Laravel Orientation

Laravel illustrates common PHP application conventions through routes, controllers, middleware, service containers, validation, Eloquent models, migrations, queues, configuration, and Artisan commands.

Trace A Request

Routes usually live in files such as routes/web.php and routes/api.php. A route may point to a controller method and pass through middleware for concerns such as authentication or rate limiting. The controller should handle the HTTP boundary: receive validated input, call application code, and return a response.

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

use App\Http\Controllers\OrderController;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

Route::post('/orders', [OrderController::class, 'store'])
    ->middleware('auth');

From that route, inspect the controller, any form request validation, authorization policy, service calls, Eloquent models, and database migrations. Then locate feature tests for the same endpoint. This is a reliable way to understand how a specific Laravel application is structured.

Common Application Concerns

Eloquent models map application data and relationships. Migrations describe schema changes. Queued jobs move suitable work out of the request. Artisan commands provide operational and development entry points. Configuration files belong in config/, while environment-specific values and secrets should come from the deployment environment.

php artisan route:list
php artisan test
php artisan migrate:status

Laravel applications still vary. Follow the repository's existing service, action, or domain patterns before introducing another layer. Framework fluency helps with PHP jobs when it reinforces transferable skills: request boundaries, dependency injection, database changes, background work, configuration, and tests.