Controllers

Controller classes are stored in app/Https/Controllers folder. All new controller classes declared by the developer must extend the default Controller class in the folder which itself inherits the BaseController class to access various base controller methods. Default Controller class can also be used to write custom methods that will be used throughout different controller classes.

Below is an example of a basic controller class-

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

class HomeController extends Controller
{
    public function home()
    {
        $this->guard('CheckAuth');
        return $this->view('home');
    }
}

Here are the BaseController class methods that can be used in controller classes:

• The config() Method: This method can be used to call configuration files from the config directory. If the config file is nested inside directories, the directory tree of the config file is represented via . dots. Below the config/dev/app.php file is called by this method and saved in $app variable.

$app = $this->config('dev.app');

• The view() Method: This method is used for calling view files at the end of controller method and pass data to them. The directory tree of the view file is represented via . dots.

    public function home()
{
    $auth = $request->auth();
    return $this->view('front.home', compact(‘auth’));
}

In the above example, views/front/home.php view file is called in the HomeController::home() method and the authentication data is passed in the view.

• The redirect() Method: Used for redirecting to different route urls.

    public function redirect()
{
        $this->redirect('items/show', ['id' => 1]);
}

In the above example, the HomeController::redirect() method redirects to items/show route with id parameter.

• The abort() Method: This method is used to redirect to error pages.

    public function error()
{
    $this->abort(404);
}

In the above example, the HomeController::error() method shows the 404 error page to the user.