Laravel 8 CRUD example - Step by step

This article provides a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to building a Laravel CRUD (Create, read, update, delete) application, specifically for managing employee data. Here is a recap of the steps involved:

1. Create a Laravel Project

Install Laravel using the following command:

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel laravel-crud

2. Setup MySQL Database

Create a database (e.g., Laravel-crud) in PHPMyAdmin or through a MySQL client.

Configure the database connection in .env file:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel-crud
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=

3. Create Migration for Employees Table

Create the migration file:

php artisan make:migration create_employees_table --create=employees

Define the schema in the migration:

public function up()
{
    Schema::create('employees', function (Blueprint $table) {
        $table->id();
        $table->string('name');
        $table->string('email');
        $table->integer('age');
        $table->integer('salary');
        $table->timestamps();
    });
}

Run the migration:
```
php artisan migrate
```

4. Create Model

Create a model for the employees' table:
```
php artisan make:model Employee
```

Define the $fillable property in the Employee model:

protected $fillable = ['name', 'email', 'age', 'salary'];

5. Create Controller and Routes

Create a resource controller for employees:

php artisan make:controller EmployeeController --resource

Register routes for the EmployeeController in routes/web.php:
```
Route::resource('employees', 'EmployeeController');
```

6. Configure Bootstrap

Install laravel/ui package for Bootstrap scaffolding:

composer require laravel/ui
php artisan ui bootstrap
npm install
npm run dev

7. Create the Layout

Create a layout.blade.php file in resources/views/ for common layout:

<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Laravel 8 CRUD</title>
    <link href="{{ asset('css/app.css') }}" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
</head>
<body>
    <div class="container">
        @yield('content')
    </div>
    <script src="{{ asset('js/app.js') }}" type="text/js"></script>
</body>
</html>

8. Implement the Create Operation

Create the create.blade.php form for adding employees.

In the EmployeeController, add the create() method to return the form:

public function create() {
    return view('employees.create');
}

In store() method, save the employee data:

public function store(Request $request) {
    $employeeData = $request->validate([
        'name' => 'required',
        'email' => 'required',
        'age' => 'required',
        'salary' => 'required'
    ]);
    Employee::create($employeeData);
    return redirect('employees')->with('success', 'Employee created successfully.');
}

9. Implement the Read Operation

In index() method, retrieve and display all employees:

public function index() {
    $employees = Employee::all();
    return view('employees.index', compact('employees'));
}

Display the employee data in index.blade.php with action buttons to edit and delete.

10. Implement the Update Operation

Create edit.blade.php for editing employee details.

In edit() method, load the employee details:

public function edit($id) {
    $employee = Employee::findOrFail($id);
    return view('employees.edit', compact('employee'));
}

In update() method, update employee details:

public function update(Request $request, $id) {
    $employeeData = $request->validate([
        'name' => 'required',
        'email' => 'required',
        'age' => 'required',
        'salary' => 'required'
    ]);
    $employee = Employee::findOrFail($id);
    $employee->update($employeeData);
    return redirect('employees')->with("success", "Employee details updated successfully.");
}

11. Implement the Delete Operation

In destroy() method, delete the employee:

public function destroy($id) {
    $employee = Employee::findOrFail($id);
    $employee->delete();
    return redirect('employees')->with("success", "Employee deleted successfully.");
}

12. EmployeeController.php

The full EmployeeController contains all the methods for CRUD operations (index, create, store, edit, update, destroy).

Now, run the Laravel development server:

php artisan serve

Visit http://127.0.0.1:8000/employees to see the CRUD operations in action.

This covers all the necessary steps to build a complete CRUD application in Laravel!

Souy Soeng