Fetching latest value from database even when there are no rows present - php

Question

So I'm trying to fetch a points table for users to add points in by garnering their total points and adding it with the installation points, however by trying to fetch their "latest" points, new users who do not have an existing row in the table will throwback an error "InvalidArgumentException; Data Missing". This would be my code below, and are there any other ways around this?
$currentpoint = Points::where('user_id', $input['user_id'])->latest()->first();
$points['user_id'] = $input['user_id'];
$points['points_add'] = $battery['point_installation'];
$points['points_subtract'] = 0;
$points['points_total'] = $currentpoint + $battery['point_installation'];
$points['points_source_id'] = 1;
$points['created_at'] = $mytime;
$points['updated_at'] = $mytime;
$point = Points::create($points);

Answer 1

$currentpoint = Points::where('user_id', $input['user_id'])->latest()->first(); of your code return an object and you are try to perform math (addition) operation on that object which is not possible. You can update your code like below.
$currentpoint = Points::where('user_id', $input['user_id'])->latest()->first();
$points['user_id'] = $input['user_id'];
$points['points_add'] = $battery['point_installation'];
$points['points_subtract'] = 0;
if($currentpoint != null)
{
$points['points_total'] = $currentpoint->points_total + $battery['point_installation'];
}
else {
$points['points_total'] = $battery['point_installation'];
}
$points['points_source_id'] = 1;
$points['created_at'] = $mytime;
$points['updated_at'] = $mytime;
$point = Points::create($points);