How to Optimize Eloquent Queries for Large Datasets in Laravel 9?
I'm attempting to set up I'm optimizing some code but I've hit a wall trying to I'm not sure how to approach While refactoring my client's Laravel application, I stumbled upon the performance bottleneck caused by extensive Eloquent queries on large datasets. The application is designed for healthcare management, and it frequently retrieves patient records along with their appointment histories, which can number in the thousands. After reviewing the existing code, I found queries like this: ```php $patients = Patient::with('appointments')->get(); ``` This approach seems to work well for smaller datasets, but the loading time becomes unacceptable as the data grows. I tried eager loading with constraints, thinking it might help reduce the amount of unnecessary data: ```php $patients = Patient::with(['appointments' => function($query) { $query->where('date', '>=', now()->subYear()); }])->get(); ``` Even though this improves performance, it doesn't completely alleviate the slowdown when several users access the records simultaneously. To further enhance the performance, I considered pagination and chunking the results. Initially, I implemented pagination: ```php $patients = Patient::with('appointments')->paginate(15); ``` This made the frontend more responsive, but the underlying queries still took a toll on the database. After profiling with Laravel Telescope, it was evident that the sheer volume of records was overwhelming the database server under high load. Consequently, I'm exploring the use of query caching with Laravel’s built-in mechanisms: ```php $patients = Cache::remember('patients_with_appointments', 60, function () { return Patient::with('appointments')->get(); }); ``` While caching has shown to be effective in other scenarios, it's crucial to ensure that the cache stays updated with the latest patient data. Lastly, I am considering database indexing on frequently queried columns. Our current indexes seem insufficient, especially on `appointments.date`. However, I'm cautious about the overhead involved in maintaining those indexes on write operations. What additional strategies or best practices can I apply to optimize the Eloquent queries for this scenario? Any insights on balancing read and write performance would be greatly appreciated. I appreciate any insights! I'm working in a Windows 11 environment. Thanks, I really appreciate it! This is my first time working with Php 3.11. The stack includes Php and several other technologies. Is there a better approach? I recently upgraded to Php 3.11. Thanks for taking the time to read this! For reference, this is a production application. I'd really appreciate any guidance on this.