Creating default object from empty value error on Laravel 5.2 - ajax

Question

I am building an application using Laravel 5.2. I'm trying to create an Edit modal using jquery. However I am getting a 500 internal server error, every time I try to update a record in the database. On further investigation using Firebug I get the error:
"Creating default object from empty value"...
These are the relevant code blocks.
Route.php - The edit route is what I'm trying to access from my modal
<?php
Route::group(['middleware' => ['web']], function () {
Route::get('/', function () {
return view('welcome');
})->name('home');
Route::post('/signup', [
'uses' => 'UserController#postSignup',
'as' => 'signup']);
Route::post('/signin', [
'uses' => 'UserController#postSignin',
'as' => 'signin']);
Route::get('/logout', [
'uses' => 'UserController#getLogout',
'as' => 'logout']);
Route::get('/dashboard', [
'uses' => 'PostController#getDashboard',
'as' => 'dashboard',
'middleware' => 'auth'
]);
Route::post('/createpost', [
'uses' => 'PostController#CreatePost',
'as' => 'createpost',
'middleware' => 'auth']);
Route::get('/delete-post/{post_id}', [
'uses' => 'PostController#getDeletePost',
'as' => 'post.delete',
'middleware' => 'auth']);
Route::post('/edit', [
'uses' => 'PostController#getEditPost',
'as' => 'edit'
]);
});
PostController.php
public function getEditPost(Request $request)
{
$this->validate($request, [
'body' => 'required'
]);
$post = Post::find($request['postid']);
$post->body = $request['body'];
$post->update();
return response()->json(['new_body' => $post->body], 200);
}
The Javascript file with the click event, app.js. I am printing a message to the console upon successful update of the database
var postId = 0;
$('.post').find('.interaction').find('.edit').on('click', function (event) {
event.preventDefault();
var postBody = event.target.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[1].textContent;
postId = event.target.parentNode.dataset['postid'];
$('#post-body').val(postBody);
$('#edit-modal').modal();
});
$('#modal-save').on('click', function () {
$.ajax({
method: 'POST',
url: url,
data: {body: $('#post-body').val(), postId: postId, _token: token}
}).done(function (msg) {
console.log(JSON.stringify(msg));
});
});
This is my view page
dashboard.blade.php
#extends('layouts.master')
#section('content')
#include('includes.message-block')
<section class="row new-post">
<div class="col-md-6 col-md-offset-3">
<header><h3>What do you have to say?</h3></header>
<form action="{{ route('createpost') }}" method="post">
<div class="form-group">
<textarea class="form-control" name="body" id="new-post" rows="5" placeholder="Your Post"></textarea>
</div>
<button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Create Post</button>
<input type="hidden" value="{{ Session::token() }}" name="_token">
</form>
</div>
</section>
<section class="row posts">
<div class="col-md-6 col-md-offset-3">
<header><h3>What other people say...</h3></header>
#foreach($posts as $post)
<article class="post" data-postid="{{ $post->id }}">
<p>{{ $post->body }}</p>
<div class="info">
Posted by {{ $post->user->first_name }} on {{ $post->created_at }}
</div>
<div class="interaction">
Like |
Dislike
#if(Auth::user() == $post->user)
|
Edit |
Delete
#endif
</div>
</article>
#endforeach
</div>
</section>
<div class="modal fade" tabindex="-1" role="dialog" id="edit-modal">
<div class="modal-dialog">
<div class="modal-content">
<div class="modal-header">
<button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal" aria-label="Close"><span aria-hidden="true">×</span></button>
<h4 class="modal-title">Edit Post</h4>
</div>
<div class="modal-body">
<form>
<div class="form-group">
<label for="post-body">Edit the Post</label>
<textarea class="form-control" name="post-body" id="post-body" rows="5"></textarea>
</div>
</form>
</div>
<div class="modal-footer">
<button type="button" class="btn btn-default" data-dismiss="modal">Close</button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary" id="modal-save">Save changes</button>
</div>
</div><!-- /.modal-content -->
</div><!-- /.modal-dialog -->
</div><!-- /.modal -->
<script>
var token = '{{ Session::token() }}';
var url = '{{ route('edit') }}';
</script>
#endsection
Please can anyone help me to see what I'm missing here? Thanks

Answer 1

It looks like you get null on $post = Post::find($request['postid']);.
Do some checks before trying to update the model.
You can use ::findOrFail() or check if !is_null($post).
Also you should use $request->input('postid').