Debugging InspireCMS

Laravel Debugging Tools

Dump and Die

Use Laravel's built-in helper functions for quick debugging:

// Simple value dump and die
dd($variable);

// Dump multiple values without stopping execution
dump($variable1, $variable2);
// Continue execution...

// Dump when rendering a view
<div>{{ dump($variable) }}</div>

Debug Bar

Install Laravel Debugbar for enhanced debugging:

composer require barryvdh/laravel-debugbar --dev

This adds a debug panel to your site showing:

• Queries executed
• Request information
• View rendering time
• Session data
• Cache operations

Tinker

Use Laravel's Tinker to interact with your application from the command line:

php artisan tinker

Examples:

// Check if content exists
\SolutionForest\InspireCms\Models\Content::count();

// Test content retrieval
inspirecms_content()->findByIds(ids: '550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000', limit: 1);

// Check template configuration
inspirecms_templates()->getCurrentTheme();

InspireCMS Specific Debugging

System Information

Get system details to help with debugging:

php artisan inspirecms:about

Test Templates

Test template rendering in isolation:

// In a controller or route
$content = inspirecms_content()->findByIds(ids: 'content-id', limit: 1)->first();
$template = $content->getDefaultTemplate() ?? $content->documentType?->getDefaultTemplate();
$theme = inspirecms_templates()->getCurrentTheme();
$templateDto = $template?->toDto($theme);
return $templateDto->render([
    'content' => $content,
]);

Component Testing

Check if components are registered correctly:

// In Tinker or controller
$hasComponent = inspirecms_templates()->hasComponent('header', 'your-theme');
dd($hasComponent);

Advanced Debugging Techniques

Logging to File

Add custom logging statements to trace execution:

\Log::debug('Debugging content retrieval', [
    'content_id' => $content->id,
    'properties' => $content->getLatestVersionPropertyData(),
]);

Using Clock Helper

Add timing information to debug performance issues:

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Log;

$startTime = microtime(true);
// Operation to measure
$endTime = microtime(true);
Log::info('Operation took: ' . ($endTime - $startTime) . ' seconds');

Creating a Test Route

Create a temporary debug route in routes/web.php:

Route::get('/_debug/test-template/{id}', function ($id) {
    $content = inspirecms_content()->findByIds(ids: $id, limit: 1)->first();
    if (!$content) {
        return 'Content not found';
    }
    
    return [
        'content' => [
            'id' => $content->id,
            'title' => $content->getTitle(),
            'document_type' => $content->document_type,
            'has_property' => $content->hasProperty('content', 'body'),
            'property_value' => $content->getPropertyValue('content', 'body'),
        ],
        'template' => inspirecms_templates()->getCurrentTheme(),
        'components' => [
            'has_page' => inspirecms_templates()->hasComponent('page'),
            'has_layout' => inspirecms_templates()->hasComponent('layout'),
        ],
    ];
})->middleware('auth');

Debug Front-End Components

Add temporary debug output to Blade templates:

<!-- resources/views/components/inspirecms/your-theme/page.blade.php -->
<div style="background: #f8d7da; padding: 10px; margin: 10px; border: 1px solid #f5c6cb; display: none;">
    <strong>Debug:</strong>
    <pre>{{ print_r(['content' => $content ? $content->toArray() : null, 'locale' => $locale ?? null], true) }}</pre>
    <button onclick="this.parentNode.style.display = 'block'">Show Debug</button>
</div>

Using Xdebug

For in-depth debugging, configure Xdebug with your IDE:

1. Install Xdebug with PHP
2. Configure your php.ini:

[xdebug]
zend_extension=xdebug.so
xdebug.mode=debug
xdebug.client_host=127.0.0.1
xdebug.client_port=9003
xdebug.start_with_request=yes

3. Configure your IDE (PHPStorm, VSCode) to listen for Xdebug connections
4. Set breakpoints in your code and run your application

Query Debugging

Debug database queries:

// Log all queries for a code block
\DB::enableQueryLog();

// Your code that executes queries
$content = inspirecms_content()->findByIds(ids: 'id', limit: 1)->first();

// Get the query log
$queries = \DB::getQueryLog();
dd($queries);

Browser Developer Tools

Use browser developer tools for frontend debugging:

1. Chrome DevTools / Firefox Developer Tools:

   • Network tab to check asset loading
   • Console for JavaScript errors
   • Elements tab to inspect HTML structure

2. JavaScript Debugging:

   • Add console.log() statements
   • Set breakpoints in browser DevTools

Troubleshooting Templates

If templates aren't rendering correctly:

// Test direct rendering of components
@php
    try {
        echo view('components.inspirecms.your-theme.header', ['locale' => app()->getLocale()])->render();
    } catch (\Throwable $e) {
        echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage();
    }
@endphp

Memory Usage

Track memory usage:

$initialMemory = memory_get_usage();
// Code to profile
$peakMemory = memory_get_peak_usage();
$usedMemory = memory_get_usage() - $initialMemory;

Log::info('Memory usage', [
    'used' => round($usedMemory / 1024 / 1024, 2) . ' MB',
    'peak' => round($peakMemory / 1024 / 1024, 2) . ' MB',
]);

Request Profiling

For advanced profiling, use Laravel Telescope:

composer require laravel/telescope --dev
php artisan telescope:install
php artisan migrate

Access Telescope at /telescope to view detailed metrics on:

• Requests and responses
• Database queries
• Cache operations
• Model operations

Testing PHP Configuration

Create a diagnostic file to check your environment:

// public/phpinfo.php
<?php
phpinfo();

Testing File Permissions

# See if PHP can write to storage
php -r "file_put_contents(storage_path('test.txt'), 'test');"
php -r "echo file_exists(storage_path('test.txt')) ? 'Success' : 'Failed';"
php -r "@unlink(storage_path('test.txt'));"