Documentation on dmx / app connect?

[HeikoK]

Hi all,

I am back with a project and wanted to give Wappler another try, this time with a web project. While playing around with a couple things (while adapting a Boostrap theme), I was looking for a documentation on app connect, such as html attributes (like dmx:bind or dmx:repeat) or app connect tags (dmx name space)

The closest I could find was this post from feb 2021 with a answer from @patrick

List of all the dmx functions

Is there a post or document that shows all the dmx functions like: dmx.parse dmx.set etc… While we are at it. A list of all the dom attributes like dmx-text=“var” etc

Pretty sure, this is not complete.

Would be great to have am updated documentation on Wappler, this would be so helpful when planning a new project, or getting into a new tool and framework.

A quick example: it took me about an hour or so to find enough information to get a simple loop for a star rating done, mostly because I couldn’t find a proper entry into the documention / feature overview:

<span is="dmx-repeat" id="myrating" dmx-bind:repeat="5" class="text-xl">
  <i class="fa-heart text-grey-700" 
    dmx-class:fa-solid="$index+1 <= get_project.data.project.rating.round()" 
    dmx-class:fa-regular="$index+1 > get_project.data.project.rating.round()">
  </i>
</span>

Where can I find is="dmx-repeat" and dmx-bind:repeat documented, telling me that there’s a $index variable I can use?

Cheers,
Heiko

[Teodor]

@HeikoK

Where can I find is="dmx-repeat" and dmx-bind:repeat documented, telling me that there’s a $index variable I can use?

Well usually these things are all done through the UI … you add your repeater there and then you use the data picker to pick the values.

[kfawcett]

I echo @HeikoK comments. While the UI works most of the time, there are places where it’s incomplete and require you to manually code in the dmx functions. Knowing how the various dmx methods work would go a long way for everyone to understand more fundamentally how Wappler’s SC/AC/Flows work.

[Teodor]

The article Patrick shared IS up to date and shows quite a lot of details already. And don’t forget you can use dmx.app.data in the console as well.

[kfawcett]

Is that something that could be added to https://docs.wappler.io and maintained so it’s not lost in the weeds of our posts in the forum?

[sid]

This is again circles back to the huge learning curve you would have read about, when using Wappler.
The core problem is because of lack of proper documentation, but at least you can always ask in community.

What took you an hour is the learning cure. Going forward it would be a matter of minutes.

Over the years, what I have learned to do is use dmx.app.data... to identify in console what all parameters and functions are available. Does not always work - so community is the backup.
An eg would be this: Socket Connect/Disconnect/Reconnect Events

And as a last resort, I also sometimes tweak the core Wappler JS files to make the component do a bit more.

[HeikoK]

@Teodor

add your repeater

…and that’s the challenge: who does tell me that there’s a repeater component that I can use for simple loops? There’s no documentation on what’s there on how it works. No inventory of features.

You guys spent so much time to create this product, to develop all this components and its features, but so many of them are just there, undisccovered by the user. Wappler can be so powerful over other tools, but there’s not explanantion how to unlock this power!

@sid

This is again circles back to the huge learning curve you would have read about, when using Wappler.
The core problem is because of lack of proper documentation

…and this leads into frustration, in so many ways. This is a paid product, and I have to pay for the time I spend with searching if the a specific feature exists and how it is used.

@sid

…so community is the backup.

So true and I really appreciate that.

But when I work on a project, I typically don’t want to wait if someone jumps in to fill the gap. I just want to check the docs, and act accordingly.

I would rather prefer a simpler but better documented product, otherwise I can simply use React on the Frontend and some of the other low code tools for the backend

As an example, I started three months ago with FlutterFlow (found the recommendation here in the forums) for creating app prototypes (I initially wanted to use Wappler/Framework7 for this). I don’t care about the techstack here (Flutter/Dart), but the editor and components are so well documented. I sat down for a couple of days reading the component documentation, learning what I can do with the product and where it’s limitations pop in and started developing apps. I never intended to use it for production, but I created three prototypes, one even ready to release, all in three months (and yes, they also have gaps, errors, bugs, some outdated documents, and a community that has more questions than answers)

If Wappler could match the documenation quality, it would be a real game changer.

[Teodor]

@HeikoK

…and that’s the challenge: who does tell me that there’s a repeater component that I can use for simple loops? There’s no documentation on what’s there on how it works. No inventory of features.

the thing is some people jump straight into the complex stuff without following the simple tutorials first. How would a newbie know about the existence of the $index you mention if he never actually tried to create a simple repeat region to display some dummy data on the page - of course not possible.
How would a newbie find articles like this List of all the dmx functions helpful - he won’t. In our experience during the years the more coding we show, the more it scares new users. Then users first impression is “You need to know code to use Wappler”
It’s a different thing for advanced users, once you’re comfortable with the basics, know how to display dynamic data on the page, using the repeat region options, saw the data picker more than once and noticed $index, then the article could be helpful for you.

So my advice is - start with the basic stuff, you can’t build a rocket without first knowing about the gravity and aerodynamics

And yes, we are actually working on a new docs which will include the methods, properties, actions and options of the extensions included in Wappler: https://docsdev.wappler.io/extensions note that this is not yet done, it’s work in progress.

[HeikoK]

@Teodor Please, don’t feel offended. Take the opportunity that paying customers give you feedback where their pain is. And for you (as a company) it’s actually easy to fix. This will help: you, as a developer get more feedback on your features, and the customer who has more choices.

I can’t wait to see the updated documentation, I would offer my help if it would be worth.

One thought: I think it would be beneficial to have a external site / pages setup with all the extensions listed, similar it is on the Extension Manager. This would be a first start to have a glance. And it could be filtered etc. There’s much valuable information / content there, it needs to be visible.

[sid]

@Teodor

note that this is not yet done, it’s work in progress.

I assume this means the UI/UX as well, and not just the content. Very unreadable in the current state.