Migration in Laravel

Database version control

Today, I am going to explore a powerful feature that simplifies managing your database schema over time called migrations. They act as version control for your database, making it easy to create, modify, and share your database consistently and safely. They also keep track of changes, enable team collaboration, and make deploying updates straightforward.

What are Laravel migrations?

In simple language, Laravel migrations are PHP files that determine the structure of your database tables. Instead of manually creating tables and columns through PHPMyAdmin, SQL scripts help you by giving you the advantage of writing migration files that describe what your database should look like.

With commands like PHP artisan migrate, Laravel executes these files on your behalf to set up your database.

Why you should use Migration

Keep a history of your database changes (version tracking): Migration acts like a changelog for your database every time you create, modify, or write migration files. It records what changes were made and when they were made. This way, you have a complete history, and it makes it simple to see and understand how your database has evolved.
Share changes easily with your team (collaboration): usually in version control, when you are working with a team, everyone needs to work with or within the same database structure. The migrations are sorted as files in your project, which makes it easier for your team to pull the latest migration files and run PHP artisan migrate to update their local database, keeping everyone in sync without manual updates.
Automate database setup and updates (Automation): Laravel makes it easy to set up or refresh your database automatically with commands like “php artisan migrate” or “php artisan migrate:refresh” instead of doing this manually. This helps developers to save time and reduce errors, especially when deploying their apps to different environments like staging or production.
Easily undo changes (rollback): Sometimes the changes we make may not work as we had intended; Migrations support undoing recent updates with commands like PHP artisan migrate: rollback. This command lets you quickly revert to a previous state without having to manually fix things or errors.
These are the best practices and tips for you

Always create migrations before modifying your database.
Use meaningful names for migration files.
Use PHP artisan migrate: rollback to undo recent changes.
Regularly review and delete unused migrations (preferably not in production).
Stay tuned and happy programming.