Content Type Negotiation Made Easy: Laravel's prefers Method

Ever needed to serve different content types based on what your client wants? Laravel's prefers method makes content negotiation a breeze! Let's explore how this simple yet powerful feature can enhance your application's flexibility.

Understanding prefers

The prefers method helps you determine which content type your client prefers from a given set of options:

$preferred = $request->prefers(['text/html', 'application/json']);

If the client accepts one of these types, you'll get that type back. If none are accepted, you'll get null.

Basic Usage

Here's a simple example of how to use it:

public function show(Request $request, Post $post)
{
    $preferred = $request->prefers(['text/html', 'application/json']);

    if ($preferred === 'text/html') {
        return view('posts.show', compact('post'));
    }

    if ($preferred === 'application/json') {
        return response()->json($post);
    }

    return response('Not Acceptable', 406);
}

Real-World Example

Let's create a versatile API endpoint that can serve both web browsers and API clients:

class ArticleController extends Controller
{
    public function show(Request $request, Article $article)
    {
        $preferred = $request->prefers([
            'text/html',
            'application/json',
            'application/xml'
        ]);

        return match($preferred) {
            'text/html' => view('articles.show', compact('article')),
            'application/json' => response()->json([
                'data' => $article,
                'meta' => [
                    'views' => $article->view_count,
                    'created' => $article->created_at->diffForHumans()
                ]
            ]),
            'application/xml' => response()
                ->view('articles.xml', compact('article'))
                ->header('Content-Type', 'application/xml'),
            default => response('Not Acceptable', 406)
        };
    }
}

Laravel's prefers method simplifies content negotiation, making it easy to build flexible endpoints that can serve different types of clients effectively.

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