Laravel 4 - Trouble overriding model's save method - php

Question

I'm trying to override my Post class's save() method so that I can validate some of the fields that will be saved to the record:
// User.php
<?php
class Post extends Eloquent
{
public function save()
{
// code before save
parent::save();
//code after save
}
}
When I try and run a this method in my unit testing I get the following error:
..{"error":{"type":"ErrorException","message":"Declaration of Post::save() should be compatible with that of Illuminate\\Database\\Eloquent\\Model::save()","file":"\/var\/www\/laravel\/app\/models\/Post.php","line":4}}

Answer 1

Create Model.php class which you will extend in another self-validating models
app/models/Model.php
class Model extends Eloquent {
/**
* Error message bag
*
* #var Illuminate\Support\MessageBag
*/
protected $errors;
/**
* Validation rules
*
* #var Array
*/
protected static $rules = array();
/**
* Validator instance
*
* #var Illuminate\Validation\Validators
*/
protected $validator;
public function __construct(array $attributes = array(), Validator $validator = null)
{
parent::__construct($attributes);
$this->validator = $validator ?: \App::make('validator');
}
/**
* Listen for save event
*/
protected static function boot()
{
parent::boot();
static::saving(function($model)
{
return $model->validate();
});
}
/**
* Validates current attributes against rules
*/
public function validate()
{
$v = $this->validator->make($this->attributes, static::$rules);
if ($v->passes())
{
return true;
}
$this->setErrors($v->messages());
return false;
}
/**
* Set error message bag
*
* #var Illuminate\Support\MessageBag
*/
protected function setErrors($errors)
{
$this->errors = $errors;
}
/**
* Retrieve error message bag
*/
public function getErrors()
{
return $this->errors;
}
/**
* Inverse of wasSaved
*/
public function hasErrors()
{
return ! empty($this->errors);
}
}
Then, adjust your Post model.
Also, you need to define validation rules for this model.
app/models/Post.php
class Post extends Model
{
// validation rules
protected static $rules = [
'name' => 'required'
];
}
Controller method
Thanks to Model class, Post model is automaticaly validated on every call to save() method
public function store()
{
$post = new Post(Input::all());
if ($post->save())
{
return Redirect::route('posts.index');
}
return Redirect::back()->withInput()->withErrors($post->getErrors());
}
This answer is strongly based on Jeffrey Way's Laravel Model Validation package for Laravel 4.
All credits to this man!

Answer 2

How to override Model::save() in Laravel 4.1
public function save(array $options = array())
{
parent::save($options);
}

Answer 3

If you want to overwrite the save() method, it must be identical to the save() method in Model:
<?php
public function save(array $options = array()) {}
And; you can also hook in the save() call with the Model Events:
http://laravel.com/docs/eloquent#model-events