#Epoch SoftDelete

A Laravel package that introduces epoch-based soft deletes to handle unique constraints in multi-tenant applications. This package works seamlessly with Laravel's SoftDeletes trait, allowing you to enforce unique constraints while using soft deletes without conflicts.

#🚀 Features

• Better Handling of Unique Constraints: The epoch-based approach ensures unique constraints are enforced on soft-deleted records without causing conflicts. Users can delete records and recreate them without facing duplicate entry errors.
• Consistent Developer Experience: Works just like Laravel's default SoftDeletes trait. You only need to adjust the deleted_at column type to an integer.
• Default Value Handling: Non-deleted records have a default deleted_at value of 0, ensuring clarity and consistency in your database.
• Backward Compatibility: The package does not modify any existing features or behaviors, and it fully supports Laravel's soft delete functionality.

#📌 Requirements

• php 8.1+
• Laravel 10, or 11

#📥 Installation

You can install the package via Composer:

composer require ismayil-dev/epoch-softdelete

#⚙️ Configuration

Step 1. Register the Service Provider
After installing the package, you need to manually register the service provider in your Laravel app.
Open config/app.php and add the following line inside the providers array:

'providers' => [
    // Other service providers...
    IsmayilDev\EpochSoftDelete\EpochSoftDeleteServiceProvider::class,
],

Step 2. Adjust your deleted_at column:
For new projects, you can use the built-in macro for migrations:

Schema::table('your_table', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->epochSoftDeletes();
});

Step 3. Apply the EpochSoftDeletes trait:
In your models, use the EpochSoftDeletes trait instead of the default SoftDeletes trait:

use IsmayilDev\EpochSoftDelete\EpochSoftDeletes;

class YourModel extends Model
{
    use EpochSoftDeletes;

    // Other model code...
}

Step 4. Run migrations:
After modifying your migration files, run the migration to update the database schema:

php artisan migrate

#🛠 Usage

Once configured, continue using Laravel’s soft delete functionality as usual — no extra changes needed!

YourModel::find(1)->delete();
YourModel::withTrashed()->get();
YourModel::onlyTrashed()->get();
YourModel::find(1)->restore();
// etc.

#📌 deleted_at Auto-Casting

When retrieving soft-deleted models, the deleted_at column automatically casts to a Carbon instance, making it easier to work with. This means you can perform all Carbon operations on deleted_at just like in Laravel’s default soft deletes. 🎯

#⚙️ Handling Existing Projects

If you're integrating Epoch SoftDelete into an existing project, you must update your existing data before changing the column type.

#Steps to Migrate Existing Projects

#1. Convert existing deleted_at values:\

If a record has a deleted_at date, convert it to an epoch timestamp.
If deleted_at is NULL, update it to 0 to indicate the record is not deleted.

#2. Update your database schema:\

Modify the deleted_at column to be an integer (epoch timestamp) instead of timestamp or NULL.

Schema::table('your_table', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->integer('deleted_at')->default(0)->change();
});

#3. Apply the EpochSoftDeletes trait in your model.

#4. Run migrations to finalize the changes.

⚠️ Important: If you do not convert your existing deleted_at values before running migrations, queries may not work as expected.

#🎯 Why Use This Package?

• Prevents Unique Constraint Conflicts: No duplicate entry errors when re-creating soft-deleted records.
• Zero Learning Curve: Works exactly like Laravel’s default SoftDeletes.
• Ideal for Multi-Tenant & High-Integrity Systems: Ensures smooth database management in complex applications.

#📢 Contributing

We welcome contributions! 🎉

If you find a bug, have a feature request, or want to improve the package:

• Open an issue with details about the problem or feature request.
• Submit a pull request (PR) with improvements or fixes.

Before submitting a PR:

• Make sure your changes follow Laravel and PSR coding standards.
• Run tests to ensure everything works as expected.

Feel free to contribute and help improve Epoch SoftDelete! 🚀

#📜 License

This package is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license.