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Difference Between Laravel Route Resource and Route Controller
Introduction
When building a Laravel application, managing routes efficiently is crucial. Laravel provides various methods to define routes, and two commonly used approaches for handling resourceful controllers are Route::resource and Route::controller. While both help manage routes in a structured way, they have key differences in how they define and handle requests.
In this article, we will explore the differences between Route::resource and Route::controller with an easy-to-understand table and examples.
Key Differences
| Feature | Route::resource | Route::controller |
| Purpose | Creates RESTFUL resource routes automatically. | Allows defining custom controller methods for specific routes. |
| Automatic Routing | Yes, generates routes for standard CRUD actions. | No, requires explicitly defining method names. |
| Default Methods | index, create, store, show, edit, update, destroy | Any custom method defined in the controller. |
| Explicit Route Definition | No need to define routes manually. | Requires specifying route-to-method mapping. |
| Custom Method Names | Uses Laravel's standard method names. | Allows custom method names. |
| Use Case | Best for RESTFUL resources like users, products, and posts. |
Best for handling specific route patterns with custom logic. |
Example of Route::resource
If we have a ProductController, we can define all standard CRUD routes in one line:
Route::resource('products', ProductController::class);
This automatically generates the following routes:
GET /products ? index()
GET /products/create ? create()
POST /products ? store()
GET /products/{id} ? show()
GET /products/{id}/edit ? edit()
PUT /products/{id} ? update()
DELETE /products/{id} ? destroy()
Example of Route::controller
For more flexibility, we can define a controller with custom method names:
Route::controller(ProductController::class)->group(function () {
Route::get('products', 'listAll');
Route::get('products/{id}', 'view');
Route::post('products', 'add');
Route::put('products/{id}', 'modify');
Route::delete('products/{id}', 'remove');
});
This allows us to use method names like listAll(), view(), add(), modify(), and remove(), instead of Laravel's default CRUD method names.
Which One Should You Use?
Use Route::resource if you are working with a standard RESTFUL CRUD API and want Laravel to handle route definitions automatically.
Use Route::controller if you need more flexibility in naming methods and defining custom route structures.
Conclusion
Both approaches make route management easier, but choosing the right one depends on your project's requirements!
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