2024-12-19 Frontend Working Group Meeting Notes: Plugin data handling and API standardization

 Date, time, location

• Date:Dec 19, 2024 at 15:00 UTC (timezone converter)

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

 Discussion topic(s)

Plugin data handling and API standardization

🎥Recording

• Video: Frontend Working Group Meeting - 2024/12/19 11:59 GMT-03:00 - Recording

• Chat: Frontend Working Group Meeting - 2024/12/19 11:59 GMT-03:00 - Chat

• Transcript: Frontend Working Group Meeting - 2024/12/19 11:59 GMT-03:00 - Transcript

 Participants

• Adolfo Brandes

• Brian Smith

• David Joy

• Fox Piacenti

🤖 Summary

1. Scheduling Upcoming Meetings

• Decided to skip the meeting on January 2nd due to expected low attendance.

• The next meeting was scheduled for January 16th, despite overlapping with the company all-hands.

2. Plugin Data Handling & API Standardization

Current Issues with Plugin Props:

• Brian Smith raised concerns about how data should be passed into plugin slots.

• The current approach of passing props directly into plugins could become brittle and unmanageable.

• If every new plugin requires new props, the API could quickly become bloated and difficult to maintain.

Alternative Solutions Explored:

• David Joy suggested an alternative:

  • Avoid passing props directly.

  • Consider React Context instead of prop drilling.

  • Ensure a clear, documented API for plugins.

• Fox Piacenti raised concerns about context performance implications, suggesting memoization to prevent unnecessary re-renders.

• Adolfo Brandes emphasized that some level of official data support must be provided for plugins, whether through props, context, or another structure.

Proposed Next Steps:

• Explore Context-based approaches instead of excessive prop drilling.

• Ensure that any data structure (Context, Props, etc.) used for plugins is explicitly documented and maintained.

• Consider creating predictable, reusable contexts for different types of data (e.g., a Course Info Context for course-related data).

• Establish clear rules for what is considered part of the API, preventing arbitrary additions.

3. Long-Term Considerations for API Governance

• The group acknowledged the need for a well-documented, stable API for plugin data access.

• Key considerations for 2025:

  • Versioning & Stability: Ensure plugins don’t break due to unexpected data structure changes.

  • Documentation: Clearly define what data is officially supported and how plugins should access it.

  • Avoiding Unofficial Data Usage: Prevent plugin developers from relying on undocumented internal APIs that may change.

Key Takeaways:

✔ Avoid excessive prop drilling in plugins.
✔ Explore React Context as a structured way to pass data.
✔ Define clear API rules to ensure stability and maintainability.
✔ Standardize & document supported plugin data access methods.

 Action items

 Decisions