Laravel - Undefined variable: articles - php

Question

public function press (Request $request)
{
if($request->has('search')){
$articles = Press::search($request->input('search'))->get();
}
return view('pages.press.index', compact('articles'));
}
I'm receiving an error Undefined variable: articles. Above is the code I'm using in my controller. What is the error that I'm making?
VIew
#if(!empty($articles))
#foreach ($articles as $article)
<div class="col-md-4">
<div class="box border">
<div class="box-header">
<img src="{{ url('http://assets.hobohweb.com/uploads/press/'.$article->image) }}" class="img-fluid" alt="">
</div>
<div class="box-body">
<h6 class="h-2x">{{ $article->title }}</h6>
{{ Carbon\Carbon::parse($article->created_at)->diffForHumans() }} on {{ $article->source }}
</div>
</div>
</div>
#endforeach
#endif

Answer 1

Just check if there are any articles in your search, like:
if($request->has('search')){
$articles = Press::search($request->input('search'))->get();
} else {
$articles = [];
}
And use it in the view:
#forelse($articles as $article)
...
#empty
<p>There are no articles!</p>
#endforelse

Answer 2

You are declaring the variable inside the if, but if the condition is false, the variable is never set. Try to use an else condition:
public function press (Request $request)
{
if($request->has('search')){
$articles = Press::search($request->input('search'))->get();
} else {
$articles = null;
}
return view('pages.press.index', compact('articles'));
}
You will also need to check if $articles is null in your view.

Answer 3

that's because the variable is never assigned a value and does not exist in the external context of the -if
try to use this
public function press (Request $request)
{
$articles = array();
if($request->has('search')){
$articles = Press::search($request->input('search'))->get();
}
return view('pages.press.index', [
'articles' => $articles
]);
}
View
#foreach ($articles as $article)
<div class="col-md-4">
<div class="box border">
<div class="box-header">
<img src="{{ url('http://assets.hobohweb.com/uploads/press/'.$article->image) }}" class="img-fluid" alt="">
</div>
<div class="box-body">
<h6 class="h-2x">{{ $article->title }}</h6>
{{ Carbon\Carbon::parse($article->created_at)->diffForHumans() }} on {{ $article->source }}
</div>
</div>
</div>
#endforeach
I hope this help you