Laravel request helper usage

$tab = request('tab', 'client-tab');

means:

– It tries to get the **`tab`** parameter from the current HTTP request (from **GET**, **POST**, or **query**).
– If the `tab` parameter **exists**, it will assign its value to `$tab`.
– If the `tab` parameter **does not exist**, it will assign the **default value** `'client-tab'` to `$tab`.

**In short:**
> "Get the `tab` value from the request, or use `'client-tab'` if not provided."

—

**Example 1 (tab is given in URL):**
URL: `https://example.com/somepage?tab=admin-tab`
Result:

$tab = 'admin-tab';

**Example 2 (tab is not given):**
URL: `https://example.com/somepage`
Result:

$tab = 'client-tab';

—

Would you also like a small real-world usage example? 🚀

This line you wrote:

return redirect()->route('admin.customers.edit', $url_id)->with('tab', 'survey-tab');

**does not add `?tab=survey-tab` to the URL.**
Instead, `->with('tab', 'survey-tab')` puts `tab` into the **session flash data**, **not into the URL query string**.

—

If you want to actually **append `?tab=survey-tab` to the URL**, you should **pass it in the route parameters**, like this:

✅ Correct way:

return redirect()->route('admin.customers.edit', [
    'id' => $url_id,
    'tab' => 'survey-tab',
]);

**OR manually:**

return redirect()->to(route('admin.customers.edit', $url_id) . '?tab=survey-tab');

—

### Quick Summary:
| Your Code | Effect |
|:–|:–|
| `->with('tab', 'survey-tab')` | Puts in session flash data (available for 1 request) |
| `?tab=survey-tab` | Appends as URL query string (visible in browser URL) |

—

If you tell me how your route is defined (like `Route::get('admin/customers/{id}/edit')`?),
I can show you the **cleanest** way based on your setup. 🚀
Want me to?