When working with Laravel, there are times when you want to prevent registration if the same email address, or a combination of email address and name, already exists.
In this article, I’ll introduce how to perform duplicate checks during registration and updates using “Validator＋unique” or “DB::table＋whereRaw”.
Prepared users Table Structure
We prepared the following users table.
users Table
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| id | Primary key |
| name | User name |
| Email address |
Duplicate Check for Email Address using Validator and unique
Controller Description for Registration Duplicate Check using Validator and unique
※ In the entry() registration process inside UsersController, a duplicate check is performed for the email address during validation.
From the description “’email’ => ‘required|unique:users,email'”, “unique:users,email” checks whether the same email address already exists in the users table.
public function entry(Request $request) {
//Validation
$validator = Validator::make($request->all(), [
'name' => 'required',
'email' => 'required|unique:users,email'
]);
//Redirect destination when validation fails (registration screen)
if ($validator->fails()) {
return redirect('/usersregister')
->withInput()
->withErrors($validator);
}
//Registration process
$users = new User;
$users->name = $request->name;
$users->email = $request->email;
$users->save();
return redirect('/userslist')->with('message', 'Registration completed successfully.');
}
Controller Description for Update Duplicate Check using Validator and unique
※ In the update() process inside UsersController, a duplicate check is performed for the email address during validation.
From the description “’email’ => ‘required|unique:users,email,’.$request->id.’,id'”, “unique:users,email,’.$request->id.’,id” checks whether there is a duplicate email in the users table, excluding the record whose id matches the updating data.
public function update(Request $request) {
//Validation
$validator = Validator::make($request->all(), [
'name' => 'required',
'email' => 'required|unique:users,email,'.$request->id.',id' //Exclude the updating data's id from the users table id column
]);
//Redirect destination when validation fails (update screen)
if ($validator->fails()) {
return redirect('/usersedit/'.$request->id)
->withInput()
->withErrors($validator);
}
//Update process
$users = User::find($request->id);
$users->name = $request->name;
$users->email = $request->email;
$users->save();
return redirect('/userslist')->with('message', 'Update completed successfully.');
}
Duplicate Check for Same Email and Name Combination using DB::table and whereRaw
Controller Description for Registration Duplicate Check using DB::table and whereRaw
※ In the entry() registration process inside UsersController, a duplicate check is performed when the same combination of email address and name exists.
From the comment “//Duplicate data check”, the $sql variable builds the SQL condition where the “name” and “email” columns match.
Using “DB::table(table_name)->whereRaw(SQL_condition)->get()”, matching data is retrieved, and if data exists, an error message is displayed on the registration screen.
public function entry(Request $request) {
//Validation
$validator = Validator::make($request->all(), [
'name' => 'required',
'email' => 'required'
]);
//Redirect destination when validation fails (registration screen)
if ($validator->fails()) {
return redirect('/usersregister')
->withInput()
->withErrors($validator);
//Duplicate data check
}else{
$chk=[];
$sql = '1=1';
$sql .= " AND name = '".$request->name."'";
$sql .= " AND email = '".$request->email."'";
$chk = DB::table('users')
->whereRaw($sql)
->get();
if(count($chk) > 0){
return redirect('/usersregister')
->withInput()
->withErrors("Email address + Name is already registered.");
}
}
//Registration process
$users = new User;
$users->name = $request->name;
$users->email = $request->email;
$users->save();
return redirect('/userslist')->with('message', 'Registration completed successfully.');
}
Controller Description for Update Duplicate Check using DB::table and whereRaw
※ In the update() process inside UsersController, a duplicate check is performed when the same combination of email address and name exists.
From the comment “//Duplicate data check”, the $sql variable builds the SQL condition where the “name” and “email” columns match.
By adding “$sql .= ‘ AND id != ‘.$request->id” to the SQL condition, it excludes the record whose id matches the updating data.
Using “DB::table(table_name)->whereRaw(SQL_condition)->get()”, matching data is retrieved, and if data exists, an error message is displayed on the update screen.
public function update(Request $request) {
//Validation
$validator = Validator::make($request->all(), [
'name' => 'required',
'email' => 'required'
]);
//Redirect destination when validation fails (update screen)
if ($validator->fails()) {
return redirect('/usersedit/'.$request->id)
->withInput()
->withErrors($validator);
//Duplicate data check
}else{
$chk=[];
$sql = '1=1';
$sql .= " AND name = '".$request->name."'";
$sql .= " AND email = '".$request->email."'";
$sql .= " AND id != ".$request->id; //Exclude the updating data's id from the users table id column
$chk = DB::table('users')
->whereRaw($sql)
->get();
if(count($chk) > 0){
return redirect('/usersedit/'.$request->id)
->withInput()
->withErrors("Email address + Name is already registered.");
}
}
//Update process
$users = User::find($request->id);
$users->name = $request->name;
$users->email = $request->email;
$users->save();
return redirect('/userslist')->with('message', 'Update completed successfully.');
}
Route Description
※ Please change the page URLs as needed.
//Registration screen
Route::get('/usersregister','UsersController@register');
//Registration process
Route::post('/usersentry','UsersController@entry');
//Edit screen
Route::get('/usersedit/{users}','UsersController@edit');
Route::post('/usersedit/{users}','UsersController@edit');
//Update process
Route::post('/users/update','UsersController@update');
※ Please use it at your own risk if you reuse this content.
