laravel/documentation/database/usage.md

Database Usage

Queries

Running queries against a database connection is a breeze using the query method on the DB class:

$users = DB::query('select * from users');

The query method also allows you to specify bindings for your query in the second parameter to the method:

$users = DB::query('select * from users where name = ?', array('test'));

The return value of the query method depends on the type of query that is executed:

• SELECT statements will return an array of stdClass objects with properties corresponding to each column on the table.
• INSERT statements will return true or false, depending on the success of the query.
• UPDATE and DELETE statements will return the number of rows affected by the query.

Connections

Need to get the raw PDO object for a connection? It's easy. Just mention the connection name to the connection method on the DB class:

$pdo = DB::connection('sqlite');

Note: If no connection name is specified, the default connection will be returned.

Driver

Want to know which PDO driver is being used for a connection? Check out the driver method:

$driver = DB::driver('connection_name');

Note: If no connection name is specified, the default connection driver will be returned.