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REPL Enhancements for Dana

(This document is a placeholder. It will discuss potential advanced features and improvements for the Dana REPL to make it an even more powerful tool for interactive development, experimentation, and debugging. It cross-references the existing REPL design in 02_dana_runtime_and_execution/repl.md)

Potential REPL Enhancements:

  • Improved Auto-Completion:
  • Context-aware completion for variable names (all scopes), function names, struct fields, and resource methods.

  • Completion for file paths if a FileSystemResource is active and relevant.

  • Enhanced Command History:

  • Searchable command history.

  • Persistent history across sessions (e.g., saved to a file like ~/.dana_history).

  • Magic Commands (similar to IPython):

  • %load <filepath>: Load and execute a Dana script from a file into the current REPL session.
  • %save <filepath> [<range_of_history>]: Save current session history or specific lines to a file.
  • %whos: List variables in the current SandboxContext with their types and values (or summaries).
  • %timeit <dana_expression>: Measure the execution time of a Dana expression.
  • %context [scope]: Inspect the SandboxContext, optionally filtering by scope (e.g., %context private:).
  • %resources: List available resources and their status.
  • %reset_context [scope]: Clear the entire SandboxContext or specific scopes.

  • %help <topic|function_name>: More detailed, context-sensitive help.

  • Rich Output Display:

  • Pretty-printing for Dana structs and complex data structures.

  • Potential for rendering basic charts or tables if a result lends itself to it (e.g., if a matplotlib-like resource is used and can output to a supported format).

  • Object/Struct Introspection:

  • Ability to inspect the fields and methods of a struct or resource instance directly in the REPL (e.g., my_struct? or help(my_struct)).

  • Session Management:

  • Saving and loading entire REPL sessions (including SandboxContext state if feasible and secure).

  • Better Multiline Editing:

  • More sophisticated handling of indentation and block editing within the REPL prompt itself.

  • Option to open a temporary buffer in a simple editor (like nano or vim) for complex multiline inputs.

  • Customizable Prompt: Allowing users to customize the REPL prompt string.

  • Integration with Debugger:

  • Ability to drop into a debugging session from the REPL or vice-versa.

  • Commands to inspect call stacks or step through code being tested in the REPL.

  • Profile-based Configuration: Load different REPL configurations or pre-load certain modules/resources based on a profile.

Self-reflection: A feature-rich REPL significantly boosts productivity, especially for a language designed for interactive exploration and agent development. Drawing inspiration from tools like IPython/Jupyter would be beneficial.