Laravel Query for best performance.

Safaetul Ahasan
3 min readDec 21, 2022

There are several ways you can improve the performance of a query in Laravel:

1. Use eager loading.(***)
2. Use cache.(***)
3. Use index.(***)
4. Use raw SQL(quer())
5. Use explain
6. Laravel Parameter Binding
  1. Use eager loading: When retrieving data from multiple tables, you can use eager loading to minimize the number of database queries needed. Eager loading allows you to pre-load related data for multiple records in a single query, rather than making separate queries for each record.

you can use the with method on a query builder or Eloquent model to eager load relationships.

Here is an example of how you can use eager loading with the query builder:

$users = DB::table('users')
->with('posts')
->get();

In this example, the posts relationship is pre-loaded for each User object. This will reduce the number of queries needed to retrieve the related posts data.

You can also use eager loading with the Eloquent ORM:

$users = User::with('posts')->get();

Eager loading can be particularly useful when working with large datasets, as it can help to reduce the amount of time and resources needed to retrieve the data. It’s generally considered to be a best practice to use eager loading when working with related data in Laravel.

2. Use cache: Caching can significantly improve the performance of your application by storing the results of expensive queries in memory. Laravel provides several caching methods, such as the Cache facade, which you can use to store and retrieve data from cache.

$users = Cache::remember('users', $minutes, function () use ($name, $email) {
return User::with('posts')
->where('name', '=', $name)
->orWhere('email', '=', $email)
->get();
});

In this example, we are using the Eloquent ORM to retrieve User objects with their related posts, using the with method for eager loading. We are also using the where and orWhere clauses to filter the results based on the name and email columns. Finally, we are using the cache to store the results of the query for a certain amount of time, in order to improve the performance of the application.

3. Use index: Indexes can improve the performance of your queries by allowing the database to quickly locate the rows that match a specific condition. You can use the index method on your migrations to specify the columns that should be indexed.

Schema::table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
$table->index('email');
});

//for multiple index

Schema::table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
$table->index(['name', 'email']);
});

It’s generally a good idea to use indexes on columns that are frequently used in WHERE clauses or JOIN conditions, as well as on columns that are frequently sorted or grouped.

4. Use raw SQL: If you have a complex query that can’t be easily expressed using the Laravel query builder, you can use raw SQL by using the DB::select method.

5. Use explain: The explain method can help you understand how a query is being executed by the database. This can be useful for identifying slow queries and optimizing them.

$users = DB::table('users')
->select('*')
->where('active', 1)
->explain();

6. Laravel Parameter Binding: In Laravel, parameter binding is a way to pass parameters to a database query in a safe and efficient manner. It helps to protect against SQL injection attacks by automatically escaping user input, so you don’t have to worry about manually sanitizing inputs.

Here is an example of how you can use parameter binding with the Laravel query builder:

$users = DB::table('users')
->where('name', '=', $name)
->get();

In this example, the $name variable is automatically escaped and bound to the query as a parameter. This helps to prevent any potential SQL injection attacks.

You can also use parameter binding with the Eloquent ORM:

$users = User::where('name', '=', $name)
->get();

In both cases, it’s important to note that you should always sanitize your inputs before using them in a query, to ensure that they are safe and do not contain any malicious code.

Using parameter binding is generally considered to be a best practice when building database queries, as it helps to improve the security and performance of your application.

It’s important to note that the most effective way to improve query performance will depend on the specific needs of your application. You may need to combine these approaches to achieve the best results.

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