The Enum
trait is a really useful way to allow you to pre-define all of the valid values for a given field on a model and enforce that their values are set appropriately. This basically allows you to treat a field as a menu without the database overhead of dealing with true enum fields or lookup tables.
namespace App;
use App\Traits\Enums;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
class Post extends Model
{
use Enums;
...
}
Model App\Post
has an enumerated field called status
that we want to enforce specific values for.
class Post extends Model
{
use Enums;
// Define all of the valid options in an array as a protected property that
// starts with 'enum' followed by the plural studly cased field name
protected $enumStatuses = [
'Draft',
'Scheduled',
'Published',
'Archived'
];
// Alternately, if you use an associative array, the keys can be used
// to set the value as well. The full string will still be stored in the database.
/* protected $enumStatuses = [
'dr' => 'Draft',
'sc' => 'Scheduled',
'pu' => 'Published',
'ar' => 'Archived'
]; */
...
Once you've defined this $enum
property on the model, any time that field is set on any instance, a validation process will run to enforce that the value is being set properly:
$post = new App\Post;
$post->status = 'Something Invalid';
// Throws an InvalidEnumException
$post = App\Post::first();
$post->status = 'Draft';
// Sets the value to Draft as expected
// Key values will always work to set the value as well,
// so using the non-associative array example, this will set status to 'Draft'
$post = App\Post::create([
'status' => 0
]);
// Using the associative array example, this will set status to 'Published'
$post = App\Post::create([
'status' => 'pu'
]);
Enumerations work really well in blade files too. Simply use the getEnum
static helper:
@foreach( App\Post::getEnum('status') as $key => $value)
{{ $key }}: {{ $value }}
@endforeach
Or use them with the LaravelCollective form builder:
{{ Form::select('status', App\Post::getEnum('status')) }}