Been using Laravel for some time, and now feel ready to build a well-architected application from scratch? Excellent! Together, let's build a light version of Facebook, called Larabook.
To begin our new project, let's setup a virtual machine, using Vagrant and Laravel Homestead.
Please note: I rebuilt it with Laravel 5.1, so the projet in this repository may be a little bit different
2. Dependencies
There are a number of dependencies that we'll need to pull in for this project. While even a few years ago, this might have been a pain, luckily that's no longer the case, thanks to Composer.
Please note: The only dependency I pulled in is Jeffrey’s Generators, for the rest I decided to use Laravel 5.1 built-in features.
In this lesson, let's get connected to our database, and then figure out how to access it from a GUI, like Sequel Pro.
Please note: The only thing I had to do was to edit .env file. It is not committed, of course.
Although we won't focus too much on design, naturally, we need something nice and simple to look at. So, let's begin that process by leveraging Twitter Bootstrap, and setting up our first master/layout page.
This includes some basic design boilerplate work. Let's focus on the navbar and homepage in this episode.
Please note: I used .scss instead of .sass stylesheet file.
Let's put a system into place, that will automatically watch our Sass files for changes, compile them, and then autoprefix any relevant CSS3. We'll use the excellent Gulp tool to allow for this.
Please note: I've only edited gulpfile.js. All done with elixir.
Naturally, before a user can begin posting status updates, they first need to register for Larabook. Let's use Codeception to help drive and test this process.
Please note: I've used Laravel built-in authentication. I pulled laravelcollective/html and used forms from Laravel 5.0.
8. Users
In the previous lesson, we stopped just short of creating a migration for our users. Let's tackle that now, and return the tests to green.
Please note: I've decided to keep name field instead of username. All the work was already done in Auth Controller.
Of course, form validation is essential for any web app. Larabook is no different; so let's work on that in this episode.
Please note: I've used built-in Form Request and switched to AuthenticatesUsers trait instead of AuthenticatesAndRegistersUsers.
For larger applications that need to be maintained for years, it makes sense to take a step back, and think about architecture. Let's use commands to describe the various instructions that our app offers, as well as a command bus to manage the act of translating these commands into handler classes.
Please note: I've used built-in Jobs.
11. Domain Events
Because we've taken some time to structure our app in this manner, we now have a really simple way to queue and listen for domain events. Let me show you.
Please note: I've used built-in Events/Listeners feature.
How many times have you created the necessary views to display flash messages? Lots? Well, in this episode, I'll show you how we can tackle this very quickly.
Right now, we can register a user; however, we still need to provide more feedback to signal that they are, in fact, logged in. Let's focus on that in this episode, along with a few other tidbits.
Please note: Most of the work already done by the Authenticate Middelware. Little workaround in Larabook\Providers\AppServiceProvider.
14. Signing In
Now that a user can successfully register, we next need to give them a way to login and logout!
Please note: I've decided not to use AuthenticatesUsers trait because of SignInRequest Form Request.
If you're working along, you might have encountered a confusing Codeception bug. Don't worry: as they say, it's Codeception, not you. Let's take a look.
Please note: I've only refactored the test files a bit.
It's time to allow our authenticated users to publish statuses to their profile. We have a number of things to do in this episode, so grab a cup of coffee, and let's do this.
So far, we've exclusively created functional tests. However, often, it can be beneficial to test at a lower level. In this episode, we'll setup Codeception to execute our integration tests, using a repository as an example. Hopefully, you'll see just how easy it can be.
At least for now, rather than making Larabook users upload profile images, we'll simply leverage the popular Gravatar service. Along the way, I'll show you three different ways to "store" this logic for fetching the appropriate Gravatar.
Right now, the status page looks terrible. I know we're interested in the code, but let's take at least ten minutes to make it look prettier.
So far, we've been manually creating records. Naturally, though, it makes sense to mass-create users and statuses, for the purposes of testing in the browser. Let me show you a streamlined way to accomplish this.
Please note: I've used the new built-in ModelFactory feature.
We need to offer some way for users to browse through all registered members of Larabook. That way, they can have the option of "following" any developers who post interesting statuses. Let's handle that in this lesson, while also implementing pagination.
Please note: Now you can set the testing environment variables in phpunit.xml file.
22. Profiles
In the previous episode, we managed to display all registered Larabook users; however, we stopped just short of offering a way to link to their respective profiles. Let's tackle that in this episode.
Before we move on to allowing Larabook users to follow one another, let's first take a short break and do a bit of miscellaneous refactoring. Luckily, because we have a growing test suite, we should be able to tackle this with a good sense of confidence.
Please note: By far fewer things to refactor thanks to the newest Laravel fratures!