Laravel 12 A Beginner-Friendly Guide
Laravel is one of the most popular PHP frameworks used by developers around the world. It is known for its simplicity, elegance, and ease of use. With each new release, Laravel continues to improve, making it even easier to build powerful and scalable web applications. Now, Laravel 12 has arrived, bringing new improvements and optimizations while maintaining its core philosophy of simplicity and efficiency.
In this guide, we will explore Laravel 12 in detail. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced developer, this article will help you understand the latest version and how it can benefit your development projects.
What is Laravel?
Before we dive into Laravel 12, let’s first understand what Laravel is. Laravel is an open-source PHP framework that follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture. It provides tools and features to simplify web application development, including authentication, routing, session management, and database handling.
Laravel is designed to make coding more enjoyable and less repetitive by providing built-in tools that eliminate the need to write repetitive code. This makes it a preferred choice for developers who want to build high-quality applications quickly.
Why Laravel is Popular?
Laravel has gained popularity because of several reasons:
- Easy to Learn – Laravel provides clear documentation and an intuitive syntax, making it beginner-friendly.
- Rich Features – It comes with built-in features like authentication, routing, and caching, reducing development time.
- Community Support – Laravel has a strong community of developers who continuously contribute to its growth and improvement.
- Security – It includes built-in security features to protect applications from common vulnerabilities.
What’s New in Laravel 12?
Laravel 12 continues to build on the strong foundation of previous versions. It introduces improvements in performance, ease of use, and compatibility with modern development tools. Here are some highlights:
- Improved performance and speed
- Better support for frontend frameworks like React and Vue
- New tools to make development faster
- More efficient database handling
Installing Laravel 12
Getting started with Laravel 12 is easy. Follow these steps to install Laravel on your system:
Step 1: Install Composer
Laravel requires Composer, a dependency manager for PHP. You can download and install Composer from getcomposer.org.
Step 2: Create a New Laravel Project
Once Composer is installed, run the following command to create a new Laravel project:
composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel myproject
Replace myproject with the name of your application.
Step 3: Start the Development Server
Navigate to your project folder and start the Laravel development server using:
cd myproject
php artisan serve
You should now be able to access your Laravel application in a web browser at https://127.0.0.1:8000.
Understanding Laravel 12 Basics
1. Directory Structure
When you open your Laravel project folder, you will see several directories. Here’s a quick overview:
- app/ – Contains the core application code.
- config/ – Stores configuration files.
- database/ – Includes migration and seed files.
- public/ – Holds publicly accessible files.
- routes/ – Defines the application's routes.
- resources/ – Contains views, CSS, and JavaScript files.
2. Routing in Laravel
Routing is how Laravel directs web requests to the correct part of your application. Laravel 12 makes routing even more efficient. Routes are defined in routes/web.php for web applications.
Example:
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Route::get('/', function () {
return view('welcome');
});
This means when a user visits the home page (/), Laravel will show the welcome.blade.php file from the resources/views directory.
3. Blade Templating Engine
Blade is Laravel’s powerful templating engine that makes writing HTML easier. Instead of writing complex PHP code inside HTML, Blade uses simple syntax.
Example:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>My Laravel App</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Welcome, {{ $name }}!</h1>
</body>
</html>
In a controller, you can pass data to this view like this:
return view('home', ['name' => 'John']);
4. Database Migrations
Migrations in Laravel allow you to manage database tables using PHP instead of SQL.
To create a new table, run:
php artisan make:migration create_users_table
Then, update the generated file in database/migrations/ to define the table structure.
Example:
Schema::create('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
$table->id();
$table->string('name');
$table->string('email')->unique();
$table->timestamps();
});
Run the migration using:
php artisan migrate
5. Eloquent ORM
Eloquent is Laravel’s built-in ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) tool that simplifies database interactions.
Example:
$user = new User();
$user->name = 'John Doe';
$user->email = 'john@example.com';
$user->save();
This saves a new user to the database without writing raw SQL queries.
Managed or Self-Hosted Deployment Platforms
Laravel 12 provides flexibility when it comes to deployment. Developers can choose between managed or self-hosted solutions.
- Managed Platforms: These include Laravel Forge, Envoyer, and cloud services like AWS, DigitalOcean, and Heroku. These services handle server setup, scaling, and security automatically.
- Self-Hosted Solutions: Developers can deploy Laravel applications on their own servers, such as using Apache or Nginx, with manual configuration and maintenance.
Choosing between managed and self-hosted deployment depends on factors like budget, expertise, and project requirements.
Conclusion
Laravel 12 is a powerful and efficient framework for building modern web applications. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, Laravel provides tools and features that make development easier.
With improved speed, better frontend support, and enhanced database management, Laravel 12 is a great choice for anyone looking to build robust web applications.