Understanding Routing and URLs in Laravel

What is Routing?

A path or URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address used to access a specific resource, such as a webpage or file, on a website. This process is called routing. It acts as a bridge between the domain and the content stored on the server.

Example:

If your website domain is www.example.com and you want to access a specific page like “Home,” you can define a path:

www.example.com/home

How URLs Work in Laravel

In Laravel, URLs are mapped to routes that define the logic for handling user requests. Routes direct a request to a specific function, controller, or view.

Writing a Route in Laravel

Basic Route:

Route::get('/home', function () {
    return view('home');
});

This defines a route for the /home URL, which renders the home.blade.php view when accessed.

Shortcut Route for Views:

Laravel provides a shortcut for routing directly to a view:

Route::view('/home', 'home');

This performs the same action as the previous example, simplifying the syntax.

Passing Parameters in Routing

You can pass parameters to routes to make them dynamic.

Defining a Route with a Parameter:

Route::get('/home/{name}', function ($name) {
    return view('home', ['name' => $name]);
});

Using the Parameter in the View:

In the home.blade.php file, you can access the passed parameter using Blade syntax:

<p>Welcome, {{$name}}!</p>

When you visit www.example.com/home/John, the page will display:

Welcome, John!

Explaining the Anchor Tag (<a>)

An anchor tag (<a>) is an HTML element used to create hyperlinks that link to other pages, files, or sections within a page.

Basic Syntax:

<a href="URL">Link Text</a>

Examples:

Linking to an External Page:

<a href="https://www.google.com">Visit Google</a>

Linking to an Internal Page:

<a href="/home">Go to Home Page</a>

Using Laravel’s route() Helper

Laravel provides a route() helper to generate URLs for named routes.

Defining a Named Route:

Route::get('/home', [HomeController::class, 'index'])->name('home');

Generating a URL in a Blade Template:

<a href="{{ route('home') }}">Go to Home</a>

Adding Parameters to the Link

If your route expects a parameter, you can pass it using the route() helper:

Defining a Route with a Parameter:

Route::get('/home/{name}', [HomeController::class, 'index'])->name('home');

Generating a URL in a Blade Template:

<a href="{{ route('home', ['name' => 'John']) }}">Welcome John</a>

This will generate a URL like:

www.example.com/home/John

Conclusion

Routing in Laravel is a powerful feature that allows developers to define and manage application URLs easily. With support for parameters, named routes, and the route() helper, Laravel makes routing both flexible and efficient.