In Laravel 8, routing is defined in the routes directory of your application. Laravel provides separate route files for different types of routes, such as web routes, API routes, and console routes. Here's an overview of how routing works in Laravel 8:

1. Web Routes:

   • Web routes are used for defining routes that are accessed through web browsers.
   • The web routes file is located at routes/web.php.
   • By default, web routes are assigned the web middleware group, which includes features like session management and CSRF protection.
   • You can define web routes using the Route facade and its methods such as get(), post(), put(), patch(), delete(), and any().
   • Example web route definition:
     use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

     Route::get('/', function () {

          return view('welcome');

     });

2. API Routes:

   • API routes are used for creating RESTful APIs or JSON responses.
   • The API routes file is located at routes/api.php.
   • By default, API routes are assigned the api middleware group, which includes features like API authentication and rate limiting.
   • You can define API routes using the Route facade similar to web routes.
   • Example API route definition:
     use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;
     Route::middleware('auth:api')->get('/user', function (Request $request) {
          return $request->user();

     });

3. Route Parameters:

   • Laravel allows you to define route parameters for dynamic routing.
   • Route parameters are defined by enclosing a parameter name within {} in the route definition.
   • Example route definition with a parameter:
     use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;
     Route::get('/user/{id}', function ($id) {
          return 'User ID: ' . $id;

     });

4. Route Names and Named Routes:

   • You can assign names to routes for easier referencing and generating URLs.
   • Route names are defined using the name() method on the route definition.
   • Example named route definition:
     use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;
     Route::get('/user/{id}', function ($id) {
          //Route logic

     })->name('user.profile');
   • Named routes can be referenced using the route() helper function or by using the route's name directly.

5. Route Groups and Middleware:

   • Laravel allows you to group routes to apply common attributes or middleware to them.
   • Route groups are defined using the Route::group() method.
   • Middleware can be applied to route groups or individual routes using the middleware() method.
   • Example route group and middleware definition:
     use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

     Route::middleware(['auth'])->group(function () {

          Route::get('/dashboard', function () {

          //Route logic

     });

     Route::get('/profile', function () { // Route logic }); });