When it comes to creating online apps, Laravel is a go-to PHP framework. It has many vital features that allow developers to construct websites quickly and easily. It’s also highly fluid, user-friendly, and simple to pick up and grasp and put into practice. 

Many resources are available to assist you in learning Laravel as the community grows. What’s more, how do you decide which is the best? Is there a method of learning that is more suited to your needs?

Here are seven tips to learn Lavarel more efficiently. 

Start with Official Documents

Laravel’s official documentation is a common initial step for novices. No offence to Laravel’s docs, but don’t get me wrong! Documentation writers often assume their audience is familiar with PHP and its associated technologies before they begin writing it.

Installation, for example, does not simply consist of “download and install.” Composer, the terminal, the command line, and setting up a Web server are all necessary skills.

Learn About Different Systems

Secondly, familiarize yourself with the Modal, View, & Controller (MVC) architecture before using Laravel. If you don’t know MVC, you won’t grasp Laravel and its terminology.

Work on Composer

Composer is a PHP dependency management; learn how to utilize it. There is no need to keep track of every one of the libraries and dependencies necessary for the project. To get started with Laravel, you’ll first need to have Composer installed and then install some of its dependencies on your own.

Use Different Sources

One of the most common questions is, “How do I get started?” People’s preferences differ from one another. Reading books or watching instructional videos are two standard learning methods, and each has its pros and cons. Both options are good.

However, it would help if you were on the lookout for anything with good structure and stability. The results you’re looking for won’t come from YouTube or some other random source. Writing consistency is essential. If you don’t, you risk becoming lost and not following through with the rest of the classes.

Also Read: Top 10 reasons to choose Laravel

Try Routing

The core of every Laravel-based online application is routing. When users learn that Laravel does not automate HTTP queries, they panic. Routing in and out of HTTP requests is taken care of by Laravel’s routes file. Laravel’s routing mechanism may be understood if you are acquainted with HTTP techniques.

Focus on Creating

It is crucial to concentrate on creating rather than watching and reading videos if you want to be known in coding. Start coding as soon as possible. After you complete your session, I recommend practising the codes. Moreover, I suggest you take a test at the end of each chapter to improve your morale and help you identify areas of weakness.

Seek a Role Model

When you’re beginning to program, the most challenging part is figuring out how to fix things when they don’t function. Asking for assistance is the best course of action in this situation. Finding a deity who can aid you is essential!

To locate a mentor, where should you look? In both your natural and online social circles. They’ll be more than delighted to assist you if they’re not too busy and your query isn’t ridiculous. See if you can track down the person you’re looking for and then send them a note.

The very first question comes in my mind is that, what exactly Data Transfer Object?

DTO stands for Data Transfer Object.
It is a design pattern used in software development to transfer data between different layers of an application.
DTOs are typically used to encapsulate data and transport it across different parts of the system.
They are commonly used in service-oriented architectures, where services communicate with each other by passing data through DTOs.
The use of DTOs helps to simplify the communication between different components of an application and improves its overall maintainability.

How to use DTO in laravel?

I am trying to visualize DTO in laravel with a real life example.

Suppose you have a Post model with the following properties:

class Post extends Model
{
    protected $fillable = [
        'title',
        'body',
        'published_at'
    ];
}

You want to create a new Post using the data submitted in a form.
However, you don’t want to pass the entire Request object to your Controller, because it may contain additional data that you don’t need. Instead, you want to create a DTO that contains only the necessary data, and pass it to your Controller.

1. Create a DTO:

I am creating a plain PHP class in the App\Http\DTO directory.

namespace App\Http\DTO;

class CreatePostDTO
{
    public string $title;
    public string $body;
    public ?DateTime $published_at;

    public function __construct(string $title, string $body, ?DateTime $published_at = null)
    {
        $this->title = $title;
        $this->body = $body;
        $this->published_at = $published_at;
    }
}

2. Use the DTO in your Controller:

Now in the PostController, I am using DTO instead of sending all the data from request.

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Http\DTO\CreatePostDTO;
use App\Models\Post;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class PostController extends Controller
{
    // Some other methods

    public function store(Request $request)
    {
        $postDto = new CreatePostDTO($request);

        $post = Post::create([
            'title' => $postDto->title,
            'body' => $postDto->body,
            'published_at' => $postDto->published_at,
        ]);

        return redirect()->route('posts.show', ['post' => $post]);
    }
}

In this example, we’re creating a new CreatePostDTO from the request data using constructor.
We then create a new Post object and set its properties from the DTO.
Finally, we save the Post object to the database.
This approach allows you to easily transfer data between the Controller and Model layers of your application, while optimizing for performance and maintainability.

Why do we use DTO?

We use DTOs (Data Transfer Objects) for several reasons in software development:

• Easy Type-hint: When you use a DTO to transfer data between layers of your application, you can take advantage of PHP’s strong type system to ensure that the data being passed around is of the correct type. This can help catch errors early in the development process and improve the overall quality of your code.

• Encapsulation: DTOs encapsulate data and protect it from unwanted modification or access. It allows for easy management and maintenance of data.

• Data Transformation: DTOs can be used to transform data from one format to another format. This can be useful when communicating data between different layers of an application or when communicating data between different applications.

• Separation of Concerns: DTOs help to separate the concerns of data storage from data presentation. This makes it easier to modify the data layer or the presentation layer of an application without affecting the other layer.

• Improved Code Readability: DTOs can help improve code readability by providing a clear and concise representation of the data being transferred between layers. This can make it easier for developers to understand and work with the code.

• Easier Testing: By using a DTO, you’re creating a clear separation between the layers of your application, which makes it easier to test each layer in isolation. This can improve the overall quality of your code and reduce the likelihood of introducing bugs into the system.

Conclusion:

In this article, I’ll demonstrate how to use DTOs in Laravel to improve the structure and organization of your codebase. By implementing DTOs, we can simplify data transfer between different layers of our application and create a more maintainable codebase.