Playground App

The RHP Playground (rhp-play) is a clean, minimalist, high-performance desktop GUI application built for instant code execution, rapid prototyping, and real-time application debugging.

Designed specifically after the workflow popularized by TweakPHP, RHP Playground allows you to run scratchpad scripts with zero configuration, and connect directly to your local projects, Docker containers, or remote SSH servers to tweak and test code inside your running application context.

RHP Playground — Standalone & Connected Runner v0.1.0

How to Run the Playground App

RHP Playground is built with Tauri v2, Vanilla TypeScript, and CodeMirror 6, backed by a high-performance asynchronous Rust engine (tokio, rfd) for native performance, instant startup, and effortless styling without bloated frontend frameworks.

1. Development Mode (with Hot Reload)

From the playground directory:

cd playground
npm install
npm run tauri dev

2. Build & Run the Pre-compiled Binary

To build the frontend and compile an optimized release binary:

cd playground
npm run build
cargo build --release

# Launch the compiled binary:
./target/release/rhp-play

3. Install Globally to System PATH

You can install both the rhp engine compiler and the rhp-play desktop companion into ~/.cargo/bin:

# Install the RHP compiler CLI
cargo install --path .

# Install the RHP Playground desktop GUI
cargo install --path playground

Once installed, launch the playground from anywhere:

rhp-play

Binary Auto-Discovery: rhp-play automatically searches for the companion rhp compiler binary in the current directory, the parent directory, or in your system $PATH. You can also configure a custom binary path per project connection.

Interface Layout & Features

1. Left Sidebar Rail

• + Button (Create Connection): Opens a modal with connection options:
  • Local: Point to a local directory (e.g. /home/user/code/my-app) and optionally specify a custom rhp binary.
  • Docker: Containerized execution target for local Docker dev environments.
  • Remote: Remote server execution over SSH.
• Connection Badges: Displays each configured project with a distinctive initial badge (e.g. L for Local, V for Vapor, M for My App). Click any badge to instantly switch active workspace and restore your script state.
• Right-Click Settings: Click the settings icon or right-click any connection to update project paths or delete connections.

2. Split-Pane Workspace

• Left Panel (Code Editor):
  • Clean monospace editor with line numbers.
  • Real-time syntax highlighting for PHP and RHP constructs.
  • Full keyboard editing with undo/redo support.
• Right Panel (Output Console):
  • Live execution output with line numbering.
  • Selectable text for easy copying of query results, debug dumps (print_r, var_dump), or error traces.
• Draggable Splitter: Click and drag the divider between editor and output to adjust your ideal screen split.

3. Execution & Process Controls

• Run Button: Prominent execution trigger (or press Ctrl+Enter / ⌘+Enter).
• Execution Spinner: Enters an active ⏳ Running... state while your script executes asynchronously on the background Tokio runtime.
• Instant Cancel: A ⏹ Cancel button appears dynamically during execution, allowing you to instantly terminate runaway queries, infinite loops, or long-running tasks without freezing the GUI.

Workflows: Standalone vs. Connected

Standalone Scratchpad Mode

By default, the playground operates as a lightweight scratchpad. Use it to:

• Test RHP language syntax and operators without project scaffolding.
• Experiment with native Rust collections (Arr::list, Arr::dict, Arr::set).
• Verify concurrent Tokio fibers with Future::wait and Future::defer.
• Inspect zero-GC performance and bump arena allocation behaviors.

Connected Application Mode (TweakPHP Style)

When connected to an existing application directory:

1. Click the + icon in the sidebar rail.
2. Enter your App Name and select your Project Path.
3. Click Create Connection.
4. The playground runs scripts in the context of your application, letting you:
   • Call application classes, service providers, and models.
   • Run live database queries and test Eloquent or SQL logic.
   • Verify bug fixes or tweak controller logic before writing formal tests.

All connections and code snippets are automatically persisted in ~/.rhp_playground_apps.json so your workspace is preserved between restarts.