Changing your mind about when() and unless() in Eloquent

Aaron admits he used to wrap every query in plain old if-statements—until Laravel’s when()/unless() helpers (and arrow functions) won him over. He and Joel compare their journeys, debate readability trade-offs, and share guidelines for deciding which style to use. Along the way they discuss false assumptions, evolving “code grammar,” and how tools such as Rector can automate the switch.

• (00:00) - Intro – refining long-held opinions
• (00:45) - Aaron’s original “query-then-if” pattern
• (01:45) - Why when() first felt clumsy (closures, scopes, extra params)
• (03:45) - Arrow functions & smaller conditions make when() nicer
• (05:00) - Joel’s lingering objection: avoiding unless() for readability
• (06:45) - Seeing the same helper everywhere changes minds
• (08:30) - Takeaways – keep revisiting old habits as Laravel evolves
• (09:30) - Silly bit

Want help learning how to more quickly refactor and standardize your app with Rector?