How to configure Laravel to use multiple databases in your Project

Normally a software development project involves the use of a Database for storing data in a structured way.

For specific projects it may be necessary to use multiple databases.

With Laravel, to use multiple databases, we need to configure the framework and in particular the connections configuration file.

Let's see how to configure Laravel to use multiple databases.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Fillet database.php in config directory

This file is located in the directory config of your Laravel application.

In the file database.php is possible definish multiple database connections. Every connection must be definited as an array. The array should contain the following information:

• driver: the database driver to use;
• host: the name host or the address IP of the database server;
• port: the database server port number;
• database: the database name;
• username: the username for connecting to the database;
• password: the password for connecting to the database;

For example, the following code defiThere are two database connections, one for MySQL and one for PostgreSQL:

'connections' => [
        'sqlite' => [
            'driver' => 'sqlite',
            'url' => env('DATABASE_URL'),
            'database' => env('DB_DATABASE', database_path('database.sqlite')),
            'prefix' => '',
            'foreign_key_constraints' => env('DB_FOREIGN_KEYS', true),
        ],

        'mysql' => [
            'driver' => 'mysql',
            'url' => env('DATABASE_URL'),
            'host' => env('DB_HOST', '127.0.0.1'),
            'port' => env('DB_PORT', '3306'),
            'database' => env('DB_DATABASE', 'forge'),
            'username' => env('DB_USERNAME', 'forge'),
            'password' => env('DB_PASSWORD', ''),
            'unix_socket' => env('DB_SOCKET', ''),
            'charset' => 'utf8mb4',
            'collation' => 'utf8mb4_unicode_ci',
            'prefix' => '',
            'prefix_indexes' => true,
            'strict' => true,
            'engine' => null,
            'options' => extension_loaded('pdo_mysql') ? array_filter([
    PDO::MYSQL_ATTR_SSL_CA => env('MYSQL_ATTR_SSL_CA'),
            ]) : [],
        ],

        'pgsql' => [
            'driver' => 'pgsql',
            'url' => env('DATABASE_URL'),
            'host' => env('DB_HOST', '127.0.0.1'),
            'port' => env('DB_PORT', '5432'),
            'database' => env('DB_DATABASE', 'forge'),
            'username' => env('DB_USERNAME', 'forge'),
            'password' => env('DB_PASSWORD', ''),
            'charset' => 'utf8',
            'prefix' => '',
            'prefix_indexes' => true,
            'schema' => 'public',
            'sslmode' => 'prefer',
        ],

How to connect to the DB

After defiOnce you have database connections, you can use them in your code Laravel. To do this, you can use the facade of the database. There facade database provides a unified interface for interacting with databases.

To switch between database connections, you can use the method Connection() of facade Databases. The method Connection() takes the name of the database connection as an argument.

For example, the following code goes from the mysql DB to the pgsql DB:

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;

DB::connection('pgsql');

Once you switch to a database connection, you can use it to query and interact with the database.

Benefits of using multiple databases in Laravel

There are numerous benefits to using multiple databases in Laravel, including:

• Better performance: Using multiple databases can improve application performance by separating data of different types. For example, you might store user data in one database and product data in another database.
• Increased security: Using multiple databases can improve application security by separating data of different types. For example, you might store sensitive data in one database and less sensitive data in another database.
• Greater scalability: Using multiple databases can make your application more scalable by allowing you to distribute your data across multiple servers.

Best practices for using multiple databases in Laravel

Here are some best practices for using multiple databases in Laravel:

• Use friendly names for database connections: This will make it easier to identify and manage database connections.
• Use the method Connection() to go from one DB to another - this will help you avoid accidentally running Query on wrong.
• Use a database migration system to manage your database schemas – this will help you keep your database schemas in sync across all your .

Conclusion

Using multiple databases in Laravel can be a great way to improve the performance, security, and scalability of your application. By following the best practices described in this article, you can use multiple databases in Laravel effectively.

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Ercole Palmeri