How to integrate into my project?

To integrate Laravel Countries into your existing project, you can simply add a foreign key in your table to reference the lc_countries table. Here's an example of how to set this up:

Step 1: Add the Foreign Key

In your migration file, add the following code to create the foreign key in your table (e.g., users table):

$table->integer('country_id')->unsigned()->nullable();

This column will store the reference to the country in the lc_countries table.

Step 2: Add Foreign Key Constraints (Recommended)

Although optional, it's strongly recommended to use Foreign Key Constraints provided by Laravel to ensure data integrity. Here’s how you can do it:

$table->foreign('country_id')->references('id')->on('lc_countries');

This code ensures that the country data is correctly linked with your users table, and if a country is deleted, the related records will be handled accordingly (e.g., cascading deletes).

Example Migration for users Table

Here’s a full example of how this could look in a migration:

Schema::create('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->id();
    $table->integer('country_id')->unsigned()->nullable(); 
    $table->uuid('uuid');
    $table->string('slug');
    $table->string('name');
    $table->string('first_name');
    $table->string('last_name');
    $table->string('email')->unique();
    $table->timestamp('email_verified_at')->nullable();
    $table->string('password');
    $table->string('access_code')->nullable();
    $table->rememberToken();
    $table->timestamps();

    $table->foreign('country_id')->references('id')->on('lc_countries'); 
});

By adding this relationship, your users table is now linked with the lc_countries table, allowing you to easily retrieve the country associated with each us

Relationships for User

To establish a relationship between a User and the countries associated with their region, you can easily add the following code to your User.php:

use Lwwcas\LaravelCountries\Models\Country;

/**
 * Get the countries that are located in this region.
 *
 * @return \Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Relations\HasMany
 */
public function countries()
{
    return $this->hasMany(Country::class, 'lc_region_id'); 
}

By doing this, the User model will be able to retrieve the countries that belong to the region identified by lc_region_id.

Why Use 'lc_region_id'?

While passing 'lc_region_id' as the foreign key is optional, it is strongly recommended to ensure your relationship remains clear and well-structured. By explicitly defining the foreign key, you eliminate ambiguity and make your codebase more maintainable for yourself and other developers.