Hey I am just starting to get moving with laravel and I can't seem to make the seeder work. The code that follows fails silently:
DatabaseSeeder.php
<?php
class DatabaseSeeder extends Seeder {
public function run()
{
Eloquent::unguard();
$this->call('SettingsTableSeeder');
// $this->call('GenericTableSeeder');
// $this->call('UserTableSeeder');
}
}
SettingsTableSeeder.php
<?php
class SettingsTableSeeder extends Seeder {
public function run()
{
$settings = Settings::create(array(
'adPriceStandard' => 9
));
}
}
Settings model (Settings.php) :
<?php
class Settings extends Eloquent {
protected $table = 'settings';
}
the model is there and the DB is in place, and I can access the settings table. I run the seeder and nothing happens. I AM STUMPED. Thanks!
Two things to keep in mind for anyone who finds this post and encounters a similar issue.
First, make sure you run 'composer dump-autoload'.
Second make sure that you either:
A) have $table->timestamps(); inside of your model's database migration, or
B) Set public $timestamps = false; in your Model class.
If you leave out $table->timestamps(); and forget to set public $timestamps to false, db:seed will fail silently.
If you're still having an issue after the above, create a new route at /test and include your Model::create([..]) code inside of it. This should throw a visible QueryException.
Can you post your Settings model? Are you extending Eloquent? It is possible that Eloquent is looking for the table settingss based on your class name. You can set your table's name in your Settings model like this :
protected $table = 'settings';
This is how I write my seeders - its a bit different to yours - see if this works;
<?php
class SettingsTableSeeder extends Seeder {
public function run()
{
$settings = array('adPriceStandard' => 9);
DB::table('settings')->insert($settings);
}
}
I assume you're using early laravel 5.1 build. You're missing Eloquent::reguard(). Also when using ::create([]) make sure all fields that added using this function is fillable. Please refer to the docs more regarding migrations.
ps. this is random guess, could you include namespace for Settings class in Settings::create(array(. although i'm sure such problem throws class not found exception.
Related
I have a model Test as follows
namespace App;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\SoftDeletes;
class Test extends Model
{
use SoftDeletes;
protected $dates = ['deleted_at'];
public function __construct() {
if (!\App::environment('production')) {
$this->table='test_stage';
}
}
I have made sure that there is a 'deleted_at' column in my test_stage table. But the soft deletes are not working. Using the delete() method permanently removes the record from the table. As an additional step of verification I manually added 'deleted_at' value for some columns. But query the model still gives me the soft deleted record.
Moreover, removing the model constructor entirely and simply defining the table name using:
protected $table = 'test_stage';
Works like a charm! That is soft deletes magically start working again.
Or is there any way around to define the table name according to the environment without the need of defining a constructor?
I think the problem could be that you're overwriting the constructor, which is set in Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model. Have you tried
public function __construct(array $attributes = []) {
parent::__construct($attributes);
if (!\App::environment('production')) {
$this->table='test_stage';
}
}
Edit: more detailed explaination
As you overwrite the constructor of the class you're extending, the original does not get executed anymore. This means necessary functions for the eloquent model do not get executed. See the constructor for Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model below:
/**
* Create a new Eloquent model instance.
*
* #param array $attributes
* #return void
*/
public function __construct(array $attributes = [])
{
$this->bootIfNotBooted();
$this->syncOriginal();
$this->fill($attributes);
}
By making sure the extending class requires the same parameters for the constructor as the extended class and executes parent::__construct($attributes); first, the constructor of the extended class gets executed first. After which you can overwrite $this->table in the extending class.
I'm still quite new to Laravel, Eloquent and Artisan.
What I'm trying to do is pretty easy: I want to create a new Eloquent model AboutUs, along with a migration file to create the table about_us.
I run the following command:
PHP artisan make:model AboutUs -m
This generates the model and migration file, however, the migration file is named '2017_07_18_211959_create_about_uses_table.php', automatically adding the unnecessary 'es' to 'us', and creating a table 'aboutuses' instead of 'about_us'.
If I manually change the migration file like so:
<?php
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;
use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
class CreateAboutUsTable extends Migration
{
/**
* Run the migrations.
*
* #return void
*/
public function up()
{
Schema::create('about_us', function (Blueprint $table) {
$table->increments('id');
$table->timestamps();
$table->boolean('active');
$table->string('title')->nullable();
$table->text('text')->nullable();
});
}
/**
* Reverse the migrations.
*
* #return void
*/
public function down()
{
Schema::dropIfExists('about_us');
}
}
The model like this:
<?php
namespace App;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
class AboutUs extends Model
{
protected $fillable = ['id', 'active', 'title', 'text'];
public static function getAboutUs()
{
return AboutUs::find(1);
}
public function postAboutUs($session, $active, $title, $text)
{
$aboutUs = $session->get('about_us');
array_push($aboutUs, ['active' => $active, 'title' => $title, 'text' => $text,]);
$session->put('about_us', $aboutUs);
}
}
Then run the migration:
PHP artisan migrate
The database table 'about_us' is created correctly, but when I insert a row in the table and attempt to use getAboutUs, it crashes, the laravel.log stating that:
local.ERROR: exception 'PDOException' with message 'SQLSTATE[42S02]: Base table or view not found: 1146 Table 'ID226233_db.aboutuses' doesn't exist' in C:\PHP Projects\xxx\vendor\doctrine\dbal\lib\Doctrine\DBAL\Driver\PDOConnection.php:77
I can see that there are still references to "aboutuses" in the autoload_classmap and autoload_static files. Changing this manually doesn't fix the issue, nor does running:
composer dump autoload
Next, I tried to simply not rename the table, but run the migration to create the initial "aboutuses" table. This fixed the functionality, as the model now works correctly. However, if I now add a new migration with:
Schema::rename('aboutuses', 'about_us');
This renames the table in the DB, but not in the autoload files or wherever else, resulting in broken functionality.
Surely there must be an easier way to either:
create a model with migration file with a FIXED name, instead of it
automatically changing the name by adding an unnecessary suffix.
rename a model and change the necessary files to prevent the model
from breaking.
Could anyone point me in the right direction before I lose my mind over this? :)
You can specify a custom table name in your Eloquent model class. Here is the example from the docs:
<?php namespace App;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
class Flight extends Model
{
/**
* The table associated with the model.
*
* #var string
*/
protected $table = 'my_flights';
}
Source: https://laravel.com/docs/5.4/eloquent#eloquent-model-conventions
Hope that helps.
How can withTrashed be applied on a hasManyThrough relation ?
$this->hasManyThrough('App\Message', 'App\Deal')->withTrashed();
returns
Call to undefined method Illuminate\Database\Query\Builder::withTrashed()
when i'm doing:
$messages = Auth::user()->messages()->with('deal')->orderBy('created_at', 'DESC')->get();`
Here is my Deal model:
<?php
namespace App;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\SoftDeletes;
class Deal extends Model
{
use SoftDeletes;
/* ... */
protected $dates = ['deleted_at'];
public function user() {
return $this->belongsTo('App\User');
}
public function messages() {
return $this->hasMany('App\Message'); // I've tried to put withTrashed() here, there is no error but it doesn't include soft deleting items.
}
}
To all those coming to this late, there is now a native way of doing this with Laravel.
$this->hasManyThrough('App\Message', 'App\Deal')->withTrashedParents();
This is not well documented but can be found in Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Relations\HasManyThrough
The error is thrown because you are requesting a messages with deleted ones without using SoftDelete trait in Message model.
After I check the hasManyThrough relation code I found that there is no way to do it in this way, you should play around.
Ex:
get the deals of user with messages instead
$deals = Auth::user()->deals()->withTrashed()->with('messages')->get();
foreach($deals as $deal) {
//Do your logic here and you can access messages of deal with $deal->messages
}
In Laravel I have a table settings and i have fetched complete data from the table in the BaseController, as following
public function __construct()
{
// Fetch the Site Settings object
$site_settings = Setting::all();
View::share('site_settings', $site_settings);
}
Now i want to access $site_settings. in all other controllers and views so that i don't need to write the same code again and again, so anybody please tell me the solution or any other way so i can fetch the data from the table once and use it in all controllers and view.
Okay, I'm going to completely ignore the ridiculous amount of over engineering and assumptions that the other answers are rife with, and go with the simple option.
If you're okay for there to be a single database call during each request, then the method is simple, alarmingly so:
class BaseController extends \Controller
{
protected $site_settings;
public function __construct()
{
// Fetch the Site Settings object
$this->site_settings = Setting::all();
View::share('site_settings', $this->site_settings);
}
}
Now providing that all of your controllers extend this BaseController, they can just do $this->site_settings.
If you wish to limit the amount of queries across multiple requests, you could use a caching solution as previously provided, but based on your question, the simple answer is a class property.
At first, a config file is appropriate for this kind of things but you may also use another approach, which is as given below (Laravel - 4):
// You can keep this in your filters.php file
App::before(function($request) {
App::singleton('site_settings', function(){
return Setting::all();
});
// If you use this line of code then it'll be available in any view
// as $site_settings but you may also use app('site_settings') as well
View::share('site_settings', app('site_settings'));
});
To get the same data in any controller you may use:
$site_settings = app('site_settings');
There are many ways, just use one or another, which one you prefer but I'm using the Container.
Use the Config class:
Config::set('site_settings', $site_settings);
Config::get('site_settings');
http://laravel.com/docs/4.2/configuration
Configuration values that are set at run-time are only set for the current request, and will not be carried over to subsequent requests.
In Laravel, 5+ you can create a file in the config folder and create variables in that and use that across the app.
For instance, I want to store some information based on the site.
I create a file called site_vars.php,
which looks like this
<?php
return [
'supportEmail' => 'email#gmail.com',
'adminEmail' => 'admin#sitename.com'
];
Now in the routes, controller, views you can access it using
Config::get('site_vars.supportEmail')
In the views if I this
{{ Config::get('site_vars.supportEmail') }}
It will give email#gmail.com
Hope this helps.
EDiT-
You can also define vars in .env file and use them here.
That is the best way in my opinion as it gives you the flexibility to use values that you want on your local machine.
So, you can do something this in the array
'supportEmail' => env('SUPPORT_EMAIL', 'defaultmail#gmail.com')
Important - After you do this, don't forget to do this on production env
php artisan config:cache
In case, there's still some problem, then you can do this (usually it would never happen but still if it ever happens)
php artisan cache:clear
php artisan config:cache
In your local env, always do this after this adding it
php artisan config:clear
It's always a good practice not to cache config vars in local. in case, it was cached, this would remove the cache and would load the new changes.
I see, that this is still needed for 5.4+ and I just had the same problem, but none of the answers were clean enough, so I tried to accomplish the availability with ServiceProviders. Here is what i did:
Created the Provider SettingsServiceProvider
php artisan make:provider SettingsServiceProvider
Created the Model i needed (GlobalSettings)
php artisan make:model GlobalSettings
Edited the generated register method in \App\Providers\SettingsServiceProvider. As you can see, I retrieve my settings using the eloquent model for it with Setting::all().
public function register()
{
$this->app->singleton('App\GlobalSettings', function ($app) {
return new GlobalSettings(Setting::all());
});
}
Defined some useful parameters and methods (including the constructor with the needed Collection parameter) in GlobalSettings
class GlobalSettings extends Model
{
protected $settings;
protected $keyValuePair;
public function __construct(Collection $settings)
{
$this->settings = $settings;
foreach ($settings as $setting){
$this->keyValuePair[$setting->key] = $setting->value;
}
}
public function has(string $key){ /* check key exists */ }
public function contains(string $key){ /* check value exists */ }
public function get(string $key){ /* get by key */ }
}
At last I registered the provider in config/app.php
'providers' => [
// [...]
App\Providers\SettingsServiceProvider::class
]
After clearing the config cache with php artisan config:cache you can use your singleton as follows.
$foo = app(App\GlobalSettings::class);
echo $foo->has("company") ? $foo->get("company") : "Stack Exchange Inc.";
You can read more about service containers and service providers in Laravel Docs > Service Container and Laravel Docs > Service Providers.
This is my first answer and I had not much time to write it down, so the formatting ist a bit spacey, but I hope you get everything.
I forgot to include the boot method of SettingsServiceProvider, to make the settings variable global available in views, so here you go:
public function boot(GlobalSettings $settinsInstance)
{
View::share('globalsettings', $settinsInstance);
}
Before the boot methods are called all providers have been registered, so we can just use our GlobalSettings instance as parameter, so it can be injected by Laravel.
In blade template:
{{ $globalsettings->get("company") }}
View::share('site_settings', $site_settings);
Add to
app->Providers->AppServiceProvider file boot method
it's global variable.
Most popular answers here with BaseController didn't worked for me on Laravel 5.4, but they have worked on 5.3. No idea why.
I have found a way which works on Laravel 5.4 and gives variables even for views which are skipping controllers. And, of course, you can get variables from the database.
add in your app/Providers/AppServiceProvider.php
class AppServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
{
public function boot()
{
// Using view composer to set following variables globally
view()->composer('*',function($view) {
$view->with('user', Auth::user());
$view->with('social', Social::all());
// if you need to access in controller and views:
Config::set('something', $something);
});
}
}
credit: http://laraveldaily.com/global-variables-in-base-controller/
In Laravel 5+, to set a variable just once and access it 'globally', I find it easiest to just add it as an attribute to the Request:
$request->attributes->add(['myVar' => $myVar]);
Then you can access it from any of your controllers using:
$myVar = $request->get('myVar');
and from any of your blades using:
{{ Request::get('myVar') }}
In Laravel 5.1 I needed a global variable populated with model data accessible in all views.
I followed a similar approach to ollieread's answer and was able to use my variable ($notifications) in any view.
My controller location: /app/Http/Controllers/Controller.php
<?php
namespace App\Http\Controllers;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Bus\DispatchesJobs;
use Illuminate\Routing\Controller as BaseController;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Validation\ValidatesRequests;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Auth\Access\AuthorizesRequests;
use App\Models\Main as MainModel;
use View;
abstract class Controller extends BaseController
{
use AuthorizesRequests, DispatchesJobs, ValidatesRequests;
public function __construct() {
$oMainM = new MainModel;
$notifications = $oMainM->get_notifications();
View::share('notifications', $notifications);
}
}
My model location: /app/Models/Main.php
namespace App\Models;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use DB;
class Main extends Model
{
public function get_notifications() {...
I have found a better way which works on Laravel 5.5 and makes variables accessible by views. And you can retrieve data from the database, do your logic by importing your Model just as you would in your controller.
The "*" means you are referencing all views, if you research more you can choose views to affect.
add in your app/Providers/AppServiceProvider.php
<?php
namespace App\Providers;
use Illuminate\Contracts\View\View;
use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider;
use App\Setting;
class AppServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
{
/**
* Bootstrap any application services.
*
* #return void
*/
public function boot()
{
// Fetch the Site Settings object
view()->composer('*', function(View $view) {
$site_settings = Setting::all();
$view->with('site_settings', $site_settings);
});
}
/**
* Register any application services.
*
* #return void
*/
public function register()
{
}
}
If you are worried about repeated database access, make sure that you have some kind of caching built into your method so that database calls are only made once per page request.
Something like (simplified example):
class Settings {
static protected $all;
static public function cachedAll() {
if (empty(self::$all)) {
self::$all = self::all();
}
return self::$all;
}
}
Then you would access Settings::cachedAll() instead of all() and this would only make one database call per page request. Subsequent calls will use the already-retrieved contents cached in the class variable.
The above example is super simple, and uses an in-memory cache so it only lasts for the single request. If you wanted to, you could use Laravel's caching (using Redis or Memcached) to persist your settings across multiple requests. You can read more about the very simple caching options here:
http://laravel.com/docs/cache
For example you could add a method to your Settings model that looks like:
static public function getSettings() {
$settings = Cache::remember('settings', 60, function() {
return Settings::all();
});
return $settings;
}
This would only make a database call every 60 minutes otherwise it would return the cached value whenever you call Settings::getSettings().
You can also use Laravel helper which I'm using.
Just create Helpers folder under App folder
then add the following code:
namespace App\Helpers;
Use SettingModel;
class SiteHelper
{
public static function settings()
{
if(null !== session('settings')){
$settings = session('settings');
}else{
$settings = SettingModel::all();
session(['settings' => $settings]);
}
return $settings;
}
}
then add it on you config > app.php under alliases
'aliases' => [
....
'Site' => App\Helpers\SiteHelper::class,
]
1. To Use in Controller
use Site;
class SettingsController extends Controller
{
public function index()
{
$settings = Site::settings();
return $settings;
}
}
2. To Use in View:
Site::settings()
A global variable for using in controllers; you can set in AppServiceProvider like this :
public function boot()
{
$company=DB::table('company')->where('id',1)->first();
config(['yourconfig.company' => $company]);
}
usage
config('yourconfig.company');
using middlwares
1- create middlware with any name
<?php
namespace App\Http\Middleware;
use Closure;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\View;
class GlobalData
{
public function handle($request, Closure $next)
{
// edit this section and share what do you want
$site_settings = Setting::all();
View::share('site_settings', $site_settings);
return $next($request);
}
}
2- register your middleware in Kernal.php
protected $routeMiddleware = [
.
...
'globaldata' => GlobalData::class,
]
3-now group your routes with globaldata middleware
Route::group(['middleware' => ['globaldata']], function () {
// add routes that need to site_settings
}
In file - \vendor\autoload.php, define your gobals variable as follows, should be in the topmost line.
$global_variable = "Some value";//the global variable
Access that global variable anywhere as :-
$GLOBALS['global_variable'];
Enjoy :)
I know I am super late to the party, but this was the easiest way I found.
In app/Providers/AppServiceProvider.php, add your variables in the boot method. Here I am retrieving all countries from the DB:
public function boot()
{
// Global variables
view()->composer('*',function($view) {
$view->with('countries', Country::all());
});
}
There are two options:
Create a php class file inside app/libraries/YourClassFile.php
a. Any function you create in it would be easily accessible in all the views and controllers.
b. If it is a static function you can easily access it by the class name.
c. Make sure you inclued "app/libraries" in autoload classmap in composer file.
In app/config/app.php create a variable and you can reference the same using
Config::get('variable_name');
Hope this helps.
Edit 1:
Example for my 1st point:
// app/libraries/DefaultFunctions.php
class DefaultFunctions{
public static function getSomeValue(){
// Fetch the Site Settings object
$site_settings = Setting::all();
return $site_settings;
}
}
//composer.json
"autoload": {
"classmap": [
..
..
..
"app/libraries" // add the libraries to access globaly.
]
}
//YourController.php
$default_functions = new DefaultFunctions();
$default_functions->getSomeValue();
Is there a way that I can get the current database table in use by the model that I'm in? I see that there is a table() function in Laravel/Database/Eloquent/model.php but I've been unsuccessful calling it calling it from the model that I'm in.
There is a public getTable() method defined in Eloquent\Model so you should be able to use $model->getTable().
Taylor has an answer to your question:
Within the model class you can do something like this:
return with(new static)->getTable();
If you want all your models to have the ability to return table name statically, then so something like this:
class BaseModel extends Eloquent {
public static function getTableName()
{
return with(new static)->getTable();
}
}
class User extends BaseModel {
}
User::getTableName();
Edit April 2019: This answer is now out of date. See the new correct answer by Flyn San
Yes - Eloquent has a $table variable. There are two ways you can access this:
class yourModel extends Eloquent {
public static $table = "differentTable";
function someFunction()
{
return yourModel::$table;
}
}
or
class yourModel extends Eloquent {
public function someFunction()
{
return $this->table();
}
}
then in your code
Route::get('/', function () {
$model = new yourModel();
dd($model->someFunction());
});
In my case, i'm using laravel 5.4
return (new static)->getTable();
Since table is a protected property in the Model class (Laravel >= 5) you will need an instance of your Model.
Here is a case example:
DB::table( (new YourModelClassname)->getTable() )
->update(['field' => false]);
You can get name of a model's table by following code:
If we have a Model as ModelName:
ModelName::query()->getQuery()->from
This method also works fine in case of custom table name that are defined by protected $table = 'custom_table_name' in the Model.
It will return the table name from the model. perfectly worked on laravel 8
app(Modelname::class)->getTable()
you have to replace Modelname with your model class
Based on Lucky Soni answer, there is another easy trick if you want to directly call it from Vontroller or View.
Tested in Laravel 6, and I keep using it, if you are "One Line Programmer" who hates extra line instance declaration. No need for extra lines in Model file too.
$string_table_name = with(new \App\Model\TableModelName)->getTable();
or better you may also be able to just call this
$string_table_name = (new \App\Model\TableModelName)->getTable();
It will return plain string of the tabel name even if you rename $table variable inside model class.
EDIT :
Minus Rep ?? Maybe you should try this first in your controller instead making new function in model class just to get table name and no need to declare the object when calling.
with() itself is Laravel helper function that returns an object of the class. and inside class that extends Model, already has function getTable(). So, you don't have to put another new redundant function inside model class.
It seems the latest version, you can just call (new Class) without with() function.
The difference between this answer and Lucky's answer, mine doesn't make any new function inside Model class to get the table name, even you can just call the function inside the Controller and View without declaring the object of model class. It's for beautify the code.
While Lucky's answer create new function that inside Model class, and you need to call the function from the object.
Simple way to get table name from Laravel Model by this:
$tableName = app(\App\User::class)->getTable();
Don't forget to replace:
\App\User
With Model path.
Here's an other approach so that you can get a model's table name statically.
Define a Trait: app/Traits/CanGetTableNameStatically.php
<?php namespace App\Traits;
trait CanGetTableNameStatically
{
public static function tableName()
{
return (new static)->getTable();
}
}
Extend your required Model or BaseModel with the use statement.
app/Models/BaseModel.php
<?php namespace App\Models;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use App\Traits\CanGetTableNameStatically;
class BaseModel extends Model
{
use CanGetTableNameStatically;
// ...
}
On your models, if you set the custom table name on Laravel's reserved attribute: protected $table then it will still work & return correct table name.
app/Models/Customer.php
<?php namespace App\Models\Master;
use App\Models\BaseModel;
class Customer extends BaseModel
{
protected $table = 'my_customers';
// ...
}
Usage: just call YourModel::tableName() anywhere.
In Views:
{{ \App\Models\Customer::tableName() }}
When doing Joins:
DB::table( Product::tableName() . ' AS p' )
->leftJoin( ProductCategory::tableName() . ' AS pc', 'pc.id', '=', 'p.category_id')
// ... etc
Note:
I use this approach where needed but full disclosure, I found another answer here that have the exact same approach, so I copy pasted here for reference of course with citation thanks to #topher
Based on tailor Otwell's answer you could use something like this:
with(new Model)->getTable();
Note: tested on versions 5.x, 6.x, 7.x, 8.x and it works well.
another solution is to use the resolve helper like so:
resolve('\\App\\Models\\User')->getTable()
None of the answers so far will get you the table name with the prefix, if you are using a table name prefix. At this time it seems like we need to concatenate the prefix with the table name ourselves if we want the real name of database table.
Here's how to get the table name including the table prefix:
echo \App\MyModel::query()->getQuery()->getGrammar()->getTablePrefix() . app(\App\MyModel::class)->getTable();
in laravel 7.x (i'm used)
you can get table name with (new Target())->getTable();
$query->where('parent_id', function ($query) use ($request) {
$query->select('id')->from((new Target())->getTable())->where('unit_id', $request->unit_id);
});
hope it's helps
To people who want to get table name from a Builder object instead of other object, here you are:
$conn = DB::connection("my_private_mysql_conn");
$my_builder_object = $conn->table("my_table_name");
//This will print out the table name
print $my_builder_object->from;
It will work 100%. You will get table name.
$object = new OrderStockProduct();
// Use below line only when you have dynamic connection in laravel project
// $object->setConnection('mysql');
$object = $object->getTable();
dd($object);
I just wanted to add the following for people coming from search engines:
In case you do not even want to instantiate the Model at all (faster?) :
$model = 'App\User';
$modelTable = str_replace('\\', '', Str::snake(Str::plural(class_basename($model))));
dd($modelTable); // will return "users"
That might look ugly but that's exactly how the getTable() method resolves it under the hood, so...
You will need to use Illuminate\Support\Str; on top of your file.
Addendum: implying you follow the framework's standards (i.e: Post model has posts table, User model has users table, etc)
In Laravel 4 use static method
$table_name = Model::getTable();
or "self" inside Eloquent Model
$table_name = self::getTable();