JavaScript Chat Summary: March 17, 2020

Below is a summary of the discussion from this week’s JavaScriptJavaScript 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/. chat (agenda, Slack transcript).

Have a topic for discussion for the next meeting? Leave a suggested edit on next week’s agenda.

Agenda Items

JSDoc Documentation Standards

(Slack conversation)

Question: Does it make sense to document changes to a function over time, and if so, how?

Context: https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/20427#discussion_r386396607

The current JavaScript documentation standards restrict the @since tagtag A directory in Subversion. WordPress uses tags to store a single snapshot of a version (3.6, 3.6.1, etc.), the common convention of tags in version control systems. (Not to be confused with post tags.) to include only the version number:

@since x.x.x: Should always be 3-digit (e.g. @since 3.6.0).

This is in contrast to the PHP documentation standards, which include guidelines around using @since as a changelog:

If significant changes have been made to a function, hook, class, or method, additional @since tags, versions, and descriptions should be added to provide a changelog for that function.

Proposal: Incorporate some adaptation of the PHPPHP The web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 5.6.20 or higher since changelog guidelines into the JavaScript inline documentation standards.

Discussion Points:

• @nerrad asks if this could be used to pull documentation automatically from the source code. This is quite possible, and is likely exactly what is done with the PHP source code documentation (example documentation and source).

Action Items:

• Update the JSJS JavaScript, a web scripting language typically executed in the browser. Often used for advanced user interfaces and behaviors. documentation standards, assuming there is no opposition presented in the coming days.
• Disable the JSDoc since format validation for GutenbergGutenberg 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/ in the related changelog (already done)

News Roundup

This roundup contains a few links for Gutenberg and JavaScript related news curated (and commented on) by @nerrad. 

• The editor chat summary from March 4. Also the chat summary from March 11.
• Rich Tabor writes a nice overview of what the block patterns api means for WordPress.
• Gutenberg 7.7 was released (and shortly thereafter 7.7.1). Highlights in this release are: the new blockBlock 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. ui (otherwise known as “G2”) and the initial version of the block patterns ui.
• Outside of normal Gutenberg and JS news, but I thought it worth highlighting – All-women release squad. I’m so excited about this!
• Justin Tadlock writes about Sorta Brilliant’s Sorta Fun Block Plugins. If you want some creative inspiration… great stuff!
• Speaking of sortabrilliant, that site released an interesting tool (Chrome extension) called Detective Wapuu – a site scanner for blocks.
• The CSS chat summary for March 12th’s meeting is posted. A number of tickets were created around doing a CSSCSS Cascading Style Sheets. audit of WP coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress..
• Notes from the March 13 accessibility team meeting.

Other Random Stuff:

• I just recently found out about the distributed web powered by ipfs thanks to @aduth’s recent experiment using it!.
• Module federation is coming to Webpack 5. 
• Speaking of Webpack, a repo giving tips for how to optimize your libraries with it.

#core-js, #javascript