Pando Content Bundle Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation Add the bundle to your Laravel project via Composer:

   composer require blackboxcode/pando-content-bundle
   

   Register the bundle in config/app.php under providers:

   BlackBoxCode\PandoContentBundle\PandoContentBundle::class,
   

2. Publish Configuration Publish the default config file:

   php artisan vendor:publish --provider="BlackBoxCode\PandoContentBundle\PandoContentBundle" --tag="config"
   

   Locate the config at config/pando_content.php.

3. First Use Case: Basic Content Management Define a content type in a migration (e.g., pages):

   use BlackBoxCode\PandoContentBundle\Migrations\CreateContentTypeTable;
   Schema::create('content_types', function (Blueprint $table) {
       CreateContentTypeTable::create($table, 'pages');
   });
   

   Create a model extending PandoContentModel:

   use BlackBoxCode\PandoContentBundle\Models\PandoContentModel;
   class Page extends PandoContentModel { protected $contentType = 'pages'; }
   

   Insert content via Tinker or a controller:

   $page = new Page();
   $page->title = 'Home';
   $page->content = '<h1>Welcome</h1>';
   $page->save();
   

Implementation Patterns

Workflows

1. Content Type Definition

   • Use migrations to define content types (e.g., articles, products).
   • Leverage CreateContentTypeTable for reusable schema logic.
   • Example:

     Schema::create('articles', function (Blueprint $table) {
         CreateContentTypeTable::create($table, 'articles');
         $table->string('slug')->unique();
         $table->text('excerpt');
     });
     

2. Model Integration

   • Extend PandoContentModel for each content type.
   • Override getContentType() if needed:

     class Article extends PandoContentModel {
         protected $contentType = 'articles';
         public function getContentType() { return $this->contentType; }
     }
     

3. Content Retrieval

   • Use Eloquent queries with the model:

     $articles = Article::where('published', true)->orderBy('created_at', 'desc')->get();
     

   • Fetch by content type via the bundle’s repository:

     $content = app(\BlackBoxCode\PandoContentBundle\Repositories\ContentRepository::class)
         ->findByType('pages', 1);
     

4. Frontend Integration

   • Serve content via API routes:

     Route::get('/content/{type}/{id}', function ($type, $id) {
         return app(\BlackBoxCode\PandoContentBundle\Repositories\ContentRepository::class)
             ->findByType($type, $id);
     });
     

   • Use Blade templates to render dynamic content:

     @foreach($pages as $page)
         <h2>{{ $page->title }}</h2>
         {!! $page->content !!}
     @endforeach
     

5. Content Versioning

   • Enable versioning in config/pando_content.php:

     'versioning' => [
         'enabled' => true,
         'table' => 'content_versions',
     ],
     

   • Access versions via relationships:

     $versions = $page->versions()->orderBy('created_at', 'desc')->get();
     

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Content Type Naming

   • Ensure content type names (e.g., 'pages') match the table names exactly.
   • Mismatches cause ContentNotFoundException.

2. Model Binding

   • If using route model binding, ensure the id column exists in the content table.
   • Override getRouteKeyName() if needed:

     public function getRouteKeyName() { return 'slug'; }
     

3. JSON Fields

   • Avoid storing large JSON blobs in content fields. Use dedicated columns for structured data.

4. Caching

   • Clear cache after content updates:

     Cache::forget("pando_content_{$contentType}_{$id}");
     

Debugging

1. Query Logs Enable Laravel’s query logging to debug content retrieval:

   DB::enableQueryLog();
   $content = Article::find(1);
   dd(DB::getQueryLog());
   

2. Content Type Existence Verify content types exist in the content_types table before querying.

3. Versioning Conflicts If versioning is enabled, ensure the content_versions table exists and has the correct schema.

Extension Points

1. Custom Fields Extend the PandoContentModel to add custom accessors/mutators:

   public function getFormattedContentAttribute() {
       return nl2br(e($this->content));
   }
   

2. Events Listen for content events (e.g., ContentSaved):

   Event::listen(\BlackBoxCode\PandoContentBundle\Events\ContentSaved::class, function ($event) {
       // Log or notify on content changes
   });
   

3. API Resources Create custom API resources for content:

   class PageResource extends JsonResource {
       public function toArray($request) {
           return [
               'title' => $this->title,
               'content' => $this->content,
               'slug' => $this->slug,
           ];
       }
   }
   

4. Middleware Protect content routes with middleware:

   Route::get('/admin/content', function () {
       // ...
   })->middleware('can:manage-content');
   

Configuration Quirks

• Default Values: Set default values in config/pando_content.php for fields like published_at.
• Soft Deletes: Enable soft deletes globally or per-model:

  use SoftDeletes;
  class Page extends PandoContentModel {
      use SoftDeletes;
      protected $dates = ['deleted_at'];
  }