Laravel 11 Malayalam tutorial part 1

Introduction

In this tutorial, we will learn about setting up Laravel 11 using Virtual Hosts. This guide will cover the essential steps to create a Laravel project and configure it for local development. Whether you are new to Laravel or looking to refresh your knowledge, this tutorial will provide you with actionable insights.

Step 1: Understand the MVC Architecture

MVC stands for Model-View-Controller, a design pattern that separates application logic into three interconnected components

• Model: Manages data and business logic.
• View: Represents the user interface.
• Controller: Handles user input and interacts with the model.

Step 2: Check Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have the following:

• PHP installed (preferably version 8.0 or higher).
• Composer installed for managing dependencies.
• A local server environment (like XAMPP or Laravel Homestead).
• Basic knowledge of command line usage.

Step 3: Create a New Laravel Project

1. Open your terminal or command prompt.
2. Run the following command to create a new Laravel project:

   composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel project-name
   

   Replace project-name with your desired project name.

Step 4: Serve the Application

• Navigate to your project directory:

  cd project-name
  

• Start the Laravel development server:

  php artisan serve
  

• Access the application in your browser at http://localhost:8000.

Step 5: Configure Virtual Host

1. Open your hosts file (usually located at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts on Windows or /etc/hosts on macOS/Linux).
2. Add a line to define your virtual host:

   127.0.0.1   project.local
   

3. Create a new configuration file for your virtual host in your server's configuration directory (like C:\xampp\apache\conf\extra\httpd-vhosts.conf for XAMPP).
4. Add the following configuration:

   <VirtualHost *:80>
       DocumentRoot "path\to\your\project-name\public"
       ServerName project.local
   </VirtualHost>
   

   Replace path\to\your\project-name with the actual path to your Laravel project.

Step 6: Open the Project

• In your browser, navigate to http://project.local to view your Laravel application.

Step 7: Explore MVC Directories

Familiarize yourself with the basic directory structure of a Laravel project

• app/: Contains the application logic.
• resources/views/: Contains the Blade templates for views.
• routes/: Defines the application routes.

Step 8: Understanding Routes

• Open the routes/web.php file to define your application routes.
• A simple route example:

  Route::get('/', function () {
      return view('welcome');
  });
  

Step 9: Using Laravel Blade

• Blade is Laravel's templating engine used for creating views.
• Create a new Blade file in resources/views:

  <!-- resources/views/example.blade.php -->
  <h1>Hello, Laravel!</h1>
  

• Update your route to return this view:

  Route::get('/example', function () {
      return view('example');
  });
  

Step 10: Pass Values to Views

• You can pass data to your Blade views like this:

  Route::get('/greet', function () {
      return view('greet', ['name' => 'Tintu']);
  });
  

• In the Blade file:

  <h1>Hello, {{ $name }}!</h1>
  

Step 11: Create a Navigation Menu

• To create a navigation menu, define a Blade component for reusability.
• Example for a simple navigation menu:

  <!-- resources/views/components/navigation.blade.php -->
  <nav>
      <a href="/">Home</a>
      <a href="/example">Example</a>
  </nav>
  

Step 12: Implement Tailwind CSS

• Install Tailwind CSS in your project for styling:

  npm install -D tailwindcss
  npx tailwindcss init
  

• Configure your tailwind.config.js and include the Tailwind directives in your CSS file.

Conclusion

In this first part of the Laravel 11 tutorial, we covered the basic setup, including creating a Laravel project, configuring virtual hosts, and understanding the MVC structure. You are now ready to build your application further with routes, views, and components. For the next steps, consider exploring more advanced features of Laravel, such as middleware, authentication, and database migrations.