Laravel 8.x - Form checkboxes to pivot table - php

Question

I am building a platform where students can apply for academic courses.
The students use a form to provide some personal information and then choose at least one course to apply for.
When the form is sent, the ApplicationsController validates the inputs and checks that there is at least one course checked. The controller:
public function student_store(Request $request, Course $course)
{
$request->validate([
'fname' => 'required|string|min:2|max:40',
'lname' => 'required|string|min:2|max:40',
'email' => 'required|email|min:6|max:254',
'course-check' => 'required',
'phone' => 'required|digits:10',
'created_at' => \Carbon\Carbon::now(),
'updated_at' => \Carbon\Carbon::now(),
]);
If the validation is ok, a new Applicant is created in the database using the form inputs:
$input = $request->all();
Applicant::create($input);
However the goal is to also create one or more new instances in the pivot table applicant_course, depending on which one or more courses the student has selected. So far I have this:
$applicant = Applicant::where('fname', $input['fname'] )
->where('lname', $input['lname'] )
->where('email', $input['email'] )
->latest()->first();
$checkboxes = $request->all('course-check');
foreach ($checkboxes as $checkbox){
$applicant->courses()->where('course_id', $checkbox)->attach($course->id);
}
}
However, all that the controller function does, is to validate the inputs and create a new Applicant in the database with their data but nothing is added in the pivot table.
Here is the view structure (ignore the $program variables):
#foreach ($courses as $course)
#if ($course->program_id == $program->id)
<div class="course course-{{$program->id}}-{{$course->id}}">
<div class="course-header">
<label class="course-number" for="course-check-{{$program->id}}-{{$course->id}}">{{$program->id}}0{{$course->id}}0</label>
<label class="course-title" for="course-check-{{$program->id}}-{{$course->id}}">{{$course->title}}</label>
<input type="checkbox" name="course-check[{{ $course->id }}]" class="course-check" id="course-check-{{$program->id}}-{{$course->id}}" value="" >
</div>
</div>
#endif
#endforeach
Here is the Applicant model:
class Applicant extends Model
{
use HasFactory;
/**
* The attributes that are mass assignable.
*
* #var array
*/
protected $fillable = [
'fname',
'lname',
'email',
'phone',
];
public function courses()
{
return $this->belongsToMany(Course::class)->withTimestamps();
}
}
Can someone help ?
Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

I think you need to change checkbox name like below
<input type="checkbox" name="course-check[]" class="course-check" id="course-check-{{$program->id}}-{{$course->id}}" value="{{ $course->id }}" >
Then in controller
$checkboxes = $request->get('course-check');
$applicant->courses()->sync($checkboxes);
or
$checkboxes = $request->get('course-check');
$applicant->courses()->attach($checkboxes);
To know difference between attach and sync
Ref:https://laravel.com/docs/8.x/eloquent-relationships#updating-many-to-many-relationships