By Harris Raftopoulos in laravel — Jun 11, 2024

Speeding up queries with `simplePaginate()` in Laravel

Laravel devs, here's a gem for you: 💎

Speed up your queries by using simplePaginate() instead of paginate() for large datasets. This method improves performance by skipping the total row count query that paginate() performs. In this blog post, we'll explore how to use simplePaginate() and provide a real-life example to demonstrate its benefits.

Why Use `simplePaginate()`?

Performance: simplePaginate() does not execute a count query, which can be slow on large datasets.
Efficiency: Reduces the overhead associated with pagination, making your queries faster and more efficient.
Simplicity: Provides a straightforward way to paginate large datasets without additional performance costs.

Step-by-Step Implementation

Let's walk through the process of setting up and using simplePaginate() in a Laravel application.

Step 1: Setting Up the Model

Ensure you have a model that you want to paginate. In this example, we'll use a Post model.

// app/Models/Post.php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class Post extends Model
{
    // Model configurations if needed
}

Step 2: Creating the Controller Method

Create a controller method that uses simplePaginate() to paginate the posts.

// app/Http/Controllers/PostController.php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Models\Post;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class PostController extends Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        $posts = Post::simplePaginate(20);

        return view('posts.index', ['posts' => $posts]);
    }
}

Step 3: Setting Up the Route

Define a route that points to the controller method.

// routes/web.php

use App\Http\Controllers\PostController;

Route::get('/posts', [PostController::class, 'index']);

Step 4: Creating the View

Create a view to display the paginated posts.

<!-- resources/views/posts/index.blade.php -->

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Posts</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Posts</h1>
    <ul>
        @foreach ($posts as $post)
            <li>{{ $post->title }}</li>
        @endforeach
    </ul>

    {{ $posts->links() }}
</body>
</html>

Conclusion

Using simplePaginate() in Laravel is a powerful way to improve the performance of your application when dealing with large datasets. By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you can easily implement and benefit from efficient pagination in your Laravel projects.

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Why Use simplePaginate()?