Getting Started

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Getting Started#

Getting started with Laravel, a popular PHP framework for web application development, involves a series of steps to set up your environment, install Laravel, and create a basic project. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you begin.

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Step 1: Prerequisites

Before you can install Laravel, ensure you have the following installed on your system:

  • PHP: Laravel requires PHP 7.3 or higher.

  • Composer: Composer is a dependency manager for PHP that you’ll use to install Laravel.

Step 2: Install Composer

If you don’t have Composer installed, you can download and install it from getcomposer.org. Follow the installation instructions specific to your operating system.

Step 3: Install Laravel

Once Composer is installed, you can install Laravel globally by running the following command in your terminal or command prompt:

composer global require laravel/installer

Make sure to place Composer’s system-wide vendor bin directory in your PATH so the laravel executable can be located by your system. This directory exists in different locations based on your operating system:

  • macOS/Linux: $HOME/.composer/vendor/bin`

  • Windows: %USERPROFILE%AppDataRoamingComposervendorbin

Step 4: Create a New Laravel Project

With Laravel installed, you can create a new Laravel project by running:

laravel new my-project

Alternatively, if you prefer not to install Laravel globally, you can use Composer to create a new project:

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel my-project

Replace my-project with the desired name of your project directory.

Step 5: Navigate to Your Project Directory

Navigate to the newly created project directory:

cd my-project

Step 6: Configure Your Environment

Laravel uses an environment configuration file (.env) to manage settings specific to your development environment. The .env file is located in the root directory of your project. Make sure to set your database connection details here:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=your_database
DB_USERNAME=your_username
DB_PASSWORD=your_password

Step 7: Run the Development Server

Laravel includes a local development server. You can start it using Artisan, Laravel’s command-line interface:

php artisan serve

By default, this command will start the server at http://localhost:8000.

Step 8: Access Your Application

Open your web browser and navigate to http://localhost:8000. You should see the Laravel welcome page, indicating that your setup is successful.

Step 9: Create a Basic Route

To create a basic route, open the routes/web.php file and add a new route:

Route::get('/hello', function () {
    return 'Hello, World!';
});

Now, when you navigate to http://localhost:8000/hello, you should see “Hello, World!” displayed.

Learn and Explore

Laravel has extensive documentation and a vibrant community. Here are some resources to help you learn more:

  • Official Documentation: Laravel Documentation

  • Laracasts : Laracasts, a platform with video tutorials on Laravel and other web development topics.

  • Laravel News : Laravel News, a community-driven portal with news, tutorials, and packages.

By following these steps, you’ll have a Laravel development environment set up and be ready to start building applications. Laravel’s rich feature set and elegant syntax make it a powerful tool for modern web development.

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