, Controllers and Views

Registering Routes

Controllers

Index Controller

Category Controller

Tag Controller

Post Controller

Views

Layout

Master

Post List

Sidebar

Home Page

Category Page

Tag Page

Post Page

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