What is Laravel validation and why should it be used?

 Validation checks incoming data against application rules before business logic uses it.

Example:
$request->validate([
'name' => ['required', 'string', 'max:255'],
'email' => ['required', 'email'],
]);

For larger forms, a Form Request is often cleaner.

Validation protects data integrity and provides a predictable boundary between untrusted input and application logic.

Scenario:
An order endpoint should validate product IDs, quantities, shipping information, and payment-related fields before attempting to create an order.