using touch() to update timestamp of custom timestamp field in laravel

Question

Is there a way to use touch() for updating timestamp of is_online field in table instead of updating created_at field in laravel Eloquent ORM

At present I am using

User::where('id',$senderId )->update(array('is_online' => date('Y-m-d H:i:s')));

Answer 1

No, the touch method isn't written for updating anything other than the built in timestamps, but you could write your own function in your User Model, if you want to. Something like this

class User extends Eloquent implements UserInterface, RemindableInterface {

    public function touchOnline()
    {
        $this->is_online = $this->freshTimestamp();
        return $this->save();
    }
}

and then do replace your old code with

User::find($senderId)->touchOnline();

A few more lines of code, but maybe a slight bit more readable.

You can find the code behind the touch function here, if you're curious.