[Newbies] Understanding the Role of the Model

Most tutorials will tell you that “the Model is where business logic lives.” That’s true — but it’s also incomplete.

A clearer way to understand the Model is this: Information is Data that makes sense for your "domain". Data belongs to the database. Information belongs to the Model.

The database stores raw data — just facts: numbers, names, and relationships. But data on its own has no meaning until it’s interpreted in the context of your domain. That process — turning data into information that makes sense for your application — is what the Model is truly for.

This is the business logic that lives here because it’s the set of rules that define meaning in your domain.

For example, deciding what counts as a “top 5 job,” “active customer,” or “late payment” isn’t a database concern — it’s a domain concern.

And that logic naturally belongs in the Model layer.

So instead of thinking of the Model as just “where queries go,” think of it as the intelligence that transforms data into meaningful information. It’s what makes your application’s world make sense.

Autoloading, Namespaces, and Models

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