Sorting data by accessor column/computed property?

To solve the issue of sorting data by an accessor column or computed property in your Laravel application, you can use a combination of raw SQL and Eloquent to achieve this. Since the values you want to sort by are not actual columns in your database, you can use a subquery to calculate these values and then sort by the result of that subquery.

Here's a step-by-step solution:

1. Define the Accessors in Your Model: Ensure you have the accessors defined in your Conversation model for outboundMessagesCount, outboundCallsCount, and totalOutboundContactCount.

   class Conversation extends Model
   {
       public function getOutboundMessagesCountAttribute()
       {
           // Logic to calculate outbound messages count
       }
   
       public function getOutboundCallsCountAttribute()
       {
           // Logic to calculate outbound calls count
       }
   
       public function getTotalOutboundContactCountAttribute()
       {
           return $this->outboundMessagesCount + $this->outboundCallsCount;
       }
   }
   

2. Use a Subquery to Calculate the Total Outbound Contact Count: You can use a subquery to calculate the totalOutboundContactCount and then sort by this value.

   use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;
   
   $conversations = Conversation::select('*')
       ->selectSub(function ($query) {
           $query->select(DB::raw('outbound_messages_count + outbound_calls_count'))
                 ->from('conversations as sub')
                 ->whereColumn('sub.id', 'conversations.id')
                 ->limit(1);
       }, 'total_outbound_contact_count')
       ->orderBy('total_outbound_contact_count', 'desc')
       ->get();
   

3. Alternative Approach Using Eloquent Accessors: If you prefer to keep the logic within Eloquent, you can use a custom query scope to achieve the same result.

   class Conversation extends Model
   {
       // Accessors as defined earlier
   
       public function scopeWithTotalOutboundContactCount($query)
       {
           return $query->select('*')
               ->selectSub(function ($query) {
                   $query->select(DB::raw('outbound_messages_count + outbound_calls_count'))
                         ->from('conversations as sub')
                         ->whereColumn('sub.id', 'conversations.id')
                         ->limit(1);
               }, 'total_outbound_contact_count');
       }
   }
   
   // Usage
   $conversations = Conversation::withTotalOutboundContactCount()
       ->orderBy('total_outbound_contact_count', 'desc')
       ->get();
   

In both approaches, the key is to use a subquery to calculate the totalOutboundContactCount and then sort by this computed value. This way, you don't need to add a new column to your database, and you can still sort your data based on the computed property.