Only query "Where" if there is a value in Laravel eloquent - php

Question

I have a search query that needs to be done. However, a search doesn't always have all values set, like in this case.
$aEvents = DB::table('events')
->where('client_id', '=', $client_id);
The question is, how can I make this where statement depend on the value of $client_id. So if the value is empty I don't want the Where statement to occur.
Also, I do not want to write several complete queries with if statements in PHP. To many variables. Ideally I'd like something like this:
$aEvents = DB::table('events')
->(($client_id != "") ? where('client_id', '=', $client_id) : "");
Using eloquent is (really!) nice and save, but I'm not yet up to speed with if statements in std Class objects I guess. Any help is appreciated.

Answer 1

You may try something like this:
$query = DB::table('events');
if(!empty($client_id)) {
$query->where('client_id', $client_id);
}
$aEvents = $query->get(); // Call this at last to get the result
If you are passing client_id to the server via a form/query string(user input) then you may try something like this:
if($client_id = Input::get('client_id')) {
$query->where('client_id', $client_id);
}
Update: For pagination try this:
$aEvents = $query->paginate(10); // For 10 per page
So you may call links() method in your view if you pass it like this:
return View::make('viewName')->with('aEvents', $aEvents);
In the view for pagination links:
$aEvents->links()

Answer 2

You can also use query scopes in the model for this purpose. Scopes allow you to easily re-use query logic in your models. In the model Event, you can add the following query scope:
public function scopeClientID($query, $client_id)
{
if ($client_id != '') {
return $query->where('client_id', '=', $client_id);
} else {
return $query;
}
}
Then from your controller or wherever you're calling it from, you can do the following:
$aEvents = Event::clientID($client_id);
If you want to get all the results, then you can do:
$aEvents = Event::clientID($client_id)->get();
Or if you want pagination, you can do:
$aEvents = Event::clientID($client_id)->paginate();
You can also chain it with other methods like you'd do in a eloquent query.
You can read more about model query scopes at http://laravel.com/docs/eloquent#query-scopes