Why middleware filters requests in Laravel - See It in Action

Why Middleware Filters Requests in Laravel

📖 Scenario: You are building a simple Laravel web application that needs to control access to certain pages. You want to use middleware to filter requests and allow only authenticated users to access a protected page.

🎯 Goal: Learn how to create and apply middleware in Laravel to filter HTTP requests based on authentication status.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a middleware class named CheckAuthenticated

Define a route /dashboard that uses the middleware

Use a boolean variable $isAuthenticated to simulate user login status

In the middleware, check $isAuthenticated and allow or block access

Return a simple response indicating access granted or denied

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Middleware is used in real Laravel apps to protect pages, check user permissions, and handle tasks like logging or modifying requests.

💼 Career

Understanding middleware is essential for backend developers working with Laravel to build secure and well-structured web applications.

1

DATA SETUP: Create a boolean variable $isAuthenticated

Create a boolean variable called $isAuthenticated and set it to false to simulate a user who is not logged in.

Laravel

<?php

// Create a boolean variable $isAuthenticated and set it to false
// Your code here

Need a hint?

Use $isAuthenticated = false; to represent a user who is not logged in.

2

CONFIGURATION: Define a middleware class CheckAuthenticated

Create a middleware class named CheckAuthenticated with a method handle that accepts $request and $next parameters.

Laravel

<?php

$isAuthenticated = false;

// Define class CheckAuthenticated with handle method
// Your code here

Need a hint?

Use a class with a handle method that checks $isAuthenticated and returns a message or calls $next($request).

3

CORE LOGIC: Define a route /dashboard using the middleware

Create a function dashboard that returns 'Welcome to your dashboard!'. Then simulate a request to /dashboard by calling the middleware's handle method with a dummy $request and a closure that calls dashboard.

Laravel

<?php

$isAuthenticated = false;

class CheckAuthenticated
{
    public function handle($request, $next)
    {
        global $isAuthenticated;
        if (!$isAuthenticated) {
            return 'Access denied: Please login first.';
        }
        return $next($request);
    }
}

// Define dashboard function and simulate request with middleware
// Your code here

Need a hint?

Define a dashboard function and call the middleware's handle method with a closure that calls dashboard.

4

COMPLETION: Change $isAuthenticated to true to allow access

Change the value of $isAuthenticated to true so the middleware allows access to the dashboard.

Laravel

handle('/dashboard', function ($request) {
    return dashboard();
});

Need a hint?

Set $isAuthenticated = true; to simulate a logged-in user.