Introduction
In this tutorial, we will be creating a RESTful API using Laravel, a popular PHP web framework. A RESTful API allows for easy communication between client-side applications and servers. Laravel provides a robust set of tools to create and manage APIs quickly and easily.
Prerequisites
Before we begin, you should have the following installed:
You should also have a basic understanding of PHP and web development.
Steps
1). Create a new Laravel project
laravel new my-api
or
composer create-project laravel/laravel my-api
2). Create a new controller for our API endpoints
php artisan make:controller ApiController
3). Define our API routes in routes/api.php
use App\Http\Controllers\ApiController;
Route::get('/users', [ApiController::class, 'getUsers']);
Route::get('/users/{id}', [ApiController::class, 'getUserById']);
Route::post('/users', [ApiController::class, 'createUser']);
Route::put('/users/{id}', [ApiController::class, 'updateUser']);
Route::delete('/users/{id}', [ApiController::class, 'deleteUser']);
4). Define our API methods in app/Http/Controllers/ApiController.php
namespace App\Http\Controllers;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use App\Models\User;
class ApiController extends Controller
{
public function getUsers()
{
return User::all();
}
public function getUserById($id)
{
return User::find($id);
}
public function createUser(Request $request)
{
$user = new User;
$user->name = $request->input('name');
$user->email = $request->input('email');
$user->password = $request->input('password');
$user->save();
return $user;
}
public function updateUser(Request $request, $id)
{
$user = User::find($id);
$user->name = $request->input('name');
$user->email = $request->input('email');
$user->password = $request->input('password');
$user->save();
return $user;
}
public function deleteUser($id)
{
$user = User::find($id);
$user->delete();
return response()->noContent();
}
}
5). Database configuration in .env file
DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=your_database_name
DB_USERNAME=your_database_user_name
DB_PASSWORD=your_database_password
6). To create the database, please open the terminal inside the project and run this command.
php artisan migrate
7). Test our API using a tool like Postman
Before testing, you'll need to serve the project.
php artisan serve
Once that's done, you can obtain the project server URL. Append "/api/" to the project link and use the resulting link to run the test.
- GET /users to retrieve all users
- GET /users/{id} to retrieve a specific user
- POST /users to create a new user
- PUT /users/{id} to update an existing user
- DELETE /users/{id} to delete a user
Conclusion
In this tutorial, we learned how to create a RESTful API with Laravel. We covered creating a new Laravel project, defining API routes and methods, and testing our API using a tool like Postman. Laravel provides a powerful and intuitive framework for creating and managing APIs, making it an excellent choice for web development projects.
Example project:-
restful_api By J-Sandaruwan
Thank you,
J-Sandaruwan.
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