Introduction
Laravel Blade is a templating engine that makes it easy to create reusable and structured templates for your web application. In this guide, we will explore how to include and extend templates in Blade, which allows you to create modular, DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) views and layouts.
Prerequisites
Before we get started, ensure you have the following prerequisites:
- An existing Laravel project
- Basic knowledge of PHP and Laravel Blade syntax
Including Templates
Including templates in Blade allows you to reuse common components across multiple views. Here's how to include a template:
@include('partials.header')
The `@include` directive pulls in the content of the 'partials.header' view into the current view. You can pass data to the included template as an associative array.
Extending Templates
Extending templates is a powerful way to create a layout for your application and have multiple views inherit that layout. Here's how to extend a layout:
@extends('layouts.app')
The `@extends` directive tells Blade to use the 'layouts.app' view as the base layout for the current view. You can then define sections in the layout that the extending view can fill in using the `@section` directive.
Defining Sections
Sections are placeholders in your layout where extending views can inject their content. Here's how to define a section in a layout:
@yield('content')
Using `@yield('content')`, you create a section named 'content' that the extending view can fill in. In the extending view, use `@section` to define the content for this section:
@section('content')
@endsection
Conclusion
Laravel Blade's template inclusion and extension features make it easy to maintain clean, DRY, and organized views in your Laravel application. By following the principles outlined in this guide, you can create modular templates and layouts that make your development process more efficient and maintainable.