使用查询生成器创建Eloquent集合

Question

I just wanted to make sure this was acceptable and that there were no pitfalls to this method of building Eloquent models.

I'm used to simple Eloquent::where('something', 'else') kinda calls. However with the database I have, I needed to join a couple of tables to properly get the model I need with the data I had accessible in the code. Is it okay to populate an eloquent collection while calling joins and more complex sql queries?

Here's some example code to demonstrate the point:

$items = Item::select('items.*')
    ->join('shops as sh', 'shops.id', '=', 'items.shop_id')
    ->where('sh.name', 'Cool Shop')
    ->get();

I'm aware of the has-any-through relationships too. But if the above is fine, I definitely would appreciate that kind of flexibility that can turn many SQL queries into an Eloquent model.

Thanks

Answer 1

That's perfectly fine.

As you already know, it's important to limit the selected columns. Otherwise data from join tables can overwrite data from your model table and lead to unexpected results.