Developer Center Beta - New UX and Content Reorg

Announcements
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Hi Tim, amazing change! Congratulations!
Now that I can save the pages that interest me, it would be ideal if I could subscribe to when that page is updated, many times information or new sections are added and it is impossible for me to keep up to date.
something like this:

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Javier, I share this dream! Stay tuned - this is coming.

-Becky Powell
Director, Product Management, Platform

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Thanks! Glad you like it.

You sound like my product manager while we're discussing features we're planning for later this year! :wink:

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:scream: Amazing Becky! Thank you very much!

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:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Thanks Tim!

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Hi Tim,

I refer to the colors of the anchor ( #2f7bb1 ).
Maybe it's due to the thin text.
But, I really like the purple (#8452cf) for the code snippet.

Screen Shot 2022-03-11 at 8.02.38 AM

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@matique77 Thanks! Adding this to the list for UX review.

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Truly Appreciate all the hard work that goes into the platform. However, in the case of the beta API explorer, this feels like a step backwards from a usability standpoint.

Currently, the API Explorer is one of your most useful tools for us. While the new version provides a great deal of very valuable information, it is no longer designed for a developer to quickly compare the results of multiple calls, which is sometimes required to determine the best way to get the data you need.
Another use case for the tabbed interface is calling one API to get a result and then using that result in another API call. In the new version this would be almost useless.

We'd love to see a mixture of the new interface for API exploring and the current interface for API execution and testing.

Thanks for listening,
Ryan

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I have to concur with Ryan here that my initial take on the Beta API Explorer is that is not an improvement over the existing design. I have 22 inch monitors and the new design does not (IMHO) leverage screen real estate in an efficient fashion.

Additionally not being able to tab multiple requests also seems like a move in the wrong direction. You just implemented Tabs/Workspaces in the Genesys Cloud app, curious why you removed them here.

Appreciate and acknowledge the rapid development of the platform but so far not a fan of the beta API Explorer.

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What about the Client App Plug-in for the client? I love being able to pull it up in there. Is that going away as well?

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Robert, you mean having the 'Genesys Cloud Developer Tools' hanging off the Apps menu in Genesys Cloud itself, right? If so, I like that too.

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@Mark_Cockrell @RobertWC @crespino Thank you for your feedback. The existing dev tools aren't being taken away. Please take note of this paragraph in the Change Impact section in the announcement:

I'm wondering if you've noticed the toolbox in the bottom right corner of your screen? There's a guide on using it here: Genesys Cloud Developer Center. We went with a list-based layout in the toolbox instead of tabs. If the vertical orientation of the items is causing a usability issue for you, can you elaborate on how vertical vs. horizontal items is impacting your workflow?

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For performance reasons, the 10,000+ SDK doc pages were not individually redirected. You can find SDK documentation in these locations:

Additionally, projects are in progress to revamp the SDK documentation and publish standalone docs for each SDK, similar to how the Go SDK's docs are currently hosted.

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First up, two (almost conflicting) points!

  1. I agree with (most of) the comments mentioned here.
  2. I don't want to "just hate". Change is always difficult, even when in the long run it's beneficial.

Ok, with that out of the way. Comments / questions / clarifications...

a. Can you put a link to the "old' (classic?) developer tools on the main page? I don't want to have to refer back here until you reach feature parity.
b. With the API explorer, one of the things that seems to be missing is the categorization. In the old one, I could scroll down to, say, Users and expand that sub-list. Now it seems to be one long list :open_mouth:
c. I agree about having the tabs for side-by-side comparisons (either multiple calls to the same endpoint, or calls to related endpoints.)
d. There seems to be a lot more scrolling up and down when looking at an endpoint. Now, this could be down to the fact that it would seem that there is a lot more (welcome) information given.
e. I can't seem to find the full docs for the SDKs? I can find a "main mage" (for say, Javascript) but not all the individual APIs. Am I just being stupid here? (Again, I don't want to have to keep coming back to this thread....) I also noticed that in the github versions of the docs you linked to, the links at the top of the page are broken? (Say you open the Users page, find getUsers and click on it - 404!)
f. Code explorer. Seems to be missing? Is that one of the features awaiting parity?

Keep up the good work, folks!

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@Weirdbeard65 thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it! I'm taking all these points back to the team but wanted to respond to a few specifically:

  • With the API explorer, one of the things that seems to be missing is the categorization. In the old one, I could scroll down to, say, Users and expand that sub-list. Now it seems to be one long list
  • There seems to be a lot more scrolling up and down when looking at an endpoint. Now, this could be down to the fact that it would seem that there is a lot more (welcome) information given.
  • I can't seem to find the full docs for the SDKs?

I have improvements for these items that will go out as soon as they get through code review. Hopefully they'll be deployed Monday or Tuesday. I'll make a post in the site feedback category with details when they go out to ask for more feedback on the updates.

I agree about having the tabs for side-by-side comparisons (either multiple calls to the same endpoint, or calls to related endpoints.)

Can you explain this further? How were you doing side-by-side comparisons before? Is your feedback about the Toolbox or another part of the site/application? The toolbox allows you to switch between resources you've starred in a similar manner to the legacy dev tools api explorer.

Code explorer. Seems to be missing? Is that one of the features awaiting parity?

The Code Editor is actually (the only) one that we're removing entirely. The rest of the tools that don't exist yet are in progress. We've chosen to remove the Code Editor due to the high level of effort to re-implement it as a new tool compared to the minimal value it actually provides. Our recommendation is to use a 3rd party JavaScript editor of your choice (such as https://codepen.io, not an endorsement). If you have a use case that wouldn't be handled by doing that, please share so we can take it into consideration.

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Thanks for the response!

I will look out for the changes next week!

The Code Explorer - I understand - it was handy, but not essential! Not having to worry about authentication saves a bit of time :wink:

Regarding the "Tabs". In the old interface, if I selected, say, GET /api/v2/users from the Users section list on the left, it would add a tab in the main, RH area of the screen. In there, I could issue the "Execute" and see the results. Let's say I then want to access another endpoint for one of those users, I select the second endpoint, say GET /api/v2/gamification/scorecards/users/{userId} and a second tab opens. I can now easily switch backwards and forwards between the two endpoints that are in separate tabs (maybe to copy various UserIDs, or whatever.) With the new interface, I have to scroll up and down a very long list! Additionally, I could open the same endpoint multiple times so, say, I wanted to compare the output for two different users for that second endpoint.... This may not be the best example, but I'm thinking on my feet. The point is that with the old interface, not only was it much quicker to drill down to a specific API endpoint, but I could very quickly switch between the endpoints I was looking at.

I hope this clarifies the concerns that I (and it would seem others) have.

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@Weirdbeard65 Thanks, that helps me understand your current workflow.

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This screenshot is showing filtering for the gamification endpoint and starring the one you mentioned. In the toolbox is the GET /api/v2/users endpoint that I already found and starred. You can click on the items in the list in the toolbox to switch back and forth between those resources.

I'm aware that the data you entered in a resource isn't remembered when you switch back and forth; that hasn't been implemented yet but definitely will be. The ability to save/load multiple requests is also a future feature.

How does the current toolbox experience compare for you? It's definitely a bit different, but I'd like to understand if there are any particular pain points for you using this starring method vs. the previous tabs method (aside from data not being remembered when switching between starred resources).

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Thanks, I will dig into this and have a look around. Certainly, the data being remembered and multiple instances would be a welcome add and would return the explorer to a similar level of functionality to the old one. One thing I do really like (and have just found!) is the "Invocations" accordion. This goes a long way to resolving my earlier criticism concerning SDK documentation - really neat way to get to the sample code, thank you!

Regarding the filter, that's neat, but it's not possible to "drill down" in the way you can in the old one. I used to use that quite a bit. Again, I think you mentioned that something akin to this was coming, so I will wait to see what happens!

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

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New features for API Explorer and SDK docs have been deployed and updates posted in the Site Feedback category. Please don't hesitate to jump in on those topics with any additional feedback. Thanks all!

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