Date, time, location

• Date:01 Aug 2024 at 15:00 UTC (timezone converter)

• Location: https://meet.google.com/cxz-yjwi-gvi

 Discussion topic(s)

• Strategy around coverage (Brian Smith)

• Indigo as the default theme (Adolfo Brandes )

• Review of the new frontend-base repository. (David Joy)

🎥Recording

• Video: Frontend Working Group Meeting (2024-08-01 12:02 GMT-3)

• Chat: Frontend Working Group Meeting (2024-08-01 12:02 GMT-3) - Chat Transcript

• Transcript: Frontend Working Group Meeting (2024-08-01 12:02 GMT-3) - Transcript

 Participants

Adolfo Brandes, Brayan Cerón, Brian Smith, David Joy, Fox Piacenti, Jason Wesson, Juan Carlos Iasenza (Aulasneo), Milad Emami

🤖 Summary

1. Strategies Around Coverage in Frontends (Presented by Brian Smith)

• Context:

  • Discussion started in the Paragon working group about adding types to Paragon.

  • Moving away from prop types to using Typescript for type coverage.

  • Integrating type coverage into CI without relying on external services.

  • Aiming for a holistic strategy covering code coverage, type coverage, bundle size monitoring, etc.

• Issues with Current Approach:

  • Dependence on external services like Codecov can cause CI workflow interruptions.

  • Maintenance burden due to external service changes.

• Proposal:

  • Run coverage reporting within GitHub actions to avoid reliance on external services.

  • Ensure the system is robust and does not add complexity to developers' workflows.

• Discussion Points:

  • Need to identify tools that provide similar benefits to current services.

  • Importance of understanding the details provided by services like Codecov (e.g., identifying uncovered lines).

• Actions:

  • Investigate alternatives that integrate seamlessly with GitHub actions.

  • Possibly open an issue to continue the discussion and gather more input.

2. Deprecating the Current Default Theme of Open edX (Presented by Adolfo Brandes)

• Context:

  • Product working group proposed deprecating the current default theme.

  • Aim to unify the user experience across the platform by adopting a consistent default theme.

• Current Situation:

  • Various themes exist: default theme in edx-platform, Paragon's defaults, and Tutor Indigo.

  • Tutor Indigo is often the de facto default due to its use in Tutor installations.

• Proposal:

  • Integrate Tutor Indigo’s defaults into Open edX as the official default theme.

  • Move the integration upstream, ensuring it is maintained and tested by the community.

• Discussion Points:

  • Importance of having a clear, cohesive default theme.

  • Ensuring the theme is accessible and does not introduce opinionated styles that conflict with customization.

  • Potentially keep Paragon’s base styles minimal and accessible while offering Indigo as a more feature-rich default.

• Actions:

  • Adopt Tutor Indigo as the default theme, ensuring it is part of the Open edX organization.

  • Maintain clear documentation and examples to help users customize their themes.

3. Frontend Base Initiative (Presented by David Joy)

• Context:

  • Introduction of frontend-base, a unified library to replace multiple core frontend libraries.

  • Supports OEP-65 for module federation, enabling runtime composition of MFEs.

• Current Architecture:

  • MFEs currently rely on multiple separate libraries (frontend-platform, frontend-build, frontend-component, etc.).

  • Complexity in building and deploying MFEs, with many environment-specific configurations.

• New Architecture:

  • frontend-base will include:

    • Runtime library (replacing frontend-platform and plugin framework).

    • Configurations (webpack, eslint, typescript).

    • CLI for streamlined development and build processes.

    • Shell for initializing and managing MFEs.

• Benefits:

  • Simplifies MFE structure by consolidating dependencies.

  • Improves maintainability and iteration speed by centralizing initialization and configuration.

  • Supports both current deployment mechanisms and future module federation architecture.

• Discussion Points:

  • Transition path from current MFEs to the new architecture.

  • Ensuring compatibility with existing deployment workflows.

  • Gradually introducing changes to avoid disruption.

• Actions:

  • Continue developing frontend-base and testing with existing MFEs.

  • Create detailed migration guides and tools to assist developers in transitioning.

  • Engage with the community for feedback and refinement.

Next Steps:

• Further investigation and discussion on replacing external CI services with self-hosted solutions.

• Finalizing the decision to adopt Tutor Indigo as the default theme and planning the integration.

• Continuing development on frontend-base and planning the transition path for existing MFEs.

Note:
David Joy will continue to post updates in the WG frontend and module federation Slack channels for those interested in following the progress of frontend-base.