Listing up all tables from DB without knowing the db

To list all tables from a database without explicitly knowing the database name, you can use Laravel's database connection to query the information schema. The information_schema.tables table contains metadata about all tables in the database.

Here's how you can achieve this in Laravel:

1. Query the Information Schema: You can use the DB facade to run a raw SQL query to get all table names.

2. Filter for Soft Deleted Records: Once you have the table names, you can select a specific table and query for soft-deleted records if the table uses soft deletes.

Here's a step-by-step solution:

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;

public function listTables()
{
    // Get the current database name
    $databaseName = DB::getDatabaseName();

    // Query to get all table names from the current database
    $tables = DB::select('SHOW TABLES');

    // Extract table names from the result
    $tableNames = array_map('current', $tables);

    return $tableNames;
}

public function getSoftDeletedRecords($tableName)
{
    // Check if the table exists in the database
    if (!Schema::hasTable($tableName)) {
        return "Table does not exist.";
    }

    // Query the table for soft-deleted records
    $softDeletedRecords = DB::table($tableName)
        ->whereNotNull('deleted_at')
        ->get();

    return $softDeletedRecords;
}

Explanation:

• listTables Method: This method retrieves all table names from the current database using the SHOW TABLES SQL command. It then maps the result to extract just the table names.

• getSoftDeletedRecords Method: This method checks if the specified table exists and then queries for records where the deleted_at column is not null, which indicates soft-deleted records. This assumes that the table uses Laravel's soft delete feature.

Note:

• Ensure that your database user has the necessary permissions to access the information_schema and perform the SHOW TABLES command.
• The deleted_at column is a convention used by Laravel's soft delete feature. If your tables use a different column name for soft deletes, adjust the query accordingly.