Laravel Routing

Routing in Laravel is a way to define how your application responds to different URLs. It allows you to map specific URLs to controller methods or directly return a response.

1. Basic Routing

Define routes inside the routes/web.php file.

Route::get('/hello', function () {
    return 'Hello, World!';
});

Visiting /hello in your browser will display "Hello, World!".

2. Route Methods

Laravel supports multiple HTTP methods:

• GET: Retrieve data.
• POST: Submit data.
• PUT/PATCH: Update data.
• DELETE: Remove data.

3. Route with Parameters

Use dynamic parameters in routes:

Route::get('/user/{id}', function ($id) {
    return "User ID: " . $id;
});

Visiting /user/5 will return "User ID: 5".

4. Using Controllers

Instead of writing logic in routes, use controllers:

Route::get('/signup', [AuthController::class, 'signup']);

Create a controller with:

php artisan make:controller AuthController

5. Middleware in Routes

Middleware filters HTTP requests before they reach the controller.

Route::middleware('auth')->group(function () {
    Route::get('/dashboard', function () {
        return 'Dashboard';
    });
});

All routes inside this group will require the auth middleware.

6. Grouped Routes

Group similar routes using prefixes:

Route::prefix('admin')->group(function () {
    Route::get('/dashboard', function () { return 'Admin Dashboard'; });
    Route::get('/settings', function () { return 'Admin Settings'; });
});

All routes inside the group will be prefixed with /admin.

7. Nested Route Groups with Middleware

You can apply middleware to multiple routes using Route::middleware():

Route::middleware('auth')->group(function () {
    Route::get("/profile", [UserController::class, 'getProfile']);
    Route::patch("/profile", [UserController::class, 'updateProfile']);
    
    Route::controller(OrderController::class)->group(function () {
        Route::group(['prefix' => '/orders'], function () {
            Route::get('', 'listOrders');
            Route::post('', 'createOrder');
            Route::get('/{order}', 'getOrderById')->whereNumber('order');
            Route::delete("/{id}", 'cancelOrder')->whereNumber('id');
            Route::put("/{id}", 'updateOrder')->whereNumber('id');
        });
    });
});

8. API Routing

Define API routes in routes/api.php:

Route::get('/users', function () {
    return response()->json([
        'users' => [['id' => 1, 'name' => 'Alice'], ['id' => 2, 'name' => 'Bob']]
    ]);
});

API routes do not use sessions and are stateless.

9. Route Model Binding

Automatically fetch a model instance based on a route parameter.

Route::get('/post/{post}', function (Post $post) {
    return $post;
});

This will automatically retrieve the Post model based on the given ID.

10. Routing to a View (for SPA Applications)

If your Laravel application serves a frontend as a single-page application (SPA), you can use the view() helper to return a specific view for all routes except API endpoints.

Route::get('/{any}', fn() => view('app'))
    ->where('any', '.*')
    ->middleware("auth");

This route ensures that any request not matching API endpoints will be directed to the app view, allowing the frontend framework (e.g., React, Vue, or Angular) to handle client-side routing.

11. Redirect Routes

You can redirect a route to another URL:

Route::redirect('/old-url', '/new-url');

Conclusion

Laravel routing makes it easy to manage how your application handles requests. Start experimenting with different routes, controllers, and middleware to create powerful applications.