UI Suite Monthly #14 - Building Momentum for 2024 and Beyond
Welcome to our fourteenth UI Suite Initiative monthly meeting recap! As we kicked off 2024, our team gathered to discuss progress, welcome new members, and chart our course for the exciting developments ahead.
Overall Summary
Our January meeting marked a productive start to 2024, with significant progress on multiple fronts of the UI Suite Initiative. We welcomed Mel as our newest team member, who will be taking on the Field Formatter module scope from Edouard. The meeting covered substantial updates on our core components including the prop type schema manager, source part, and legacy systems integration.
We made notable strides in our SDC implementation and are optimistic about upcoming changes that will enhance compatibility across design systems including Material Design and DSFR. The team also discussed important module releases, community contributions, and our roadmap toward achieving greater extensibility in our closed API systems.
Key Topics Discussed
Team Growth and Structure Changes
- We're excited to welcome Mikael to our team, who will be handling the Field Formatter module responsibilities previously managed by Edouard. This strategic addition strengthens our development capacity and allows for better focus on specific components.
Core Development Progress The foundation work on our prop type schema manager and legacy parts integration is showing solid progress. These components are crucial for the upcoming integration of layout blocks and view rendering capabilities. Our focus on building solid foundations is paying off as we prepare for more complex integrations.
- SDC Implementation Updates: Olivier will be reviewing the retrieve-only component changes, and we're pleased that the development team has approved these modifications. We're moving toward SDC integration with new rendering element rules that should be well-received by the community.
- API Extensibility Challenges: One of our biggest hurdles remains the very closed nature of our current API. We're tackling this with two new solutions - Christian is developing a new issue for introducing component unification, and we're implementing new commands that will allow us to work with less open projects while maintaining compatibility.
Module Releases and Community Contributions Our December releases included two significant new modules. The first addresses IDE wrapper div removal for cleaner HTML templating, particularly solving integration issues with components like accordion and accordion items where design systems expect direct child relationships.
The second module tackles unpublished content styling by automatically applying configurable classes either through div attributes or within Layout Builder when VI mode is active. This modular approach simplifies templates and reduces custom CSS requirements while maintaining full configurability for different publication workflows.
Key Action Points
Immediate Development Tasks
- Complete the SDC integration work with focus on the new rendering element rules
- Finalize the component unification issue that Christian is preparing
- Continue progress on the extensibility solutions for our closed API systems
Community Engagement Initiatives We're actively seeking contributors, particularly for Twig development where we need skilled programmers to complete the remaining changes requested by our team. This represents an excellent opportunity for developers to become legends in the Drupal community while making meaningful contributions to our initiative.
- Testing and Feedback: We encourage everyone to test our alpha releases, particularly the link type integration which offers powerful capabilities for component integration. Don't hesitate to experiment with these features as they represent significant advances in our development approach.
- Design System Compatibility: Teams working with specific design systems should share their project details with us. We can provide feedback to improve compatibility and use real-world use cases to enhance our conversion processes.
Module Adoption and Upgrades Remember to upgrade your dependencies to take advantage of the latest features and bug fixes in our recent releases. The new template suggestion and unpublished entity styling modules offer significant improvements but remain completely optional and configurable to suit different project needs.
Upcoming Deadlines / Releases
| Project/Module | Timeline | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project Browser | 5 months | Planned | Timeline confirmed, no immediate pressure |
| DSFR Beta Release | Soon | Near completion | 8 issues remaining, targeting beta before final release |
| USWDS Alpha | Next week | In development | Steven working on changes, 46 components, 7 layouts |
| Drupal Camp FR | March | Event planning | French community gathering, potential kickoff event |
| Next UI Suite Meeting | February (date TBD) | Scheduled | Regular monthly cadence continues |
| Link Type Integration | Available now | Alpha release | Requires upgrade to Alpha for full functionality |
We're entering 2024 with strong momentum and clear objectives. Our growing team, solid technical foundation, and active community engagement position us well for the challenges ahead. The combination of new module releases, API improvements, and expanded design system support demonstrates our commitment to providing comprehensive solutions for the Drupal community.
As always, we appreciate your participation and contributions to the UI Suite Initiative. Whether you're testing our alpha releases, contributing code, or providing feedback on compatibility, your involvement drives our success. Let's make 2024 a breakthrough year for UI development in Drupal!
This meeting recap is based on our monthly UI Suite Initiative gathering. Join us next month for continued updates on our progress and new developments.