Repository actually allows you to separate your business logic from database layer (Model).
Repository/Entity are very common practice being used in Symfony Framework.
Laravel introduces the Model classes as database layer and doesn’t come with Repository/Model structure default. But it can be implemented.
If you are curious to know how to implement Repository layer with Eloquent Models, stay with me to understand purpose & implementation of Repository.
Model vs Repository:
// Eloquent: getting all published posts via Model directly
$posts = Post::where('published', true)->get();
// Repository:
$posts = $this->postRepository->getAll(true);
Repository:
When using repository, it will be easy to migrate from one framework to other, if you keep app business logic away from Model/Entity.
Let’s take a look at PostRepository
class PostRepository {
protected $model;
public function __construct(Post $model)
{
$this->model = $model;
}
public function getAll($published = false)
{
if ($published === true)
{
return $this->model->where('published', true)->get();
}
return $this->model->all();
}
}
Controller:
This is how you will inject PostRepository in controller to take advantage of Repository.
class PostController extends Controller
{
/**
* @var PostRepository
*/
protected $post;
public function __construct(PostRepository $post)
{
$this->post = $post;
}
/**
* PostController constructor.
* Here you can see that action looks much cleaner with Repository implementation.
* @param PostRepository $match
*/
public function index()
{
return $this->postRepository->getAll(true);
}
}
That’s it, see you in next post.
