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Data Layer

Model categories and products with MySQL, migrations, and seeds.

Goal

This snapshot advances Quaycart Market by teaching you to model categories and products with MySQL, migrations, and seeds.

Every numbered folder is a complete app. Run this stage independently, then compare it with the previous folder.

Prerequisites

Use PHP 8.2+, Composer, Node.js 20+, npm, and Docker for MySQL stages.

Port 8004 must be free. Copy .env.example before database stages.

  • PHP and Composer
  • Node.js and npm
  • Docker from part 4 onward

Concepts

Each snapshot uses an isolated quaycart_NN database so stages stay independent.

Livewire keeps interactive UI on the server with components; Tailwind styles the storefront; Eloquent owns persistence and authorization checks.

Walkthrough

Migrate Category and Product tables, relate them, and seed Ada, Grace, and a starter catalog.

Read the example, then open the matching snapshot. The repository includes validation, CSRF, and the surrounding structure.

Schema::create('products', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->id();
    $table->foreignId('user_id')->constrained()->cascadeOnDelete();
    $table->foreignId('category_id')->constrained();
    $table->string('name');
    $table->string('slug')->unique();
    $table->unsignedInteger('price_cents');
    $table->unsignedInteger('stock')->default(0);
    $table->timestamps();
});

Run and verify

Enter 04-Data-Layer, install PHP and Node dependencies, copy .env.example, migrate, seed, build assets, and serve on port 8004.

Open http://127.0.0.1:8004. From data lessons onward, Ada and Grace use password123.

docker compose up -d
git clone https://github.com/michaeldunga1/fcc-laravel-ecommerce.git
cd fcc-laravel-ecommerce/04-Data-Layer
composer install
npm install
cp .env.example .env
php artisan key:generate
php artisan migrate --seed
php artisan storage:link
npm run build
php artisan serve --host=0.0.0.0 --port=8004

Troubleshooting

Connection refused usually means Docker is down or DB_DATABASE does not match this folder's index.

For database failures, confirm Docker and the quaycart_NN name. Never commit .env, vendor, or node_modules.

  • Read the first exception first
  • Rebuild assets after Tailwind class changes
  • Never commit secrets

Try this

Add a nullable sku column through a new migration.

Test a happy path and one invalid or unauthorized request.

  • Make one small change
  • Test it in the browser
  • Compare with the next snapshot only after it works

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