if else condition in blade file (laravel 5.3)
Stefan Izdrail
Founder & Senior Architect · 2026-06-29
Title: Efficiently Handling if/else Conditions in Laravel Blade Files (Laravel 5.3)
Introduction: In the world of web development, conditional statements play a vital role in determining application behaviour based on certain conditions. The Laravel framework uses the Blade template engine to create and manage views. One of its features is using if/else conditions to display different contents depending on the condition's truth. However, you may sometimes face issues with curly braces printed alongside your output. In this comprehensive post, we will explore why these curly braces appear and provide solutions for removing them.
1. Understanding Laravel Blade Template Engine:
Laravel's Blade template engine is an embedded language that works within PHP files to handle the presentation layer. It allows developers to easily separate app logic from view rendering by using basic code syntax. For instance, you can write HTML with additional custom tags such as @if, @else, and @endif to control the flow of your application.
2. Handling if/else Conditions in Blade Files:
Laravel provides a simple syntax for if/else conditions in Blade files that follow the PHP conditional structure. Let's look at the example you provided to understand how it works.
Example Code:
@if($user->status == 'waiting')
{
<td><a href="#" class="viewPopLink btn btn-default1" role="button" data-id="{{ $user->travel_id }}" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#myModal">Approve/Reject<a></td>
}
@else{
<td>{{ $user->status }}</td>
}
@endif
In this code, you check if the user's status is 'waiting' and then execute a specific block of HTML code if true. If not, the alternative block will be executed. However, the issue here is that when the condition evaluates to false, we get both the contents within the {...} and the @else block printed. This might cause unwanted duplicate content or layout issues in your application.
3. Removing Unwanted Curly Braces:
There are multiple ways to resolve this issue. The most straightforward method is to remove the curly braces from the original code, as shown below:
Modified Code:
@if($user->status == 'waiting')
<td><a href="#" class="viewPopLink btn btn-default1" role="button" data-id="{{ $user->travel_id }}" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#myModal">Approve/Reject<a></td>
@else{
<td>{{ $user->status }}</td>
}
@endif
By doing this, you ensure that your output will not be printed with the curly braces. However, if you prefer to keep them for better readability or maintain the original logic, follow these steps:
Step 1: Wrap the block of unnecessary HTML code (the curly braces) within another set of curly braces. This will contain only the unwanted content and not affect the rendering process.
Example:
@if($user->status == 'waiting'){
<td><a href="#" class="viewPopLink btn btn-default1" role="button" data-id="{{ $user->travel_id }}" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#myModal">Approve/Reject<a></td>
@else{
<td>{{ $user->status }}</td>
}
@endif
Step 2: Use the Laravel HTML view helpers to render your content. When you need specific content, use the @section directive with a unique name for each block that follows. This allows you to include and remove content as required without affecting other parts of your blade file.
Example:
@if($user->status == 'waiting'){
@section('special_contents')
<td><a href="#" class="viewPopLink btn btn-default1" role="button" data-id="{{ $user->travel_id }}" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#myModal">Approve/Reject<a></td>
@endsection
@else{
<td>{{ $user->status }}</td>
}
@endif
In this case, you have access to the rendered output by using @yield('special_contents') or @renderSection('special_contents') inside your view. This way, you can control the visibility of the contents without dealing with curly braces in the output.
Conclusion:
By understanding the Laravel Blade template engine and its if/else conditional syntax, you can ensure that your application functions as intended. In cases where you need to remove unwanted curly braces or make content blocks visible dynamically, you can employ various strategies to achieve the desired outcome. Remember to use well-structured code for maintainability and better readability in your Laravel projects.