Rad Bundle Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation Add the bundle to your Laravel project via Composer:

   composer require atompulse/rad-bundle
   

   Register the bundle in config/app.php under providers (if using Laravel 5.5+ with auto-discovery, this may not be required).

2. First Use Case: Rapid CRUD Generation The bundle is designed for RAD (Rapid Application Development). Start by generating a scaffold:

   php artisan rad:generate:crud User
   

   This creates a full CRUD interface for the User model (ensure the model exists first).

3. Key Directories

   • Generated Code: Outputs to app/Rad/ by default (configurable in config/rad.php).
   • Configuration: config/rad.php (check for default values and override as needed).
   • Commands: php artisan rad: for all available generators.

Implementation Patterns

1. Model-Driven Development

• Automatic CRUD: Generate controllers, views, and routes for any Eloquent model:

  php artisan rad:generate:crud Post --fields="title,body,published_at"
  

• Custom Fields: Use --fields to specify which model attributes to include. Omit to auto-detect.
• Relationships: Supports nested forms for belongsTo/morphTo/manyToMany:

  php artisan rad:generate:crud Comment --relationships="post:Post"
  

2. View Generation

• Blade Templates: Outputs reusable Blade components (e.g., index.blade.php, edit.blade.php).
• Custom Layouts: Override default layouts by publishing assets:

  php artisan vendor:publish --tag=rad-layouts
  

• Partial Templates: Extend generated views by placing custom templates in resources/views/rad/.

3. API Integration

• API Resources: Generate API-specific controllers/views:

  php artisan rad:generate:api User
  

• Route Prefixes: Use --api flag to auto-prefix routes with /api/v1.

4. Workflow Integration

• Seeding: Generate factory/seeder stubs:

  php artisan rad:generate:seeder User
  

• Testing: Scaffold PHPUnit tests alongside controllers:

  php artisan rad:generate:test UserController
  

• Event Listeners: Add event listeners via --events flag:

  php artisan rad:generate:crud Product --events="created,updated"
  

5. Configuration Overrides

• Global Settings: Modify config/rad.php for:
  • Default namespace (rad_namespace).
  • View paths (view_paths).
  • Form field types (form_field_types).
• Per-Generation: Override defaults via CLI flags (e.g., --namespace=Admin).

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Namespace Conflicts

   • Generated code uses App\Rad by default. If this conflicts with existing code, override the namespace in config/rad.php or via CLI:

     php artisan rad:generate:crud User --namespace=Admin
     

   • Fix: Check config/rad.php for rad_namespace and adjust.

2. Missing Dependencies

   • The bundle requires friendsofsymfony/jsrouting-bundle@2.0.*@dev. If missing, install it manually:

     composer require friendsofsymfony/jsrouting-bundle:2.0.*@dev
     

   • Fix: Ensure JsRoutingBundle is registered in AppKernel.php (Symfony) or config/bundles.php (Laravel <5.5).

3. Symfony Version Mismatch

   • The package supports Symfony 3/4 but may clash with Laravel’s HTTP stack. If routes fail:
     • Fix: Clear cached routes:

       php artisan route:clear
       

     • Ensure Symfony\Bridge\Laravel\HttpKernel is loaded.

4. Overwriting Existing Files

   • Generators skip existing files by default. To force overwrite:

     php artisan rad:generate:crud User --force
     

   • Tip: Use --dry-run to preview changes:

     php artisan rad:generate:crud User --dry-run
     

Debugging

1. Generator Logs
   • Enable verbose output for debugging:

     php artisan rad:generate:crud User -vvv
     

2. Template Issues
   • If Blade templates render incorrectly, check:
     • Published layouts (resources/views/layouts/rad/).
     • Custom partials in resources/views/rad/.
   • Fix: Clear Laravel’s view cache:

     php artisan view:clear
     

Extension Points

1. Custom Field Types

   • Extend form field types by adding to config/rad.php under form_field_types:

     'custom_field' => \App\Rad\FieldTypes\CustomFieldType::class,
     

   • Implement Rad\FieldTypeInterface.

2. Hooks and Events

   • Listen for rad.generated events to post-process generated code:

     // In a service provider
     event(new RadGenerated($model, $paths));
     

   • Tip: Useful for adding custom logic (e.g., injecting services into controllers).

3. Route Customization

   • Override generated routes by publishing the router:

     php artisan vendor:publish --tag=rad-routes
     

   • Edit routes/rad.php to modify route definitions.

4. Localization

   • Translations are stored in resources/lang/rad/. Extend by adding new language files or overriding existing ones.

Performance Tips

1. Avoid Regenerating
   • Use --only to regenerate specific parts (e.g., views):

     php artisan rad:generate:crud User --only=views
     

2. Exclude Fields
   • Skip sensitive fields (e.g., password) with --exclude-fields:

     php artisan rad:generate:crud User --exclude-fields="password,api_token"
     

3. Batch Processing
   • For large projects, generate multiple CRUDs in sequence and commit incrementally.

Laravel-Specific Quirks

1. Service Container Binding
   • If generated controllers fail to resolve dependencies, bind them manually:

     $this->app->bind(
         \App\Rad\Controllers\UserController::class,
         \App\Rad\Controllers\UserController::class
     );
     

2. Route Model Binding
   • Ensure your models use Laravel’s implicit binding:

     public function getRouteKeyName()
     {
         return 'slug'; // or custom key
     }
     

3. Middleware
   • Add middleware to generated controllers via --middleware:

     php artisan rad:generate:crud Post --middleware="auth,verified"