Overview

The database directory in the plugin structure is used to manage the plugin's migrations, factories, seeders, and settings. It provides a clear separation for managing database-specific functionalities. Below is a detailed overview of its structure and usage.

Directory Structure

+-- plugins
|   +-- blogs
|   |   +-- database
|   |   |   +-- factories  # Factory classes for generating test data
|   |   |   +-- migrations # Plugin-specific database migrations
|   |   |   +-- seeders    # Plugin-specific database seeders

Factories

Factories in Laravel are used to create fake data for testing or seeding the database. Below, we discuss creating a factory for a Post model under the Webkul\Blogs namespace.

Example: Post Model

1. Create the Model

   Ensure you have the Post model created in the Webkul\Blogs\Models namespace.

<?php

namespace Webkul\Blogs\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\HasFactory;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Webkul\Blogs\Database\Factories\PostFactory;

class Post extends Model
{
    use HasFactory;

    protected $fillable = [
        'title',
        'content',
        'author_id',
        'published_at',
    ];

    /**
     * Define the factory associated with the model.
     */
    protected static function newFactory()
    {
        return PostFactory::new();
    }
}

2. Create the Factory

The factory file should be placed in plugins/blogs/database/factories.

<?php

namespace Webkul\Blogs\Database\Factories;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\Factory;
use Webkul\Blogs\Models\Post;

class PostFactory extends Factory
{
    /**
    * The name of the model that this factory is associated with.
    *
    * @var string
    */
    protected $model = Post::class;

    /**
    * Define the model's default state.
    *
    * @return array
    */
    public function definition(): array
    {
        return [
            'title' => $this->faker->sentence,
            'content' => $this->faker->paragraphs(3, true),
            'author_id' => $this->faker->randomNumber(),
            'published_at' => $this->faker->optional()->dateTime(),
        ];
    }
}

3. Usage of the Factory

You can use the factory in seeding, testing, or generating data programmatically:

use Webkul\Blogs\Models\Post;

// Creating a single Post
$post = Post::factory()->create();

// Creating multiple Posts
$posts = Post::factory(10)->create();

Migrations

The migrations directory holds all plugin-specific database migrations. These are used to define the database structure for the plugin.

For more information, refer to the Migrations documentation.

Seeders

The seeders directory is used to populate the database with initial data for the plugin.

For more information, refer to the Seeders documentation.

Settings

The settings functionality allows you to store plugin-specific configurations.

For more details, refer to the Settings documentation.

This documentation covers the database directory structure, focusing on factories and their implementation for the Post model. It ensures clarity and provides a practical example for developers to follow.