Hey all,

About a year ago, I posted about a package I was working on called Sketchpad, which I'm pleased to say – after a 6 month hiatus, and a huge amount of work – is now complete!

What it is

Sketchpad is an interactive front-end for your Laravel back-end; a place to write, test, experiment and execute code, or just a place to group useful tools and functions you want easy access to.

I've used it in it's Beta state on a couple of commercial jobs in the last year, and it's been invaluable for running code "outside of" the main website's concerns.

What it does

• It lists controllers and methods from folders of your choice, and allows you to run them without setting up routing, views, etc.
• You can navigate to, and run any controller method, even modify parameter values, all from a friendly UI.
• With the Sketchpad Reload module installed, you get 2-way updates; each file-save updates the UI, and the UI runs your code.
• It comes with a bunch of useful tools and PHP functions to make it easy to rattle out quick coding tests.
• There's also a video of the pre-beta version if you want to see it in action.

Uses

• Test out new coding ideas
• Develop tools and utilities for everyday work
• Debug applications in the same environment they're running in
• Practice with new libraries or APIs with your existing code
• Give new hires a place to get up to speed with the codebase
• Double check how that rarely-used function actually works
• Give all that "secret" or commented-out code somewhere to live
• Live-document existing features and tools
• Generate and manage reports

Install

Installation instructions for the RC release are here:

• https://github.com/davestewart/laravel-sketchpad/releases/tag/v1.0.0-rc

More info

For more info, ask questions here, or check the GitHub wiki:

• https://github.com/davestewart/laravel-sketchpad/wiki