Hi all, With excitement we're sharing today that Vue.js is Wikimedia Foundation's official choice for adoption as future JavaScript framework for use with MediaWiki.
The evaluation of front-end frameworks officially started mid 2019, as part of the Platform Evolution program’s goal to evolve our technology platform and development processes to empower the Wikimedia Movement[0]. The corresponding Technical RFC was successfully resolved in March 2020[1]. As this framework selection is a wide-ranging, long-term decision, a dedicated group, the Front-end Architecture Working Group[2], was established to drive the technology comparison and the final recommendation. Besides the resolved RFC the outcome was to build and test developer experience in a pilot project[3].
The selected pilot was within the Desktop Improvements project[4] with its new Vue.js-based TypeaheadSearch feature that allows for providing additional context while searching. Since its introduction in March 2021[5] the new TypeaheadSearch component has been the default across 15 wikis of varying sizes and has received positive user feedback[6]. A final developer satisfaction survey was completed to gain further information on the developer experience. The survey results emphasized “a positive light on the future of working with Vue.js”. And “[t]he engineers felt optimistic about the future and confident in recommending it for adoption across all our teams.”
The pilot gave us confidence in the recommendation to adopt Vue.js and we are moving into further implementation of Vue.js tooling and product migration planning.
To support further efforts, the Wikimedia Foundation has established the Wikimedia Design System team[7], which I'm proudly part of. Our continued work and upcoming priorities include: - Preparing a shared Vue.js user-interface components library - Deciding on Vue 2 or Vue 3 including transition path - Figuring out how the components library will be built and distributed in and beyond MediaWiki You can find more of the ongoing work on Phabricator[8].
For full transparency, we've carried that knowledge with us for some time already, but were prioritizing progressing integration, annual planning and our internal All-hands conference to finally arrive at this announcement today.
I'd like to thank a number of folks involved in leading to this, all Front-end Architecture Working Group members, especially colleagues Eric Gardner & Roan Kattouw for driving the RFC, the Readers Web team for undergoing as pilot implementers and especially our former colleague Stephen Niedzielski who was central to making it a success, Wikimedia Deutschland for numerous insights through their Vue.js experience, current Design System team members responsible for further progress, all Movement volunteers involved in both providing feedback to the pilot and contributing to development and Product & Tech department leadership for their strong support of this wide-reaching change.
Best regards, Volker
References [0] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Platform_Evolution/Recommendations#1._Develop... [1] https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T241180 [2] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Frontend_Architecture_Working_Group [3] https://www.mediawiki.org/w/index.php?title=File:FAWG_Demo.pdf&page=26 [4] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Reading/Web/Desktop_Improvements [5] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Reading/Web/Desktop_Improvements/Updates#Marc... [6] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Reading/Web/Desktop_Improvements#List_of_earl...) [7] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Design_Systems_Team [8] https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T286946
--- Volker Eckl Design Lead Wikimedia Design System
Wikimedia Foundation 1 Montgomery Street Suite 1600 San Francisco, CA 94104