Resource controllers in Laravel

Introduction

Resource controllers help organize code by grouping related actions for a resource in one place. They make building web apps simpler and cleaner.

You want to handle all actions for a data type like users or posts in one controller.

You need to create, read, update, and delete items following a standard pattern.

You want Laravel to automatically create routes for common actions.

You want to keep your code easy to read and maintain.

You are building a RESTful API or web app with standard resource actions.

Syntax

Laravel

php artisan make:controller ResourceNameController --resource

This command creates a controller with methods for index, create, store, show, edit, update, and destroy.

You can register the controller routes with Route::resource('name', ResourceNameController::class);

Examples

Creates a ProductController with all resource methods.

Laravel

php artisan make:controller ProductController --resource

Registers routes for all resource actions like /products, /products/{id}, /products/create, etc.

Laravel

Route::resource('products', ProductController::class);

Example of a resource controller with index and show methods returning data.

Laravel

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Models\Product;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class ProductController extends Controller
{
    public function index() {
        return Product::all();
    }

    public function show(Product $product) {
        return $product;
    }

    // Other resource methods here...
}

Sample Program

This BookController handles all common actions for books. The routes created by Route::resource will call these methods automatically.

Laravel

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Models\Book;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class BookController extends Controller
{
    public function index() {
        return Book::all();
    }

    public function create() {
        return 'Show form to create a book';
    }

    public function store(Request $request) {
        $book = Book::create($request->all());
        return response()->json($book, 201);
    }

    public function show(Book $book) {
        return $book;
    }

    public function edit(Book $book) {
        return 'Show form to edit book with id ' . $book->id;
    }

    public function update(Request $request, Book $book) {
        $book->update($request->all());
        return response()->json($book);
    }

    public function destroy(Book $book) {
        $book->delete();
        return response()->json(null, 204);
    }
}

// Route registration example:
// Route::resource('books', BookController::class);

Important Notes

Resource controllers follow RESTful conventions, making your app predictable.

You can customize which methods to include by using only or except when registering routes.

Use route model binding to automatically get model instances in methods like show(Book $book).

Summary

Resource controllers group related actions for a resource in one controller.

Laravel can auto-generate routes for these actions with Route::resource.

This keeps your code organized and follows common web app patterns.