Handling Form Submissions and Validation in Laravel

In web applications, forms are a crucial way for users to interact with your site. Laravel provides a powerful system for handling form submissions and validating user input. In this guide, we'll explore the process of receiving and validating form data in Laravel.

Creating a Form

The first step is to create an HTML form in your Laravel view. You can use the `form` and `csrf` directives to create a secure form:

        
<form action="/submit" method="POST">
    @csrf
    <label for="name">Name:</label>
    <input type="text" id="name" name="name">
    <input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
    

Handling Form Submissions

In your Laravel controller, you can handle form submissions by creating a method that corresponds to the form's `action` attribute. In this example, the action is `/submit`, so you create a `submitForm` method:

        
public function submitForm(Request $request) {
    // Handle form data here
}
    

Validating Form Data

Laravel provides a powerful validation system that allows you to define validation rules for your form fields. Use the `validate` method in your controller to perform validation:

        
public function submitForm(Request $request) {
    $request->validate([
        'name' => 'required|min:3|max:255',
    ]);
    // If validation passes, continue processing
}
    

In the example above, we require the `name` field to be present and have a minimum length of 3 characters and a maximum length of 255 characters. You can customize these rules to fit your specific form requirements.

Displaying Validation Errors

If validation fails, Laravel will redirect back to the form with error messages. To display these error messages in your form view, you can use the `@error` directive:

        
<label for="name">Name:</label>
    <input type="text" id="name" name="name">
    @error('name')
        <div class="error">{{ $message }}</div>
    @enderror
    

Old Input Data

Laravel also keeps old input data so that users don't have to re-enter everything after a validation error. You can use the `old` function to repopulate form fields with the old input:

        
<input type="text" id="name" name="name" value="{{ old('name') }}">
    

Conclusion

Handling form submissions and validation is a fundamental aspect of web development. Laravel simplifies this process by providing a robust system for receiving and validating user input. As you become more proficient, you can explore advanced features like custom validation rules, form request classes, and form request validation.

For further learning, consult the official Laravel documentation and explore practical tutorials and examples related to handling form submissions and validation in Laravel web development.