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Laravel Handbook — System Setup & Architecture Timeline

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1. Project Initialization​

1.1 Environment Setup​

Core Requirements​

  • PHP (version depends on your Laravel release — typically PHP 8+).
  • Required extensions: openssl, mbstring, pdo, tokenizer, xml, ctype, json, bcmath, curl.
  • Composer (dependency manager).
  • Node.js + npm/pnpm/yarn (for asset bundlers like Vite).

Optional Dev Tools​

  • Laravel Installer:

    composer global require laravel/installer

  • Laravel Valet (macOS), Homestead (Vagrant), Docker/Sail (cross-platform).

  • Database engines: MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite, SQL Server.

1.2 Creating a New Laravel Project​

Using Composer​

composer create-project laravel/laravel my-app

Using Laravel Installer​

laravel new my-app

Using Laravel Sail for Containerized Setup​

curl -s "https://laravel.build/my-app" | bash
cd my-app
./vendor/bin/sail up

1.3 Initial Directory Structure​

PathPurpose
app/Core application code
app/Http/Controllers, Middleware
app/Models/Eloquent models
bootstrap/Framework bootstrap logic
config/All config files
database/Migrations, seeders, factories
public/Web server entrypoint
resources/Blade views, JS/CSS
routes/Route definitions
storage/Logs, cached data
vendor/Composer dependencies

1.4 Autoloading & Bootstrapping​

Autoloading​

  • Composer autoload defined in composer.json.
  • PSR-4 mapping: "App\\": "app/"

Entry Point​

  • All HTTP requests land at:

    public/index.php

Bootstrapping Steps​

  1. Load Composer autoload.
  2. Boot the application (bootstrap/app.php).
  3. Resolve HTTP Kernel.
  4. Send request through middleware.
  5. Dispatch route.
  6. Return response.

2. Laravel Application Architecture​

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2.1 MVC Structure​

Model​

  • Eloquent ORM models representing DB tables.
  • Handles business logic & relationships.

View​

  • Blade templates in resources/views.

Controller​

  • Accepts requests, calls services/models, returns responses.

2.2 Service Container​

Purpose​

  • Dependency injection engine.
  • Manages class resolution & bindings.

Binding Example​

app()->bind(
    App\Contracts\Uploader::class,
    App\Services\S3Uploader::class
);

Resolving​

$uploader = app(App\Contracts\Uploader::class);

2.3 Service Providers​

Roles​

  • Register services, event listeners, middleware.
  • Configure package services.

Lifecycle​

  • Registered in config/app.php.
  • register() → bindings
  • boot() → logic after registration

2.4 Facades​

Purpose​

  • Static interface → underlying service container objects.

Example​

Cache::put('key', 'value', 3600);

Behind the scenes​

  • Facade resolves real class via container binding.

2.5 Application Lifecycle (Deep Dive)​

  1. Request hits public/index.php
  2. Application bootstrapped
  3. Kernel resolves middleware stack
  4. Router examines URL/method
  5. Controller executes
  6. Response generated and returned
  7. Kernel terminates (closing tasks)

3. Database Layer​

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3.1 Environment & Config​

.env​

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_DATABASE=appdb
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=password

config/database.php​

  • Maps drivers → PDO
  • Customize connections, replication, Redis, options

3.2 Migrations​

Create Migration​

php artisan make:migration create_users_table

Running​

php artisan migrate
php artisan migrate:rollback

Structure Example​

Schema::create('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->id();
    $table->string('name');
    $table->timestamps();
});

3.3 Seeders & Factories​

Seeder​

php artisan make:seeder UserSeeder

Factory​

User::factory()->count(10)->create();

3.4 Query Builder​

$users = DB::table('users')
    ->where('active', true)
    ->orderBy('id')
    ->get();

3.5 Eloquent ORM​

Basic Model​

class User extends Model {
    protected $fillable = ['name', 'email'];
}

Relationships​

public function posts() {
    return $this->hasMany(Post::class);
}

Accessors/Mutators​

protected function name(): Attribute {
    return Attribute::make(
        get: fn ($value) => ucfirst($value),
        set: fn ($value) => strtolower($value)
    );
}

4. Request → Response Lifecycle​

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4.1 HTTP Kernel​

Located at:

app/Http/Kernel.php

Types of Middleware​

  • Global
  • Route group (e.g., web, api)
  • Route-specific

4.2 Middleware Pipeline​

Creating Middleware​

php artisan make:middleware EnsureRole

Usage​

Route::get('/admin', AdminController::class)
    ->middleware('role:admin');

4.3 Routing​

Web​

Route::get('/', HomeController::class);

API​

Route::middleware('auth:sanctum')->get('/me', fn() => auth()->user());

Route Model Binding​

Route::get('/users/{user}', fn(User $user) => $user);

4.4 Controllers​

Define​

php artisan make:controller UserController

Usage​

class UserController {
    public function index() {
        return User::all();
    }
}

4.5 Response Types​

  • String
  • JSON (return response()->json([...]))
  • View
  • Stream
  • File/download
  • Custom response macro

4.6 Exception Handling​

Located at:

app/Exceptions/Handler.php

Supports:

  • Custom render logic
  • Report filtering
  • Override exception types
  • API error formatting

5. Logging​

5.1 Log Configuration​

config/logging.php​

Channels include:

  • single
  • daily
  • stack
  • slack
  • papertrail
  • Custom Monolog handlers

5.2 Logging Usage​

Log::info('User logged in', ['user_id' => $user->id]);
Log::error('Payment failed', compact('order'));

Contextual Logging​

Log::withContext(['request_id' => Str::uuid()]);

6. Authentication & Authorization​

6.1 Guards​

Types​

  • session (web)
  • token
  • sanctum
  • passport (OAuth2)

Configuration​

config/auth.php

6.2 User Providers​

  • Eloquent (default)
  • Database (query builder)

6.3 Authentication Starter Kits​

Breeze​

  • Simple, lightweight scaffolding.

Jetstream​

  • Teams, sessions, API tokens, optional Livewire/Inertia.

Sanctum​

  • SPA tokens, mobile tokens, simple API auth.

Passport​

  • Enterprise OAuth2 server.

6.4 Gates​

Gate::define('edit-post', function ($user, Post $post) {
    return $user->id === $post->user_id;
});

6.5 Policies​

php artisan make:policy PostPolicy --model=Post

7. Additional Core Components​

7.1 Queues​

Creating Jobs​

php artisan make:job SendInvoiceEmail

Dispatching​

SendInvoiceEmail::dispatch($order);

Workers​

php artisan queue:work

7.2 Events & Listeners​

Create​

php artisan make:event OrderPaid
php artisan make:listener SendReceipt

Dispatching​

event(new OrderPaid($order));

7.3 Scheduler​

Define Tasks​

In:

app/Console/Kernel.php
$schedule->command('orders:cleanup')->daily();

CRON single entry​

* * * * * php /path/artisan schedule:run

7.4 Caching​

Basic​

Cache::put('key', 'value', 3600);

Remember​

Cache::remember('products', 3600, fn() => Product::all());

Drivers​

  • file
  • redis
  • memcached
  • database

8. Testing​

8.1 Feature Tests​

php artisan make:test LoginTest
public function test_login() {
    $this->post('/login', ['email' => 'test@example.com'])
         ->assertRedirect('/dashboard');
}

8.2 Unit Tests​

public function test_sum() {
    $this->assertEquals(4, sum(2,2));
}

8.3 HTTP Tests​

Laravel provides helpers:

$this->get('/api/users')->assertJsonCount(5);

9. DevOps, Deployment & Optimization​

9.1 Environment Separation​

  • .env.local, .env.production

  • Config caching:

    php artisan config:cache
    php artisan route:cache
    php artisan view:cache

9.2 Deployment Pipeline​

  1. Pull code
  2. Install dependencies composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader
  3. Run migrations
  4. Cache configs/routes/views
  5. Restart queue workers

9.3 Optimization Commands​

php artisan optimize
php artisan cache:clear

10. Appendix​

Artisan Cheat Sheet​

CommandPurpose
make:modelCreate model
make:controllerCreate controller
make:migrationCreate migration
migrateRun migrations
serveDev server
queue:workRun queue worker
route:listDisplay routes