Laravel get relationship model within object after save() - laravel

Question

I am using laravel 4.2.
I have two models as below :
class User extends Eloquent{
protected $table = 'users';
public function user_card_details(){
return $this->hasMany('User_card_details');
}
}
And
class User_card_details extends Eloquent {
protected $table = 'user_card_details';
public $timestamps = true;
public $softdeletes = true;
public function user(){
return $this->belongsTo('User')->first();
}
}
And I can save the relationship record using :
$user_card_details = new User_card_details();
$user_card_details->card_number = Input::get('card_number');
$user_card_details->card_exp_month = Input::get('card_expires_m');
$user_card_details->card_exp_year = Input::get('card_expires_y');
$user_card_details->card_cvv = Input::get('card_cvv');
$user->user_card_details()->save($user_card_details);
Up to this it works fine for me.
After save() , I want the user object should be populated with user_details.
So if I want to use the properties, I can use it like :
echo $user->user_card_details->card_number;
But it is not working now.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

Answer 1

You have to remove the () to get the actual model or collection:
echo $user->user_card_details->card_number;
When you're calling the actual function, you'll receive an instance of the Query builder.
Also, it seems that you're not persisting your $user_card_details-object before you try to bind it to your user:
$user_card_details = new User_card_details();
$user_card_details->card_number = Input::get('card_number');
$user_card_details->card_exp_month = Input::get('card_expires_m');
$user_card_details->card_exp_year = Input::get('card_expires_y');
$user_card_details->card_cvv = Input::get('card_cvv');
$user_card_details->save(); //Added this line.
$user->user_card_details()->save($user_card_details);
The more correct way would be:
$user_card_details = [
'card_number' => Input::get( 'card_number' ),
'card_exp_month' => Input::get( 'card_expires_m' ),
'card_exp_year' => Input::get( 'card_expires_y' ),
'card_cvv' => Input::get( 'card_cvv' ),
];
$userCardDetailObj = $user->user_card_details()->create( $user_card_details );
Now, your User_card_detail-instance will be available as the returned object.