Laravel's sole() method: What it is and how to use it?

The sole() method in Laravel is a query builder method that retrieves a single record and throws an exception if more than one record is found or if no records are found. It is useful for cases where you expect only one record to be returned, such as when fetching a user by their email address or a product by its ID.

Here is an example of how to use the sole() method:

If there is more than one user or product that matches the query, Laravel will throw a MultipleRecordsFoundException. If there are no users or products that match the query, Laravel will throw a RecordsNotFoundException.

Here is a simplified example of how the sole() method works behind the scenes:

The sole() method first calls the first() method to fetch the first record that matches the query. If no records are found, Laravel throws a RecordsNotFoundException. If multiple records are found, Laravel throws a MultipleRecordsFoundException. Otherwise, the sole() method returns the first record.

The sole() method is a useful way to ensure that your database queries only return the expected number of records. It can help to prevent errors and make your code more robust.