Eloquent ORM & Database

Eloquent ORM

• Models: class User extends Model — each model maps to a database table. $fillable for mass assignment protection. $casts for automatic type conversion (JSON, datetime, boolean)
• Relationships: hasOne, hasMany, belongsTo, belongsToMany — define relationships as methods. Eager loading: User::with('posts')->get() prevents N+1 query problem
• Query Builder: DB::table('users')->where('active', true)->orderBy('name')->paginate(20) — fluent, type-safe query building. Raw expressions for complex SQL
• Migrations: php artisan make:migration create_users_table — version-controlled schema changes. Up/down methods for rollback. Foreign keys, indexes, column modifications
• Seeders & Factories: Factory pattern for generating test data — User::factory()->count(50)->create(). Seeders populate database with initial data. Faker for realistic fake data
• Query Scopes: scopeActive($query) { return $query->where('active', true); } — reusable query conditions. User::active()->recent()->get(). Global scopes for automatic filters (soft deletes)