Laravel : advanced search form query - php

Question

I have an advanced search form to filter out results from a database using Laravel. The data is filtered correctly but I have a requirement for the user to be able to filter by first name or last name using the same text box (in the advanced form). I tried orWhere to make sure it filters the name field with the first name or last name but the orWhere doesn't consider the other filters. The code I am using is as follows:
DB::table('mytable')
->where(function($query) use ($name, $degree_s, $specialty_s, $city_s, $state_s, $lundbeck_id_s) {
if ($name)
$query->where('first_name', 'like', "$name%")->orWhere('last_name', 'like', "$name%"); # this is whats causing the issue
if ($specialty_s)
$query->where('primary_specialty', $specialty_s);
if ($city_s)
$query->where('city', $city_s);
if ($state_s)
$query->where('state_province', $state_s);
if ($lundbeck_id_s)
$query->where('customer_master_id', $lundbeck_id_s);
if ($degree_s)
$query->where('primary_degree', $degree_s);
})
->select('id', 'first_name','last_name')
Adding the orWhere clause causes the query to not use the other conditions as well (like city_s or state_s).

Answer 1

You need to change:
if ($name)
$query->where('first_name', 'like', "$name%")->orWhere('last_name', 'like', "$name%");
into:
if ($name) {
$query->where(function($q) use ($name) {
$q->where('first_name', 'like', "$name%")->orWhere('last_name', 'like', "$name%");
});
}
to make Laravel to add parentheses so it will work as you expect.
EDIT
Of course you don't need to wrap everything with closure here, so the best solution for that would be:
<?php
$query = DB::table('mytable')->select('id', 'first_name', 'last_name');
if ($name) {
$query->where(function ($q) use ($name) {
$q->where('first_name', 'like', "$name%")
->orWhere('last_name', 'like', "$name%");
});
}
if ($specialty_s) {
$query->where('primary_specialty', $specialty_s);
}
if ($city_s) {
$query->where('city', $city_s);
}
if ($state_s) {
$query->where('state_province', $state_s);
}
if ($lundbeck_id_s) {
$query->where('customer_master_id', $lundbeck_id_s);
}
if ($degree_s) {
$query->where('primary_degree', $degree_s);
}
$data = $query->get();

Answer 2

i will build the query little bit differently.
$q = DB::table('mytable')->select(['id', 'first_name', 'last_name']);
if(!empty($name))
{
$q->where(function($query)use($name){
$query->where(('first_name', 'like', "$name%")
->orWhere('last_name', 'like', "$name%");
});
}
if(!empty($specialty_s) $q->where('primary_specialty', $specialty_s);
so far.... so forth.
at last
return q->get() or $q->paginate(30) depending upon your needs.