Developer Hours: Introduction to the HTML API

Developer Hours are now firmly established as a regular monthly event in the calendar of WordPress’ developer community.

If you want to catch up with the recordings of previous events they are all available on wordpress.tv and in a YouTube playlist.

The next Developer Hours event is scheduled for Wed 30 August at 15:00UTC.

This session will feature Dennis Snell who will be delivering a presentation on the HTML API and demonstrating what can be achieved with it. This new APIAPI 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. enables new ways to reliably work with and modify HTMLHTML HyperText Markup Language. The semantic scripting language primarily used for outputting content in web browsers., and will help alleviate difficult and tiresome wrangling of regular expressions which was previously the only way to achieve many of the things that the HTML API will enable.

The Tag Processor is already available for developers to use, as of WordPress 6.2, and is the first of a number of technologies which will eventually make up the HTML API.

Dennis is a key member of the team developing the HTML API so there is no-one better to introduce this exciting new technology to us. After his presentation he will be available to answer your questions.

All are welcome. If you wish to join please RSVP on the meetup event. The zoom link will be available there for registered attendees.

Props to @juanmaguitar and @dmsnell for reviewing this post.


Recorded session is available in wordpress.tv and YouTube

#developer-hours, #meeting

Developer Hours is returning

After a successful trial, a new series of events, entitled “Developer Hours” will be available. These sessions are free to join and participate in. They will take place on Zoom video-conferencing, and will variously consist of discussion sessions and question and answer sessions aimed at developers working with WordPress.


It’s said that “no-one is an island”, and that is as true for developers as it is for anyone. While documentation and tutorials can take you so far, sometimes there’s just no substitute for talking to other developers who are facing the same struggles as you, or getting advice from those who are more experienced than you and who are able to help you overcome your problems – or at the very least point you in the right direction.

The pilot

In early 2022 a set of four trial events was scheduled to provide developers with a forum for such interactions. These events were held under the moniker “Developer Hours”.

These initial events proved to be enormously successful. Links to the videos from these trial events can be found at the bottom of this post. Given this success the decision has been taken to iterate on this trial in 2023 and make Developer Hours a fixture in the calendar for WordPress developers.

Developer Hours will henceforth be held regularly. They are discussion and question and answer events aimed at developers working with WordPress. Anyone is welcome to attend, whether you are a freelancer or work in an agency, and whether your special area of interest is coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. or themes or plugins, or indeed any combination thereof. 

The initial four trial events were purposely unstructured, although attendees were able to send questions in advance so the panelists could prepare meaningful answers. The facilitators and moderators could structure the session on the fly, thereby lending each event an air of spontaneity. 

Feedback provided by attendees and panelists at those initial sessions resulted in the following insight. Rather than the sessions being open-ended and having a broad range of questions covering a variety of development topics, each scheduled Developer Hours session should instead center around a particular topic or theme. This will ensure that each session has a clear focus, it will set expectations, and it will help ensure both that the event is well structured and that it provides value for each of the participants involved. 

Future events

The newly re-launched Developer Hours events will provide you with the opportunity to connect with other WordPress developers, to have a platform to air your concerns or relate your experiences, and to ask a panel of peers and experts about best approaches, tooling, coding and implementation problems, and a variety of other topics related to WordPress development. There’s sure to be someone in each session who can help you or who can address any concerns you may raise.

If you’re starting out and seeking help and advice, an experienced developer who is willing to share their knowledge and expertise to help others, or if you just want to voice your thoughts and opinions to anyone willing to listen, or even vent your frustrations, then Developer hours are for you.

The first three Developer Hours have already been scheduled. The focus for these will be pluginPlugin 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 development and they will have a special emphasis on migrating a PHPPHP The web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 5.6.20 or higher based plugin, e.g. migrating one that renders content using a shortcodeShortcode A shortcode is a placeholder used within a WordPress post, page, or widget to insert a form or function generated by a plugin in a specific location on your site. or widgetWidget A WordPress Widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these widgets in sidebars also known as widget-ready areas on your web page. WordPress widgets were originally created to provide a simple and easy-to-use way of giving design and structure control of the WordPress theme to the user. to blocks. So, if you are a plugin developer who is planning, or has already tried, to modify your plugin to also implement a 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., then one of these sessions is for you. 

The following events have been scheduled and are available for you to sign-up: 

DateTimeEventHosts
Mon, February, 6, 202314:00 UTCDeveloper Hours: Migrate a plugin to blocks
(EMEA)
Michael Burridge
Ryan Welcher
Mon, February 27, 202317:00 UTCDeveloper Hours: Migrate a plugin to blocks
(Americas)
Justin Tadlock
Ryan Welcher
Mon, March 27, 202308:00 UTCDeveloper Hours: Migrate a plugin to blocks
(EMEA / Asia-Pacific)
Jonathan Bossenger
Michael Burridge

These sessions will be held on Zoom and each has been scheduled for different times to cover as many timezones as possible. Click the link for the event scheduled for your region and RSVP on Meetup to join the event. You will see the correct time adjusted for your timezone in MeetupMeetup All local/regional gatherings that are officially a part of the WordPress world but are not WordCamps are organized through https://www.meetup.com/. A meetup is typically a chance for local WordPress users to get together and share new ideas and seek help from one another. Searching for ‘WordPress’ on meetup.com will help you find options in your area.. We look forward to seeing you there.

If your interests lie elsewhere then keep a lookout for more upcoming events covering different topics. These are sure to be scheduled soon. 

Get involved

Do you have a particular topic that you want to see discussed? Please suggest it in the comments below or head over to the #core-editor channel in Making WordPress SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. and suggest it there. If you’re willing to host a Developer Hours session, new volunteers are very welcome.


Please note that all Developer Hours events will be recorded and the recording will be uploaded to WordPress.tv and to YouTube. Participation in a Developer Hours event implies agreement to, and acceptance of, this – though remember that there are no “stupid questions” and no-one is expected to know everything. We are all learning all the time. The hope is that these recordings will be a useful and valuable learning resource for developers working with WordPress who were not able to attend.


Project background and recordings from 2022


Props to: @juanmaguitar, @bph, @webcommsat, @hellofromtonya for contributions to this post.

#developer-hours

February 8th Gutenberg Developer Hours – Session Evaluation

Previous posts about the event series 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/ Developer hours. 

TL;DR 

The first Gutenberg Developer Hours was a great success! Huge thank you to Tammie, Fabian, and Nick!  86.7% of survey takers rated it as Excellent. All 15 responders would place their recommendation into the likely half with 80% rating it a 10 (very likely)

These answers to open questions stood out: 

What did you like: 

  • Interesting topics, knowledgeable participants
  • Conversation. The different points of view.
  • Best practices, expert advice, very relevant to work we’re doing

What didn’t you like: 

  • Too Short
  • Probably a challenge to have different experience levels at once, but that was well handled.
  • If any of these Meetups should have been recorded of the dozen or more I’ve attended, it was this one. The live transcript is very valuable, and its absence a noteworthy lack of planning.
  • When there are many topics, it becomes a bit too diluted, and it felt like maybe not everything was said before continuing to the next question.

How did you hear about the event? 

  • 53% MeetupMeetup All local/regional gatherings that are officially a part of the WordPress world but are not WordCamps are organized through https://www.meetup.com/. A meetup is typically a chance for local WordPress users to get together and share new ideas and seek help from one another. Searching for ‘WordPress’ on meetup.com will help you find options in your area. 
  • 33% Gutenberg Times
  • 13% Make Blogblog (versus network, site)
  • 6% Twitter
  • 6% WPVIP

Below are topic suggestions for more Social Learning spaces.  

Based on your feedback, the producers have already enabled live captions for future events. They will record the sessions, too, so you can revisit them or catch up if you have to miss one. FOMO is real. 

Here are the details.  

Of 38 participants, 15 filled out the survey

What did you like about the event?

  • Direct and honest interaction with those in the know
  • Best practices, expert advice, very relevant to work we’re doing
  • The knowledge of the panel members. So much info!
  • Knowledge of the panel and their easy-to-understand explanations
  • My question was answered after I joined, I was quite late in joining and I was worried my question might already have been covered, but you waited till I joined and I’m very thankful you did. And of course it was great to get my question answered by several of the people in the meeting, and I also got a very useful link from Fabian which was great.
  • The panelists were the most knowledgeable group thus far on the Social Learning Meetups. Fabian and Nick were excellent.
  • The way the three panelists answered the questions.
  • Experts opinions
  • I got lots of links and advice on gutenberg
  • Interesting topics, knowledgeable participants
  • Conversation. The different points of view.
  • Discussion on 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.-based themes.
  • Knowledgeable answers to questions. Good links. Good chat comments.
  • Learning new things about block themes.
  • All doubts were cleared

What did you dislike about the event?

  • It would be nice to have more questions & participation
  • I loved the event
  • too short! Not clear where the copied code is pasted when Nick said to “copy and paste.”
  • Not recorded so that we can go back and review information presented
  • I was late in joining so I didn’t get the full experience, but I think it might be good if future events can be recorded in case anyone misses it, or in case people who did view it live wish to watch some of it again.
  • If any of these Meetups should have been recorded of the dozen or more I’ve attended, it was this one. The live transcript is very valuable and its absence a noteworthy lack of planning.
  • Not really a dislike, for the first installment it was a great event. I think I’d prefer to have the Developer Hours be focused on a specific topic, so either block development, block theme development, or specific new functions, for example template locking.
  • Recording not available but it’s been discussed and hopefully from next Meetup
  • too short
  • When there are many topics, it becomes a bit too diluted and it felt like maybe not everything was said before continuing to the next question.
  • Nothing to report here.
  • Timing (just kidding :D)
  • Nothing I disliked. Probably a challenge to have different experience levels at once, but that was well handled.
  • Nothing in particular. Not a Zoom fan.
  • Nothing 🙂

How did you hear about this event?

  • Email from Meetup
  • from Brett Harris at VIP
  • email from Meetup (I go to other WP social meetups)
  • meetup notice of upcoming events
  • Gutenberg Times newsletter
  • I’ve been a member of the Meetup group since it started.
  • Twitter / Make Blog
  • Searching Gutenberg meet-ups
  • WordPress meetup
  • On WordPress.orgWordPress.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/ and from Birgit
  • Gutenberg times, podcasts, meetup
  • From wp.org
  • Gutenberg Times
  • Your newsletter.
  • Through meetup.com

What topics should we cover in future Gutenberg Developer Hours?

  • I halfway answered this in the “what did you dislike” question, continuing from there: 
    • For these, maybe some demo time would be nice, so one of the panelists can explain things via screen sharing and then attendees can ask questions around that topic. 
    • So like best practices, how to work with theme.jsonJSON 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., what part of the theme.json has which effect in the editor, block development (static vs dynamic blocks). 
    • In general I’d like to see some deeper going content, however I believe that squeezing this into one hour will be quite challenging.
  • Creating custom Gutenberg blocks
  • More gutenberg
  • I think it may help if the topics were limited to maybe 3?
  • Developer centric topics and case studies of unique site
  • FSE related topics
  • Multiple Answers:
    • How to monitor tracking issues. 
    • How to find up-to-date information on pluginPlugin 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 development (much is very old, every course and book seems out of date). 
    • How to get the most out of reading the Gutenberg code. Ryan Welcher seems to be almost the only regularly updated source of current developer-level info, so this is an underserved area. 
    • Gutenberg best practices. 
    • Font loading in block themes. 
    • Building child themes for block themes. 
    • FSE theme best practices — color naming and style conventions. 
    • Code walkthroughs of block themes.
  • As of 5.9, when to use or develop plugins.
  • May be show some demo live sites using Gutenberg

Huge Thank you to the panel contributors

The second event took place February 22, 2022. A recording is now available on YouTube and a follow-up post will be available next week. This time we didn’t close the event and 100 people registered of which 47 attended, 40% repeat participants.

The next Gutenberg Developer Hours will take place on March 8th, 2022 at 11 am ET / 16:00 UTC

Thank you, also to @marybaum for her review of this post.

#developer-hours, #online-events

Developer Hours now scheduled, first event Feb 8th, 2022

A few months back, I posted a proposal for four trial events called Developer Hours. Although, it received great comments and a few people reached out to me on SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/., it wasn’t until now that everything comes together to make it actually happen. Thank you all for your patience!

Meet the fantastic team of developers who will take turns for the four events coming up.

We have two events each month for February and March on Tuesdays every other week at 11 am ET / 16:00 UTC.

The first event will take place February 8th, 2022. Details will be posted on Meetup.com.

Join us for the first of hopefully many events. And bring your questions, code samples, demos, and ideas about blocks, themes, 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. themes or the block editor, to run by our expert panelist.


@karmatosed created this template for the social graphics to announce the events.
@ndiego created a block pattern, so we can update information for the next events.

Huge “Thank You” to the +training team for giving this event series a home on the WordPress Social Learning space.

Also Thank you to @marybaum for reviewing this post.

#developer-hours

Proposal: Gutenberg Developer Hours series of events.

  • Summary: Proposal for a new event: Every other week, invite WordPress developers to meet with 3 developers and discuss your 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/ development questions, code, ideas, and approaches. Follow-up w/ video and resources.
  • Start Date: Soon.
  • Trial period: 4 events.
  • Producer: Birgit Pauli-Haack + Gutenberg Developer Volunteers. 

Background: 

I used to do in-person walk-in clinics for a volunteer internet service provider, where we answered all kinds of questions. If there was a moment with no questions, I would pull a topic out of my hat, talk for five minutes and get another 10 questions that triggered in people’s heads. The place was always packed.

Not everyone is comfortable dealing with an unknown set of questions, but when done right, the panel format is quite fun and interesting. Of course, there were always questions that were too specific or too advanced. We would take note of it and answer them either the following week or via email directly to the attendee. 

I would like to try this in a remote setting with a panel of three developers from the community, who are experienced with working with blocks, and call it Gutenberg Developer Hours. 

About the show

I have heard from a number of people that despite the sheer volume of developer documentation that’s around, it’s hard to know where to start. And when developers hit roadblocks, it also takes a long time to troubleshoot errors and bugs. 

If you’re a developer who’s new to Gutenberg, I invite you to stop by, to get your questions answered or to get advice on architecture or approach. (You can also just lurk, of course!) Maybe you have a code issue: “I’ve been working on this project, but I hit a roadblock and I have no idea where to go from here.”

For the speakers, being on a panel lightens the load, opens the door to a wider range of topics and makes it much less likely any one person will get a question they might not be able to answer. 

As a moderator, I (at first; if the sessions go well, there can certainly be others) can jump in and ask questions to bridge the silence if the group runs out of audience questions. Plus, if a question gets too specific or too advanced, the moderator makes a note of it, discusses with the dev team and gets back to the attendee with a response after the event. That could be:

  • an invitation to office hours, 
  • a set of documentation, or 
  • a blogblog (versus network, site) post inspired by the question. 

It’s certainly part of the trial to find out where the boundaries of this support offerings are. 

At the beginning, I envision a frequency of every other week, once there is a pool of volunteer developer panelists available to schedule.

To get attendees interested, it might help to have a short educational segment that people are interested in for the first two or three shows.

The panelists could also pick a topic. Here are a few that come to mind:

  • How to tap into Gutenberg filters and hooksHooks In WordPress theme and development, hooks are functions that can be applied to an action or a Filter in WordPress. Actions are functions performed when a certain event occurs in WordPress. Filters allow you to modify certain functions. Arguments used to hook both filters and actions look the same.?
  • How to add a button to the toolbar?
  • What is a store in ReactJS? 
  • How to add 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. Styles?

I propose promoting the series on Twitter and Facebook, and on make.wordpress.orgWordPress.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/. Would you like to see this on TikTok? Feel free to make one! Like FSE itself, these panels can be springboards to creative thinking and doing!

The producers will record and transcribe every show, and the moderator will make that clear in the opening moments. If an attendee wants to ask their question outside the recording, the moderator can hit the pause button. 

Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose

In post-production, the shows can generate a new stream of material for Learn, Marketing and Community, and everyone else in the community, to use however you like.

The show’s own producers and editors can cut the full session into smaller educational units and publish them on WordPress.tv. Did a specific question stump the panel? A producer can pull that out and write a separate tutorial about it.

Nuts and Bolts

The show is not a webinar but a normal Zoom meeting, so people can see each other and share their screens and code.

At least for the trial, registration is required. The producers will, of course, respect the attendee’s privacy and use email addresses only for communication regarding the specific Gutenberg Developer Hour session.

I have already approached a few developers to be our resident experts with the idea, and they want to try it. Depending on the feedback, they and I are ready to start soon. (It helps that this is a Zoom call and not a stage-set production!)

Are you a Gutenberg developer with some experience? Would you like to be on the panels? Irrespective of your Gutenberg experience, would you like to help produce the shows? Please let me know in the comments.

Production Process:

You do not have to be an experienced Gutenberg developer to help with production. In fact, it might be a great way to get your feet wet! And it is yet one more way to contribute to WordPress.

  • Schedule the Gutenberg Developer Hours, one at a time. 
    • Set-up Zoom space, with registration.
    • Announce the next session via social channels, Make/Project, Gutenberg Times, and other available channels. 
  • Connect with the volunteers on a regular basis so they can schedule themselves. 
  • Recruit volunteers as panelists, moderators and content producers. 
  • Published post with resources and solutions.

If you want to be part of the team working on this initiative, let us know in the comments and I will connect with you via WordPress SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/.. And as always, the team and I value your comments and questions immensely.

Please don’t hesitate to connect with me on WP Slack @bph if you have additional questions.


Thank You to @annezazu, @daisyo, and @sparklingrobots for collaboration and refinement of the initiative.
Props @jeffpaul and @audrasjb for peer review.

#developer-hours, #gutenberg, #new-contributors