Build a WordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ directory for discovering blocks, and a way to seamlessly install them is one of the 9 priorities in the 2019 roadmap. This post tries to summarize work done so far and identify all the next steps required to land this project in WordPress core Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. later this year.
It has been over two months since the Meta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. team published a post intended as a starting point for discussion and new ideas for the Block Directory, and a new type of plugin:
Put briefly, I’d like to propose a new type of WordPress plugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party that provides blocks and nothing else: Single Block Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. Plugins. These will be hosted in a separate Block Directory section of the Plugin Directory. They will be JavaScript JavaScript or JS is an object-oriented computer programming language commonly used to create interactive effects within web browsers. WordPress makes extensive use of JS for a better user experience. While PHP is executed on the server, JS executes within a user’s browser. https://www.javascript.com/.-based, and each plugin will register a single Block. And they will be searchable and installable from within the Gutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ editor itself.
@tellyworth
Currently, new Gutenberg blocks can be provided by plugins, which often register many blocks, and which are managed from outside the editor. The proposal mentioned above outlines a new type of simple block-based plugin that is intended to be seamlessly installed from within Gutenberg itself. It was later followed up with the call for design on installing blocks from within Gutenberg. There was an essential technical aspect highlighted in the post:
The WordPress.org API An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. will provide an endpoint for searching for blocks by name and description, and return metadata similar to that of plugins. Gutenberg’s Inserter could use that endpoint to also show relevant block plugins that are available to install, with a button and process for seamless installation.
@tellyworth
This new endpoint is going to be based on the Block Registration API RFC which intends to address the server-side awareness of blocks and simplify the block discovery for the block directory project. In practical terms, it means that we are seeking for a solution where block type registration is declarative and context-agnostic. Any runtime (PHP The web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 5.6.20 or higher, JS JavaScript, a web scripting language typically executed in the browser. Often used for advanced user interfaces and behaviors., Android, iOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads. or other) should be able to interpret the basics of a block type and should be able to fetch or retrieve the definitions of the context-specific implementation details.
Core Editor team reached the point where we believe that the Request for Comments is close to being finalized. However, there are still some areas where we feel that other WordPress teams could have a significant impact on the proposal.
Internationalization
The way how translations are handled inside JSON JSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, is a minimal, readable format for structuring data. It is used primarily to transmit data between a server and web application, as an alternative to XML. files is something novel for WordPress core. The current proposal for PHP follows the existing get_plugin_data core function which parses the plugin contents to retrieve the plugin’s metadata, and it selectively applies translations dynamically. It would be also similar for JavaScript, with the remark that we plan to implement a custom Babel plugin which would mirror PHP behavior for ESNext code. The transformation would happen during the build step to ensure that files can be statically analyzed before scripts are enqueued. You can find more details in RFC document in the Internationalization section. There is also an issue#15169 opened which describes the technical details of the proposed JavaScript implementation of the Babel plugin.
Core JS team discussed this topic at the end of the weekly meeting on Apr 2nd. We have received great feedback from @swissspidy which helped to shape the proposal. However, we still encourage other Polyglots team Polyglots Team is a group of multilingual translators who work on translating plugins, themes, documentation, and front-facing marketing copy. https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/. members to voice their opinions.
New REST API The REST API is an acronym for the RESTful Application Program Interface (API) that uses HTTP requests to GET, PUT, POST and DELETE data. It is how the front end of an application (think “phone app” or “website”) can communicate with the data store (think “database” or “file system”) https://developer.wordpress.org/rest-api/. endpoints
The long term vision for the block discovery in WordPress includes:
- Fetching the available block types through REST APIs.
- Fetching block objects from posts through REST APIs.
The proposed implementation for the server-side awareness of block types should ensure that it stays intact with all recommendations that REST API team might have. That’s why we encourage the REST API team to get involved in the process early on. There is no immediate need to start working on new block type related API endpoints. However, it would be great to have it included on the roadmap. Ideally, they should stay as close as possible to the WordPress.org API and the final shape of the endpoint for searching for blocks.
#block-directory, #core-editor, #gutenberg, #i18n, #meta, #rest-api
