Add varchar column type with SQL Server using Laravel

Question

I'm using Laravel 5.7 along with SQL Server 2017 and I want to generate a varchar(50) column called name.

Executing this code gives me a nvarchar(50) instead:

Schema::create('test', function(Blueprint $table) {
    $table->string('name', 50);
});

How can I differentiate between creating a varchar or nvarchar field?

Answer 1

This is a shot in the dark as I don't have SQL Server to test. But basically you can just extend the Blueprint and SqlServerGrammar classes and add your own column types. Please test and let me know. :)

Create a folder called Schemas under the app folder, then create folders Blueprints and Grammars under the Schemas folder. Inside them, create your PHP classes:

CustomBlueprint.php

<?php

namespace App\Schemas\Blueprints;

use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Builder;

class CustomBlueprint extends Blueprint
{
    public function varChar($column, $length = null)
    {
        $length = $length ? : Builder::$defaultStringLength;

        return $this->addColumn('varChar', $column, compact('length'));
    }
}

CustomGrammar.php

<?php

namespace App\Schemas\Grammars;

use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Grammars\SqlServerGrammar;
use Illuminate\Support\Fluent;

class CustomGrammar extends SqlServerGrammar
{
    protected function typeVarChar(Fluent $column)
    {
        return "varchar({$column->length})";
    }
}

Your migration file:

public function up()
{
    DB::connection()->setSchemaGrammar(new CustomGrammar());

    $schema = DB::connection()->getSchemaBuilder();

    $schema->blueprintResolver(function($table, $callback) {
        return new CustomBlueprint($table, $callback);
    });

    $schema->create('test', function (CustomBlueprint $table) {
        $table->string('name', 50);  // <-- nvarchar(50)
        // or
        $table->varChar('name', 50); // <-- varchar(50)
    });
}