Enhance search endpoint for flexible output formats

[josecl]

Current feature

Laravel Orion's search endpoint is a powerful feature that could be even more versatile. Currently, for example, when users search for documents, they can apply various filters and receive results through this endpoint.

Feature request

I propose extending the functionality of the search endpoint to allow for alternative output formats while utilizing the same search parameters and accessing the underlying QueryBuilder. This enhancement would enable features like:

• Downloading search results as an Excel file
• Returning aggregated data (e.g., SQL gropy by) in JSON format to populate charts
• Dispatching jobs to delay heavy load processing

Current Workaround

For the past two years, I've implemented a solution across several projects to achieve this functionality. However, this approach feels cumbersome and could be vulnerable to breaking changes. My current method involves:

• Extending the base Controller, e.g.: RelationController
• Referencing the search method in a new route
• Overriding the beforeIndex() method to return custom output

Example using the Laravel Excel package to generate spreadsheets from a RelationController:

Route::post('instituciones/{institucion}/report/xlsx', [MyController::class, 'search']);

public function beforeIndex(Request $request, Model|Institucion $parentModel)
{
    $requestedRelations = $this->relationsResolver->requestedRelations($request);
    $queryBuilder = $this->buildIndexFetchQuery($request, $parentModel, $requestedRelations);

    return Excel::download(new DocumentosExport($queryBuilder, $parentModel), "documentos.xlsx");
}

Proposed Solution

I suggest implementing this feature in two steps:

1. Retrieve query filters
2. Build the query builder

This approach offers flexibility, particularly for scenarios involving heavy data processing where a Job might need to be dispatched to run the query later. While the QueryBuilder can't be natively serialized in Laravel, the filters array can be easily serialized when dispatching a Job. Defining custom methods allows full use of Laravel Controllers' features, such as dependency injection, enhancing flexibility and adherence to Laravel's design principles.

Proposed implementation:

Downloading a spreadsheet:

# api.php
Route::post('instituciones/{institucion}/report/xlsx', [MyController::class, 'downloadExcel']);

# MyController.php
public function downloadExcel(Request $request, Institucion $institucion)
{
    $filters = $this->parseSearchFiltersFromRequest();
    $queryBuilder = $this->buildSearchQueryBuilder($filters);

    return Excel::download(new DocumentosExport($queryBuilder, $institucion), "documentos.xlsx");
}

or dispatching a Job:

# api.php
Route::post('instituciones/{institucion}/dispatch-heavy-job', [MyController::class, 'queueJob']);

# MyController.php
public function queueJob()
{
    $filters = $this->parseSearchFiltersFromRequest();
    dispatch(new MyHeavyJob($filters));

    return response([], 201);
}

This enhancement would significantly improve the flexibility and maintainability of the search functionality while preserving its core strengths.