Categorization

The Category Module first appeared in Vanilo v0.4.

#Overview

Depending on your needs you may want to have a single category tree, or more than one. As an example some shops prefer to have "brands" as a hierarchical tree besides the usual "category" classification. Some other shops use brand as a product attribute. Both solutions can be good depending on the unique shop's needs.

Another example is a wine shop that classifies wines based on region and on type.

Taken from other ecommerce systems, separate category trees are called Taxonomies and their child branches are called Taxons.

Example 1:

Category                <- Taxonomy
│
├─> Men                 <- Taxon
│   └> T-shirts         <- Taxon
│   └> Jeans            <- Taxon
└─> Women               <- Taxon
    └> Skirts           <- Taxon
    └> Accessories      <- Taxon

Example 2:

Region                  <- Taxonomy
│
├─> France              <- Taxon
│   └> Bordeaux         <- Taxon
│   └> Côtes du Rhone   <- Taxon
└─> Italy               <- Taxon
    └> Veneto           <- Taxon
    └> Tuscany          <- Taxon
    └> Piedmont         <- Taxon

Example 3:

Type                    <- Taxonomy
│
├─> Red                 <- Taxon
│   └> Cabernet Franc   <- Taxon
│   └> Merlot           <- Taxon
│   └> Porto            <- Taxon
├─> White               <- Taxon
│   └> Muscat Ottonel   <- Taxon
│   └> Tokaji           <- Taxon
│   └> Furmint          <- Taxon
└─> Rosé                <- Taxon
    └> Cabernet Franc   <- Taxon
    └> Cuvée            <- Taxon

#Creating Taxonomies

Taxonomies basically have two properties: name and slug. The slug must be unique and gets autogenerated (URL-ified) from the name if it doesn't explicitly get specified.

use Vanilo\Category\Models\Taxonomy;

$category = Taxonomy::create(['name' => 'Wine Regions']);

echo $category->name;
// Wine Regions
echo $category->slug;
// wine-regions

The Taxonomy and the Taxon models use the Eloquent Sluggable package.

If you explicitly set the slug, no autogeneration will take place:

use Vanilo\Category\Models\Taxonomy;

$category = Taxonomy::create(['name' => 'Wine Regions', 'slug' => 'regions']);

echo $category->slug;
// regions

In case a slug already exists, the slug will be automatically extended to prevent duplicates:

use Vanilo\Category\Models\Taxonomy;

$category1 = Taxonomy::create(['name' => 'Category']);
$category2 = Taxonomy::create(['name' => 'Category']);

echo $category1->slug;
// category

echo $category2->slug;
// category-1

#Finding Taxonomies

#By Name

There's a dedicated finder method to retrieve a single taxonomy by name:

Taxonomy::create(['name' => 'Brands']);

$brands = Taxonomy::findOneByName('Brands');

#By Slug

Added in v2.1

There's a dedicated static method to retrieve a single taxonomy by slug:

Taxonomy::create(['name' => 'Gift Ideas', 'slug' => 'gift-ideas']);

$giftIdeas = Taxonomy::findOneBySlug('gift-ideas');

#Creating Taxons

Taxons are the actual category entries like "Smartphones" or "Riesling", etc. Every Taxon must belong to a Taxonomy and must have a name.

use Vanilo\Category\Models\Taxonomy;
use Vanilo\Category\Models\Taxon;

$category = Taxonomy::create(['name' => 'Category']);
$smartphones = Taxon::create([
    'taxonomy_id' => $category->id,
    'name' => 'Smartphones'
]);

// You can also use the setTaxonomy method:
$smartphones->setTaxonomy($category);
$smartphones->save();

To retrieve the taxonomy the taxon belongs to, use the taxonomy property:

$category = Taxonomy::create(['name' => 'Category']);

$taxon = new Taxon();
$taxon->setTaxonomy($category);

echo get_class($taxon->taxonomy);
// Vanilo\Category\Models\Taxonomy

echo $taxon->taxonomy->name;
// Category

#Taxon Slug (URL)

Taxons also have a slug field to be used for their URLs, and work very similar to Taxonomies.

If no value is given for the slug field, it gets autogenerated from the value of the name field:

$category = Taxonomy::create(['name' => 'Category']);

$monitors = new Taxon();
$monitors->name = 'Monitors';
$monitors->setTaxonomy($category);
$monitors->save();

echo $monitors->slug;
// monitors

If you explicitly set the slug, no autogeneration will take place:

$taxon = Taxon::create([
    'taxonomy_id' => Taxonomy::create(['name' => 'Wine Regions']),
    'name' => 'Carcavelos DOC',
    'slug' => 'carcavelos'
]);

echo $taxon->slug;
// carcavelos

Taxon slugs must be unique within the same taxonomy and level.

Example of same slug allowed:

wine-type               <- Taxonomy Slug
│
├─> red                 <- Taxon Slug
│   └> cabernet-franc   <- Taxon Slug, duplicate ✔
└─> rose                <- Taxon Slug
    └> cabernet-franc   <- Taxon Slug, duplicate ✔

Example of same slug forbidden:

wine-type               <- Taxonomy Slug
│
├─> red                 <- Taxon Slug
│   └> cabernet         <- Taxon Slug, duplicate ❌
│   └> cabernet         <- Taxon Slug, duplicate ❌
└─> rose                <- Taxon Slug
    └> cabernet         <- Taxon Slug, duplicate ✔

#Taxon Parents

Taxons can optionally have one parent taxon they belong under. Taxons that don't have a parent taxon are considered root level entries.

use Vanilo\Category\Models\Taxonomy;
use Vanilo\Category\Models\Taxon;

$category = Taxonomy::create(['name' => 'Category']);

$audio = Taxon::create([
    'taxonomy_id' => $category->id,
    'name' => 'Audio'
]);

$speakers = Taxon::create([
    'taxonomy_id' => $category->id,
    'parent_id' => $audio->id,
    'name' => 'Speakers'
]);

echo get_class($speakers->parent);
// Vanilo\Category\Models\Taxon
echo $speakers->parent->name;
// Audio

Other than setting the parent_id field directly, it is also possible to call the setter method:

$childTaxon->setParent($parentTaxon);
$childTaxon->save();

To dissociate the parent use:

$childTaxon->removeParent();
$childTaxon->save();

var_dump($childTaxon->parent_id);
// NULL
var_dump($childTaxon->parent);
// NULL

#Taxon Children

Since taxons are a tree type of hierarchy, they can have multiple children.

The children property returns a Collection of child taxons.

$category = Taxonomy::create(['name' => 'Category']);

$topLevelTaxon = Taxon::create([
    'taxonomy_id' => $category->id,
    'name' => 'Rigging'    
]);

$childTaxon1 = Taxon::create([
    'taxonomy_id' => $category->id,
    'parent_id' => $topLevelTaxon->id,
    'name' => 'Halyards'
]);

$childTaxon1 = Taxon::create([
    'taxonomy_id' => $category->id,
    'parent_id' => $topLevelTaxon->id,
    'name' => 'Sheets'
]);

foreach ($topLevelTaxon->children as $child) {
    echo "{$child->name}\n";
}
// Halyards
// Sheets

#Taxon Level

Taxons can tell their level in the hierarchy.

Top level entries (without parent) are on level 0, their children are level 1, and so on.

$category = Taxonomy::create(['name' => 'Category']);

$audio = Taxon::create([
    'taxonomy_id' => $category->id,
    'name' => 'Audio'
]);

$speakers = Taxon::create([
    'taxonomy_id' => $category->id,
    'parent_id' => $audio->id,
    'name' => 'Speakers'
]);

echo $audio->level;
// 0

var_dump($audio->isRootLevel());
// true

echo $speakers->level;
// 1

#Neighbours

Neighbours are the taxons which are under a common parent (within the same taxonomy).

It is defined as a HasMany Eloquent relationship thus available as a property ($taxon->neighbours) which gives a collection.

Due to the internals of relationships, the relationship doesn't work for root level taxons (parent_id == NULL)

$books = Taxon::create(['name' => 'Books']);

Taxon::create(['name' => 'Sci-fi', 'parent_id' => $books->id]);
Taxon::create(['name' => 'Thriller', 'parent_id' => $books->id]);
$fantasy = Taxon::create(['name' => 'Fantasy', 'parent_id' => $books->id]);

$fantasy->neighbours;
// Sci-fi
// Thriller
// Fantasy

// Yes, it returns the caller itself as well (read below how to filter it)

It is also possible to invoke $taxon->neighbours() as a method and further use it as query builder:

$taxon->neighbours()->get();

// To exclude the caller from the result use the `except` scope:
$taxon->neighbours()->except($taxon)->get();

// To get them in a reverse order
$taxon->neighbours()->sortReverse()->get();

#Get First And Last Neighbours

Unlike the neighbours relationship, this works properly on root level taxons as well

There are two dedicated methods to retrieve the first or the last neighbour:

• $taxon->lastNeighbour() and
• $taxon->firstNeighbour()

The order of the taxons is based on the priority field.

$gadgets = Taxon::create(['Gadgets']);

$laptops = Taxon::create(['name' => 'Laptops', 'priority' => 1, 'parent_id' => $gadgets->id]);
$watches = Taxon::create(['name' => 'Watches', 'priority' => 2, 'parent_id' => $gadgets->id]);
$phones  = Taxon::create(['name' => 'Phones', 'priority' => 3, 'parent_id' => $gadgets->id]);
$tablets = Taxon::create(['name' => 'Tablets', 'priority' => 4, 'parent_id' => $gadgets->id]);

echo $phones->firstNeighbour()->name;
// Laptops
echo $phones->lastNeighbour()->name;
// Tablets

// It may return itself if that happens to be the case:
echo $laptops->firstNeighbour()->name;
// Laptops
echo $tablets->lastNeighbour()->name;
// Tablets

// To exclude itself from the result, set the `$excludeSelf` parameter of the method to true:
echo $laptops->firstNeighbour(true)->name;
// Watches
echo $tablets->lastNeighbour(true)->name;
// Phones

#Retrieving Taxons (Scopes)

#Easy Retrieval By Slug(s)

Added in v2.1

There is a static convenience method called Taxon::findOneByParentsAndSlug() to locate a taxon based on its and its parents' slug. These methods can be handy in Controller contexts where you get a series of slugs as route parameters.

Retrieve a taxon by slug within a given taxonomy:

$brands = Taxonomy::create(['name' => 'Brands']);
Taxon::create(['name' => 'Klarna', 'taxonomy_id' => $brands->id]);

$klarna = Taxon::findOneByParentsAndSlug('brands', 'klarna');
echo $klarna->name;
// Klarna

Due to their tree-like nature, taxon slugs aren't unique. If you need to locate a specific Taxon with a given parent, use the third (parentSlug) parameter of the method:

$locations = Taxonomy::create(['name' => 'Locations']);
$tennessee = Taxon::create(['name' => 'Tennessee', 'taxonomy_id' => $locations->id]);
$egypt = Taxon::create(['name' => 'Egypt', 'taxonomy_id' => $locations->id]);

Taxon::create(['name' => 'Memphis', 'parent_id' => $tennessee->id, 'taxonomy_id' => $locations->id]);
Taxon::create(['name' => 'Memphis', 'parent_id' => $egypt->id, 'taxonomy_id' => $locations->id]);

$memphisEgypt = Taxon::findOneByParentsAndSlug('locations', 'memphis', 'egypt');
$memphisTennessee = Taxon::findOneByParentsAndSlug('locations', 'memphis', 'tennessee');

The default Taxon model that ships with this package defines a several Query Scopes.

Due to the nature of Eloquent query scopes, these are chainable so it is possible to combine them arbitrarily.

#Retrieve By Taxonomy

To retrieve all taxons belonging to a taxonomy, use the byTaxonomy scope:

$category = Taxonomy::findOneByName('Category');

// Returns a collection of taxons
$taxons = Taxon::byTaxonomy($category)->get();

// The method also works by passing the taxonomy id:
$id = $category->id;
$taxons = Taxon::byTaxonomy($id)->get();

#Retrieve Root Level Taxons

An alternative to $taxonomy->rootLevelTaxons() is to retrieve all the root level taxons:

// It returns all the taxons without parent, from all taxonomies:
$allRootLevelTaxons = Taxon::roots()->get();

// It is possible of course to combine with byTaxonomy scope:
$taxonomy = Taxonomy::findOneByName('Brands');
$rootTaxonsForBrands = Taxon::roots()->byTaxonomy($taxonomy)->get();

#Sorting Taxons

Taxons have a field called priority which is designed to make taxons sortable.

The sort() and sortReverse() query scopes sort results by priority:

$spirits = Taxonomy::create(['name' => 'Spirits']);
Taxon::create(['name' => 'Gin', 'priority' => 3, 'taxonomy_id' => $spirits->id]);
Taxon::create(['name' => 'Whisky', 'priority' => 1, 'taxonomy_id' => $spirits->id]);
Taxon::create(['name' => 'Armagnac', 'priority' => 2, 'taxonomy_id' => $spirits->id]);

foreach(Taxon::sort()->get() as $taxon) {
    echo $taxon->name . "\n";
}
// Output:
// Whisky
// Armagnac
// Gin

// To get taxons in reverse order: 
foreach(Taxon::sortReverse()->get() as $taxon) {
    echo $taxon->name . "\n";
}
// Output:
// Gin
// Armagnac
// Whisky

#Exclude One Taxon From The List

There are cases when you want to exclude a taxon from the list of taxons. For that purpose you can utilize the except(Taxon $taxon) scope:

$me = Taxon::create(['name' => 'Me']);

Taxon::create(['name' => 'You']);
Taxon::create(['name' => 'She']);
Taxon::create(['name' => 'We']);

Taxon::except($me)->get();
// You
// She
// We

#Assign Taxons To Products

The goal of categorization is to define "things" to be categorized.

The most common use case is to arrange products in categories, and this is already configured in the Framework (but not in standalone modules!).

The assignment is done with Eloquent Many To Many Polymorphic Relations.

This category module has prepared the model_taxons table for this purpose and is ready to be used without any further database change.

#Assigning Taxons To A Product:

$product = Product::find(1);
$taxon1 = Taxon::find(1);
$taxon2 = Taxon::find(2);

// To assign a single taxon:
$product->addTaxon($taxon1);

//To assign multiple taxons:
$product->addTaxons([$taxon1, $taxon2]);

#Removing Taxons From A Subscriber:

$product = Product::find(1);
$taxon = Taxon::find(1);

// To assign a single taxon:
$product->removeTaxon($taxon);

#The Inverse: Add Products To Taxons

Another common use case is to retrieve all the products within a category (Taxon). This is also preconfigured in the Framework (but not in the standalone modules!).

To manipulate the products within a taxon:

$taxon = \App\Taxon::find(1);
$product = Product::find(1);

// Add the product to the taxon
$taxon->addProduct($product);
// Note that it has exactly the same effect as this:
$product->addTaxon($taxon);

// To retrieve all the products within the taxon:
$taxon->products;
// Collection of Product objects

#Assign Taxons To Models (Other Than Products)

The Category module's README has a detailed description about assigning Taxons with any model in your system.

#Known Issues

#Duplicate Taxon Slugs On Root Level

Uniqueness of taxon slugs within a taxonomy level is currently guaranteed by unique DB keys. Most contemporary DB engines allow NULLs in composite unique keys.

Therefore root level taxons can have duplicate slugs.

#Neighbours Relationship On Root Level

The neighbours() relationship does not work on root level taxons. It returns an empty result set.