where()
returns a query builder object (which you can add extra terms to before executing with get
or first
)
From the source code:
/**
* Add a basic where clause to the query.
*
* @param string $column
* @param string $operator
* @param mixed $value
* @param string $boolean
* @return $this
*/
public function where($column, $operator = null, $value = null, $boolean = 'and')
{
if ($column instanceof Closure) {
$query = $this->model->newQueryWithoutScopes();
call_user_func($column, $query);
$this->query->addNestedWhereQuery($query->getQuery(), $boolean);
} else {
call_user_func_array([$this->query, 'where'], func_get_args());
}
return $this;
}
On the other hand, find
just returns the actual model or a collection of models (not a query builder).
From the source code:
/**
* Find a model by its primary key.
*
* @param mixed $id
* @param array $columns
* @return \Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model|\Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Collection|null
*/
public function find($id, $columns = ['*'])
{
if (is_array($id)) {
return $this->findMany($id, $columns);
}
$this->query->where($this->model->getQualifiedKeyName(), '=', $id);
return $this->first($columns);
}