Difference between method calls $model->relation(); and $model->relation | Laravel Point

 

In Laravel, when you call a relationship method on a model, the difference between using parentheses () and not using them is whether the relationship is being accessed as an object or as a value.

• $model->relation();: This is accessing the relationship as an object. When you call a relationship method with parentheses, Laravel will return a query builder instance, allowing you to add additional constraints to the relationship query before retrieving the related models.

       $posts = $user->posts(); // returns a query builder instance

• $model->relation;: This is accessing the relationship as a value. When you call a relationship method without parentheses, Laravel will return the related models, either from the cache if the relationship has already been loaded, or by executing a query to retrieve the related models from the database.

       $posts = $user->posts; // returns the related models

So in short, $model->relation(); returns a query builder instance, while $model->relation; returns the actual related models.