Beginner’s Guide to Laravel Framework with a Simple MariaDB Example

Laravel is a modern, open-source PHP web application framework that is known for its elegant syntax and ease of use. If you are coming from a procedural PHP background, Laravel is an excellent way to write cleaner, more maintainable code using Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) concepts.

One of Laravel’s core strengths is that it supports the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern, which separates your application into three main components:

• Model: Handles data and business logic
• View: Handles the presentation layer (HTML/CSS)
• Controller: Handles user input and updates the model/view accordingly

Laravel is actively maintained, has strong community support, and can be installed easily using Composer.

Laravel Example Application (CRUD with MariaDB)

In this beginner example, we will create a Laravel application that connects to an existing MariaDB table called people with the following columns:

• id
• username
• name
• age
• verified

The application will perform full CRUD operations:

• Create (Insert)
• Read (Display)
• Update
• Delete

Step 1: Install Laravel Using Composer

composer create-project laravel/laravel laravel-mariadb-app

Step 2: Configure the Database

Update your .env file:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=your_database
DB_USERNAME=your_username
DB_PASSWORD=your_password

Note: Laravel supports MariaDB since it is a drop-in replacement for MySQL.

Step 3: Create the Model and Controller

php artisan make:model Person -mcr

Update the model app/Models/Person.php:

protected $table = 'people';

protected $fillable = ['username', 'name', 'age', 'verified'];

Step 4: Set Up Routes in routes/web.php

>use App\Http\Controllers\PersonController;

Route::resource('people', PersonController::class);

Step 5: Implement Controller Logic (PersonController.php)

use App\Models\Person;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class PersonController extends Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        $people = Person::all();
        return view('people.index', compact('people'));
    }

    public function create()
    {
        return view('people.create');
    }

    public function store(Request $request)
    {
        Person::create($request->all());
        return redirect()->route('people.index');
    }

    public function edit(Person $person)
    {
        return view('people.edit', compact('person'));
    }

    public function update(Request $request, Person $person)
    {
        $person->update($request->all());
        return redirect()->route('people.index');
    }

    public function destroy(Person $person)
    {
        $person->delete();
        return redirect()->route('people.index');
    }
}

Step 6: Create Views (Blade Templates)

Inside resources/views/people folder, create the following files:

• index.blade.php to list all entries
• create.blade.php for adding entries
• edit.blade.php for updating entries

Example for index.blade.php:

<h1>All People</h1>
<a href="{{ route('people.create') }}">Add New Person</a>
<table border="1">
    <tr>
        <th>ID</th>
        <th>Username</th>
        <th>Name</th>
        <th>Age</th>
        <th>Verified</th>
        <th>Actions</th>
    </tr>
    @foreach($people as $person)
    <tr>
        <td>{{ $person->id }}</td>
        <td>{{ $person->username }}</td>
        <td>{{ $person->name }}</td>
        <td>{{ $person->age }}</td>
        <td>{{ $person->verified ? 'Yes' : 'No' }}</td>
        <td>
            <a href="{{ route('people.edit', $person->id) }}">Edit</a>
            <form action="{{ route('people.destroy', $person->id) }}" method="POST" style="display:inline;">
                @csrf
                @method('DELETE')
                <button type="submit">Delete</button>
            </form>
        </td>
    </tr>
    @endforeach
</table>

Screenshots And Screencast

Want to Learn More?

If you are interested in mastering PHP and Laravel, check out my book and course:

• Book: Learning PHP on Amazon
• Course: Learning PHP on Ojambo Shop

Need Help?

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• One-on-one programming tutorials
• Updating or migrating your Laravel or PHP applications

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Let me know in the comments if you have any questions or want a follow-up tutorial.