Tips and Tricks for Navigating the ArcGIS API for JavaScript Website
We redesigned the SDK in version 4.0 to make it simpler for developers to locate the data they require to succeed, in addition to rebuilding the API to make it more robust and effective. Keyboard accessibility support for the Home, Guide, API Reference, Sample Code, and Sandbox pages was covered in an earlier blog article. We would like to share some navigational tips and tricks for the ArcGIS API for JavaScript website with you today. You'll save time and advance your web developer expertise with these pointers.
It's simple to find the methods and attributes you're looking for in the API Reference section while you're deep in code. But the Guide provides a wealth of information on the same subjects. The Guide page is a conceptual manual that is broken down into five main sections: Reference, Visualization, Working with the API, Getting Started, and Migrating from 3.x. Let's examine each of the Guide's sections in more detail.
Developers who are either unfamiliar with the API or with the most recent version of the API are the target audience for the Get Started section. It presents the 4.x version of the API, talks about the new features in the most recent release, outlines the hardware and software requirements, and provides additional resources from the wider Esri Community.
Developers who are familiar with the 3.x version of the API can learn more about the 4.x version by reading the section on Migrating from 3.x. It provides justifications for thinking about upgrading from 3.x to 4.x as well as a capability matrix to assist in locating particular modules and features in the most recent release.
The greatest portion of the Guide, Working with the API, focuses on the fantastic new ideas that were introduced at 4.x. This place covers a wide range of topics, from promises to widget development to autocasting.
An overview of the several methods available for defining or modifying feature visualization may be found in the Visualization section. This site contains a wealth of fascinating information about 3D visualization.
Finally, developers can always turn to the Reference section at any point during the development process to help them grasp fundamental ideas that are critical to understanding the ArcGIS API for JavaScript. They cover a variety of subjects, including localization, licensing and attribution, proxy sites, CORS, and more.
If you want to learn about the classes in the ArcGIS API for JavaScript, the place to go is the API Reference. It's wonderful that the modules are arranged alphabetically. Even if the majority of individuals most likely already spend the most of their time here, here are a few (four) suggestions to make your searches as effective as possible.
The Quick links come first. The list of modules appears on the left when the API Reference loads, and each module can be extended to show the classes that are contained within. There's a window on the right that shows you a list of quick links to popular topics at first. Sometimes you can find exactly what you're looking for right here, right away. Alternatively, you can choose Index to view a list of all the classes, events, methods, properties, and type definitions, or All modules to view all the classes in each module.
The fast access links seen in the upper right corner of every lesson come next. Constructors, Properties, Methods, Type definitions, and Events are the sections that can be accessed immediately through one of five links (depending on the class) that appear when you open a class in the API Reference. You can save money and time by using these links (time is money).
The quick access links on the lower left serve to complement those on the top right. Once you've scrolled down the page until the module list on the left side is hidden, you can find these.
The search for API References is the last one. You can search for whole or partial terms in the text box located on the left, above the module list. If I search for refresh, for instance, I can find every module that contains a refresh method (I can also find that these are methods, and not other things like properties).
In the API Reference, I may also look for individual classes or modules' attributes, methods, or events. For instance, I can search for featurelayer.re to view any properties, methods, and events that begin with re inside the FeatureLayer module if I am working with a FeatureLayer and I am interested in return properties and refresh methods.
Additionally, a search for "featurelayer" would yield all properties, methods, and events contained within the FeatureLayer class.
One of the best features of the ArcGIS API for JavaScript 4.x version is searching for samples. But did you realize that you could look up tags as well? Each sample contains unique tags that aid in classification and organization, making it simple to locate the samples you're looking for. Say, for instance, that I'm trying to find 3D samples. When I look up 3D, more than 100 samples come up.
Next, if I select a sample and go to the bottom, I will see a Tags section with all the pertinent tags that pertain to this sample.
When I click on a tag that piques my attention, I get another search result that is also based on the tag. Let's say that 3DObject piques my curiosity. I now have more samples that are even more curated according to my interests. This will assist me in locating pertinent illustrations of the functionality I require for my job.
The Guide page was the topic of our first blog post, and it is also where you can find our final suggestion, the Community. Since many developers work alone or in small teams, I want to call special attention to this page. It's nice to have a sense of community at work, especially if you work remotely. A multitude of resources are listed on the Community page to assist you along the road. These include social media platforms like Slack and online forums like GeoNet.
We appreciate your interest in reading this blog post through to the conclusion, or even just skimming it. We wanted to take a moment to explain the new nice-to-have features of the SDK in addition to the great new capability that the ArcGIS API for JavaScript 4.x series introduced. Please contribute any tips or tricks you may have that aren't covered here in the comments area.
We appreciate your interest in reading this blog post through to the conclusion, or even just skimming it. We wanted to take a moment to explain the new nice-to-have features of the SDK in addition to the great new capability that the ArcGIS API for JavaScript 4.x series introduced. Please contribute any tips or tricks you may have that aren't covered here in the comments area.
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