Mahmoud Zalt Follow

Software Engineer Laravel Expert Docker Enthusiast Open Source Advocate (https://zalt.me)
Oct 2 6 min read

Eloquent Relationships CheatSheet

A cheat sheet for Laravels Eloquent ORM version 5.5.

One to One Relationship

Demo details:
In this demo we have 2 models (Owner and Car), and 2 tables
(owners and cars).

Business Rules:
The Owner can own one Car.
The Car can be owned by one Owner.

Relations Diagram:
Relationship Details:
The Cars table should store the Owner ID.

Eloquent Models:

class Owner
{
public function car()
{
return $this->hasOne(Car::class);
}
}

class Car
{
public function owner()
{
return $this->belongsTo(Owner::class);
}
}

Database Migrations:

Schema::create('owners', function (Blueprint $table) {

$table->increments('id');
 $table->string('name');
});

Schema::create('cars', function (Blueprint $table) {

$table->increments('id');
$table->string('name');

$table->integer('owner_id')->unsigned()->index()-
>nullable();
$table->foreign('owner_id')->references('id')-
>on('owners');
});

Store Records:

// Create relation between Owner and Car.

$owner->car()->save($car);

// Create relation between Car and Owner.

$car->owner()->associate($owner)->save();

Retrieve Records:

// Get Owner Car

$owner->car;

// Get Car Owner

$car->owner;
One to Many Relationship
Demo details:
In this demo we have 2 models (Thief and Car), and 2 tables (thieves
and cars).

Business Rules:
The Thief can steal many Cars.
The Car can be stolen by one Thief.

Relations Diagram:

Relationship Details:
The Cars table should store the Thief ID.

Eloquent Models:

class Thief
{
public function cars()
{
return $this->hasMany(Car::class);
}
}
 class Car
{
public function thief()
{
return $this->belongsTo(Thief::class);
}
}

Database Migrations:

Schema::create('thieves', function (Blueprint $table) {

$table->increments('id');
$table->string('name');
});

Schema::create('cars', function (Blueprint $table) {

$table->increments('id');
$table->string('name');

$table->integer('thief_id')->unsigned()->index()-
>nullable();
$table->foreign('thief_id')->references('id')-
>on('thieves');
});

Store Records:

// Create relation between Thief and Car.

$thief->cars()->saveMany([
$car1,
$car2,
]);

// Or use the save() function for single model.

$thief->cars()->save($car);

// Create relation between Car and Thief.

$car->thief()->associate($thief)->save();

Retrieve Records:
 // Get Thief Car

$thief->cars;

// Get Car Thief

$car->thief;

Polymorphic One to Many Relationship

Demo details:
In this demo we have 3 models (Man, Woman and Car), and 3 tables
(men, women and cars).

Business Rules:
The Man (buyer) can buy many Cars.
The Woman (buyer) can buy many Cars.
The Car can be bought by one buyer (Man or Woman).

Relations Diagram:
Relationship Details:
The Car table should store the Buyer ID and the Buyer Type.
buyer is a name given to a group of models (Man and Woman). And its
not limited to two. The buyer type is the real name of the model.

Eloquent Models:

class Man
{
public function cars()
{
return $this->morphMany(Car::class, 'buyer');
}
}

class Woman
{
public function cars()
{
return $this->morphMany(Car::class, 'buyer');
}
}

class Car
{
public function buyer()
{
return $this->morphTo();
}
}
Database Migrations:

Schema::create('men', function (Blueprint $table) {

$table->increments('id');
$table->string('name');
});

Schema::create('women', function (Blueprint $table) {

$table->increments('id');
$table->string('name');
});

Schema::create('cars', function (Blueprint $table) {

$table->increments('id');
$table->string('name');

$table->integer('buyer_id')->unsigned()->index()-
>nullable();
$table->string('buyer_type')->nullable();
});

Store Records:

// Create relation between buyer (Man/Woman) and Car.

$man->cars()->saveMany([
$car1,
$car2,
]);

$woman->cars()->saveMany([
$car1,
$car2,
]);

// Or use the save() function for single model.

$man->cars()->save($car);
$woman->cars()->save($car);

// Create relation between Car and buyer (Men/Women).

$car1->buyer()->associate($man)->save();
$car2->buyer()->associate($woman)->save();
Retrieve Records:

// Get buyer (Man/Woman) Cars

$men->cars
$women->cars

// Get Car buyer (Man and Woman)

$car->buyer

Many to Many Relationship

Demo details:
In this demo we have 2 models (Driver and Car), and 3 tables (drivers,
cars and a pivot table named car_driver).

Business Rules:
The Driver can drive many Cars.
The Car can be driven by many Drivers.

Relations Diagram:
Relationship Details:
The Pivot table car_driver should store the Driver ID and the Car ID.

Eloquent Models:

class Driver
{
public function cars()
{
return $this->belongsToMany(Car::class);
}
}

class Car
{
public function drivers()
{
return $this->belongsToMany(Driver::class);
}
}

Database Migrations:

Schema::create('drivers', function (Blueprint $table) {

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

Schema::create('car_driver', function (Blueprint $table) {

$table->increments('id');

$table->integer('car_id')->unsigned()->index();
$table->foreign('car_id')->references('id')->on('cars')-
>onDelete('cascade');

$table->integer('driver_id')->unsigned()->index();
$table->foreign('driver_id')->references('id')-
>on('drivers')->onDelete('cascade');
});

Store Records:

// Create relation between Driver and Car.

$driver->cars()->attach([
$car1->id,
$car2->id,
]);

// Or use the sync() function to prevent duplicated

relations.

$driver->cars()->sync([
$car1->id,
$car2->id,
]);

// Create relation between Car and Driver.

$car->drivers()->attach([
$driver1->id,
$driver2->id,
]);

// Or use the sync() function to prevent duplicated

relations.

$car->drivers()->sync([
$driver1->id,
$driver2->id,
]);
Retrieve Records:

// Get Driver Car

$driver->cars

// Get Car Drivers

$car->drivers

Polymorphic Many to Many Relationship

Demo details:
In this demo we have 3 models (Valet, Owner and Car), and 4 tables
(valets, owners, cars and drivers).

Business Rules:
The Valet (driver) can drive many Cars.
The Owner (driver) can drive many Cars.
The Car can be driven by many drivers (Valet or/and Owner).

Relations Diagram:
Relationship Details:
The Pivot table drivers should store the Driver ID, Driver Type and
the Car ID.
driver is a name given to a group of models (Valet and Owner). And its
not limited to two. The driver type is the real name of the model.

Eloquent Models:

class Valet
{
public function cars()
{
return $this->morphToMany(Car::class, 'driver');
}
}

class Owner
{
public function cars()
{
return $this->morphToMany(Car::class, 'driver');
}
}

class Car
{
public function valets()
{
return $this->morphedByMany(Man::class, 'driver');
}
 public function owners()
{
return $this->morphedByMany(Woman::class, 'driver');
}
}

Database Migrations:

Schema::create('valets', function (Blueprint $table) {

$table->increments('id');
$table->string('name');
});

Schema::create('owners', function (Blueprint $table) {

$table->increments('id');
$table->string('name');
});

Schema::create('drivers', function (Blueprint $table) {

$table->increments('id');

$table->integer('driver_id')->unsigned()->index();
$table->integer('driver_type');

$table->integer('car_id')->unsigned()->index();
$table->foreign('car_id')->references('id')->on('cars')-
>onDelete('cascade');
});

Store Records:

// Create relation between driver (Valet/Owner) and Car.

$valet->cars()->saveMany([$car1, $car2]);
$owner->cars()->saveMany([$car1, $car2]);

// Or use the save() function for single model.

$valet->cars()->save($car1);
$owner->cars()->save($car1);

// Create relation between Car and driver (Valet/Owner).

$car->valets()->attach([
$valet1->id,
$valet2->id,
]);
 $car->owners()->attach([
$owner1->id,
$owner2->id,
]);

// Or use the sync() function to prevent duplicated

relations.

$car->valets()->sync([
$valet1->id,
$valet2->id,
]);

$car->owners()->sync([
$owner1->id,
$owner2->id,
]);

Retrieve Records:

// Get driver (Valet/Owner) Cars

$valet->cars
$owner->cars

// Get Car drivers (Valet and Owner)

$car->owners
$car->valets
 . . .

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