I am trying to understand the difference between the whereDate() and where() methods in Laravel when querying a MySQL database. Here's an example to illustrate my confusion:
1: Using whereDate():
$posts = Post::whereDate('created_at', Carbon::today())->get();
2: Using where():
$posts = Post::where('created_at', Carbon::today())->get();
Could someone explain the difference between these two methods and what they return when used in the examples above? Which one should I use if I want to fetch all posts created today, regardless of the time?
Thanks in advance for your help!
whereDate will cast the left hand side of the expression as Date prior to the comparison.
So assuming there's a time component, then the time is not part of the operation.
The where is relying on casting done by the mysql engine itself and can feel less predictable. But it would attempt to compare it directly, and depending on the string passed in the right hand expression and the engine configuration of mysql could do exactly the same thing or look for a direct point in time and cast the right side to a timestamp and just compare them for exact equality.
-- where version
select * from posts where created_at = '2024-12-18';
-- where version potentially depending on the output of carbon when converted.
select * from posts where created_at = '2024-12-18 00:00';
-- whereDate version
select * from posts where Date(created_at) = '2024-12-18';
So then the casting of the data type of a timestamp to a date with no time component declares your intent much more directly.
This article had a nice way of explaining it: https://laraveldaily.com/post/eloquent-date-filtering-wheredate-and-other-methods