Where to Put & How to Handle Enums in Laravel?

In Laravel, handling enums can be done in a few different ways depending on your use case. You can create enums as part of your PHP code (native PHP enums in PHP 8.1+) or use Laravel’s Enum packages like spatie/laravel-enum. Here’s an overview of different ways to handle enums in Laravel:

1. Native PHP Enums (PHP 8.1+)

In PHP 8.1 and above, you can use native enums. Laravel supports these; you can use them within your models, database queries, and validation.

Creating a Native Enum:

namespace App\Enums; 
enum UserType: string { 
          case ADMIN = 'admin'; 
          case EMPLOYEE = 'employee';
}

Using Enums in Models:

use App\Enums\UserType; 
class User extends Model 
{
          protected $casts = [
                   'type' => UserType::class,
           ];
}

Using Enums in Blade/View:

@if($user->type === UserType::ADMIN) 
           
This user is an admin.
 
@endif 

Using Enums in Validation:

use App\Enums\UserType;
$validated = $request->validate([
             'type' => ['required', Rule::in(UserType::cases())],
 ]);

Converting Enum Values for API Responses:

You can easily convert enums to strings in JSON responses.

public function toArray() { 
        return [ 
                   'type' => $this->type->value, 
        ]; 
}

2. Custom Enum Classes (Pre-PHP 8.1)

namespace App\Enums;
class UserType {
    const ADMIN = 'admin';
    const EMPLOYEE = 'employee';

    public static function values() {
        return [
            self::ADMIN,
            self::EMPLOYEE,
        ];
    }
}

Using Custom Enums in Validation:

You can easily convert enums to strings in JSON responses.

$validated = $request->validate([ 
                          'type' => [ 'required', Rule::in(UserType::values())], 
                    ]);

In Models: Manually casting using custom mutators or accessors is necessary.

3. Enum Packages (e.g., Spatie Enum)

If you need extra functionality like enum validation or database storage in Laravel, you can use a package like spatie/laravel-enum.

Installation:

composer require spatie/enum

Creating an Enum Class Using Spatie:

namespace App\Enums;
use Spatie\Enum\Enum;
class UserType extends Enum {}

Using Spatie Enums:

$validated = $request->validate([
    'type' => ['required', Rule::enum(UserType::class)],
]);

Spatie’s package provides additional utilities for handling enums like advanced validation, transforming enums, etc.

4. Enums in Database

When working with enums in the database, you can use a VARCHAR or ENUM column type in your migrations.

Using an ENUM Column in Migrations:

Schema::table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->enum('type', ['admin', 'employee']);
});

Using Enums in Model Casts:

Combine it with native PHP enums or a custom casting class.

protected $casts = [ 'type' => UserType::class, ];

Conclusion

Type Safety: If you’re using PHP 8.1+, prefer native enums for type safety and simplicity.
Database Compatibility: Use a VARCHAR column in your database instead of an ENUM column if you anticipate the possibility of adding new enum values in the future.
Validation: Always validate enum values to ensure valid data is being processed.