What is the distinction between a "Model Class" and a "Model Instance" in PHP, specifically within the context of Laravel 4?
In Laravel 4, a "Model Class" refers to a class that represents a database table, typically extending the Eloquent model class. On the other hand, a "Model Instance" is an object created from a Model Class, representing a specific record in the database. To create a Model Instance, you can use the `find` method to retrieve a specific record based on its primary key.
// Example of creating a Model Instance in Laravel 4
$user = User::find(1); // Retrieve a user record with ID 1
echo $user->name; // Accessing the name attribute of the user instance
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