Laravel Love Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation:

   composer require cybercog/laravel-love
   php artisan migrate
   

2. Make a model reactable (e.g., Post):

   php artisan love:setup-reactable Post
   

   This generates a migration adding love_reactant_id to your model.

3. Make users reactable (e.g., User):

   php artisan love:setup-reacterable User
   

   This generates a migration adding love_reacter_id to the love_reactions table.

4. Use in code:

   // User reacts to a Post
   $user->reactTo($post, 'like');
   
   // Check if user reacted
   $user->hasReactedTo($post, 'like');
   
   // Get reaction count
   $post->reactionCount('like');
   

First Use Case: Basic Reactions

// In a controller or service
$post = Post::find(1);
$user = auth()->user();

// Add a reaction
$user->reactTo($post, 'like');

// Check reaction status
if ($user->hasReactedTo($post, 'like')) {
    // User has liked
}

// Get total likes
$likeCount = $post->reactionCount('like');

Implementation Patterns

Core Workflows

1. Model Setup

• Reactable Models (e.g., Post, Comment):

  use Cog\Laravel\Love\Traits\Reactable;
  
  class Post extends Model
  {
      use Reactable;
  }
  

• Reacter Models (e.g., User, Guest):

  use Cog\Laravel\Love\Traits\Reacter;
  
  class User extends Authenticatable
  {
      use Reacter;
  }
  

2. Reaction Types

Define custom reaction types in config/love.php:

'reaction_types' => [
    'like' => [
        'name' => 'Like',
        'icon' => '❤️',
        'weight' => 1,
    ],
    'dislike' => [
        'name' => 'Dislike',
        'icon' => '👎',
        'weight' => -1,
    ],
    'laugh' => [
        'name' => 'Laugh',
        'icon' => '😂',
        'weight' => 0.5,
    ],
],

3. Weighted Reactions

// React with a custom rate (e.g., for sentiment analysis)
$user->reactTo($post, 'like', 0.8); // 80% "like"

// Check reaction rate
$rate = $user->getReactionRate($post, 'like');

4. Querying Reactions

// Get posts reacted by user
$posts = Post::whereReactedToBy($user)->get();

// Get posts with reactions between dates
$posts = Post::whereReactedToBetween(
    now()->subDays(7),
    now()
)->get();

// Get reactions for a post
$reactions = $post->reactions()->get();

5. Aggregates (Counters)

// Get total reactions for a post
$total = $post->reactionTotal();

// Get weighted sum (e.g., for sentiment)
$weightedSum = $post->reactionWeightedSum();

// Get reaction counts by type
$counts = $post->reactionCounts();

6. Bulk Operations

// Recount all aggregates (e.g., after data import)
php artisan love:recount

// Recount for a specific model
php artisan love:recount --model=Post

Integration Tips

API Endpoints

// Example: Add reaction via API
Route::post('/posts/{post}/react', function (Post $post, Request $request) {
    $user = auth()->user();
    $type = $request->input('type');
    $rate = $request->input('rate', null);

    $user->reactTo($post, $type, $rate);

    return response()->json(['success' => true]);
});

Frontend Integration

// Example: Toggle reaction
async function toggleReaction(postId, type) {
    const response = await fetch(`/posts/${postId}/react`, {
        method: 'POST',
        headers: {
            'Content-Type': 'application/json',
            'X-CSRF-TOKEN': document.querySelector('meta[name="csrf-token"]').content,
        },
        body: JSON.stringify({ type }),
    });

    const data = await response.json();
    if (data.success) {
        updateReactionUI(postId, type);
    }
}

Custom Reaction Logic

// Extend Reacter trait for custom logic
class User extends Authenticatable
{
    use Reacter;

    public function reactTo($reactant, $type, $rate = null)
    {
        // Custom logic before reacting
        if ($this->isBanned()) {
            throw new \Exception("Banned users cannot react.");
        }

        return parent::reactTo($reactant, $type, $rate);
    }
}

Observers and Events

// Listen for reaction events
ReactionCreated::listen(function ($reaction) {
    // Send notification
    Notification::send($reaction->reactant, new ReactionNotification($reaction));
});

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Foreign Key Constraints:

   • If you manually delete records from love_reactions, ensure foreign keys are handled:

     DB::statement('SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=0;');
     // Delete records
     DB::statement('SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=1;');
     

   • Use php artisan love:recount after bulk deletions to update aggregates.

2. Rate Validation:

   • Reactions with rates outside RATE_MIN (default: -10) and RATE_MAX (default: 10) will throw RateOutOfRange or RateInvalid.
   • Configure in config/love.php:

     'rate' => [
         'min' => -5,
         'max' => 5,
     ],
     

3. Queue Jobs:

   • Aggregate recounting runs asynchronously. If you need synchronous behavior, disable queues or use:

     $this->app->bind(\Cog\Laravel\Love\Reactant\Jobs\IncrementReactionAggregatesJob::class, function ($app) {
         return new class extends \Cog\Laravel\Love\Reactant\Jobs\IncrementReactionAggregatesJob {
             public function handle() {
                 parent::handle();
             }
         };
     });
     

4. Model Caching:

   • Avoid caching reactable/reacter models aggressively, as reactions may change dynamically. Use:

     $post->fresh(); // Refresh model from DB
     

5. Laravel Version Mismatches:

   • The package supports Laravel 9–13. Ensure your composer.json matches the package’s requirements. For example:

     "require": {
         "laravel/framework": "^10.0",
         "cybercog/laravel-love": "^10.0"
     }
     

Debugging

1. Reaction Not Saving:

   • Check if the love_reacter_id column exists in the love_reactions table.
   • Verify the Reacter trait is used on the user model.

2. Aggregate Counters Stale:

   • Run php artisan love:recount or manually trigger the job:

     \Cog\Laravel\Love\Reactant\Jobs\RebuildReactionAggregatesJob::dispatch();
     

3. Query Performance:

   • Use whereReactedToBy and whereReactedToBetween scopes sparingly on large datasets. Add indexes:

     Schema::table('love_reactions', function (Blueprint $table) {
         $table->index(['love_reactant_id', 'love_reacter_id']);
         $table->index(['love_reacter_id', 'created_at']);
     });
     

4. Custom Reaction Types Not Working:

   • Ensure the type is defined in config/love.php under reaction_types.
   • Check for typos in the type string (case-sensitive).

Tips

1. Custom Reaction Types Dynamically:

   // Add reaction types at runtime
   $reactionTypes = config('love.reaction_types');
   $reactionTypes['custom'] = [
       'name' => 'Custom',
       'icon' => '🎨',
       'weight' => 0,
   ];
   config(['love.reaction_types' => $reactionTypes]);
   

2. Bulk Reaction Assignment:

   // Assign reactions to multiple users at once
   $users = User::all();
   $post = Post::find(1);
   
   foreach ($users