How do I receive a search request in a controller?

Receiving a search request in a controller depends on the framework you are using. Here are some common scenarios and examples:

1. Spring MVC (Java):

In Spring MVC, you can receive search requests using @RequestParam or @ModelAttribute. Let's consider receiving a search query via a GET request.

Example:

@Controller
public class SearchController {
@GetMapping("/search")
public String handleSearch(@RequestParam("query") String searchQuery, Model model) {
    // Process the search query
    List results = searchService.search(searchQuery);
    model.addAttribute("results", results);
    return "search_results";
}
}

In this case, the searchQuery parameter is extracted from the request using @RequestParam("query").

2. Django (Python):

In Django, you can access the request parameters through the request.GET or request.POST dictionary, depending on the HTTP method used.

Example:

def search_view(request):
    if request.method == 'GET':
        query = request.GET.get('q', '') # 'q' is the name of the query parameter
        # Process the search query
        results = search_function(query)
        return render(request, 'search_results.html', {'results': results})
    else:
        return HttpResponse("Only GET requests are allowed")

Here, request.GET.get('q', '') retrieves the value of the query parameter named 'q'. The second argument provides a default value if the parameter is not present.

3. Express.js (JavaScript/Node.js):

In Express.js, you can access query parameters using req.query.

Example:

app.get('/search', (req, res) => {
    const query = req.query.q;
    // Process the search query
    const results = searchFunction(query);
    res.render('search_results', { results });
});

The req.query.q retrieves the value of the 'q' query parameter.

4. Laravel (PHP):

In Laravel, you can use the request() helper function or inject the Request object to access query parameters.

Example:

public function search(Request $request)
{
    $query = $request->input('q');
    // Process the search query
    $results = SearchService::search($query);
    return view('search_results', ['results' => $results]);
}

Here, $request->input('q') retrieves the value of the 'q' input parameter from the request.

Regardless of the framework, the basic steps involve:

1. Accessing the request object.

2. Retrieving the value of the query parameter (usually a string).

3. Sanitizing/Validating the input to prevent security issues (e.g., SQL injection, XSS).

4. Using the query to perform the search.

5. Returning the results.

Learn more about this