Add to Laravel query using callable - php

Question

I want to add to a Laravel query using a callable.
For example, I have a string for sorting records. Based on this string, I want to add to my query via an array:
public $sort = 'Newest';
public function sortQuery(Builder $query)
{
return [
'Name' => $query->orderBy('name'),
'Newest' => $query->orderBy('created_at'),
'Oldest' => $query->orderByDesc('created_at'),
];
}
public function paginateQuery()
{
$query = User::query();
foreach ($this->sortQuery($query) as $key => $value) {
if ($this->sort == $key) {
$query = $value;
}
}
return $query->paginate();
}
In this example, when I run $this->paginateQuery() it does not sort as desired.
I've also tried $query = $this->sortQuery($query)[$this->sort]; instead of the foreach loop and the result is the same.
How would I chain $value onto the $query based on the array key?

Answer 1

You can amend your function slightly to apply the sorting immediately, for instance like so:
public function sortQuery(Builder $query, $sortKeys)
{
// Define a map to find the options for your specific sorting key.
$map = [
'Name' => ['name', 'ASC'],
// Note: I flipped this around, Newest first means "descending date".
'Newest' => ['created_at', 'DESC'],
'Oldest' => ['created_at', 'ASC'],
];
// Loop the given sortkeys. The (array) cast allows you to pass a string as well.
foreach((array) $sortKeys as $sortKey) {
// Check if map exists.
if(isset($map[$sortKey])) {
// Use the splat operator to pass the map values as arguments to the orderBy function
// (the second argument can be ASC/DESC)
$query->orderBy(...$map[$sortKey]);
}
}
You can even define it as a query scope in one of your models (preferably a parent class that is inherited by multiple Eloquent models), see https://laravel.com/docs/8.x/eloquent#local-scopes:
// Model.php
/**
* The prefix `scope` is required. It can be called as `$query->sortMe(...)`.
*/
public function scopeSortMe(Builder $query, $sortKeys)
{
// ... same code
}
// SomeController.php
// Calling it only requires the additional parameters, not the $query object.
$query->sortMe($sortKeys);