Files
edx-platform/xmodule/assets
Kyle McCormick 355779983e build: commit builtinblocks Webpack config and stub out xmodule_assets (#32685)
The Webpack configuration file for built-in XBlock JS used to be
generated at build time and git-ignored. It lived at
common/static/xmodule/webpack.xmodule.config.js. It was generated
because the JS that it referred to was also generated at build-time, and
the filenames of those JS modules were not static.

Now that its contents have been made entirely static [1], there is no
reason we need to continue generating this Webpack configuration file.
So, we check it into edx-platform under the name
./webpack.builtinblocks.config.js. We choose to put it in the repo's
root directory because the paths contained in the config file are
relative to the repo's root.

This allows us to behead both the xmodule/static_content.py
(`xmodule_assets`) script andthe  `process_xmodule_assets` paver task, a
major step in removing the need for Python in the edx-platform asset
build [2]. It also allows us to delete the `HTMLSnippet` class and all
associated attributes, which were exclusively used by
xmodule/static_content.py..

We leave `xmodule_assets` and  `process_xmodule_assets` in as stubs for
now in order to avoid breaking external code (like Tutor) which calls
Paver; the entire pavelib/assets.py function will be eventually removed
soon anyway [3]. Further, to avoid extraneous refactoring, we keep one
method of `HTMLSnippet` around on a few of its former subclasses:
`get_html`. This method was originally part of the XModule framework;
now, it is left over on a few classes as a simple internal helper
method.

References:
1. https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/pull/32480
2. https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/issues/31800
3. https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/issues/31895

Part of: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/issues/32481
2023-07-27 14:32:29 +00:00
..

xmodule/assets: edx-platform XBlock resources
#############################################

This folder exists to contain resources (i.e., static assets) for the XBlocks
defined in edx-platform.

Concepts
********

We would like edx-platform XBlock resources to match the standard XBlock
resource strategy as much as possible, because:

* it'll make it easier to extract the XBlocks into their own packages
  eventually, and
* it makes it easier to reason about the system as a whole when
  internally-defined and externally-defined blocks play by the same rules.

Due to the legacy of the XModule system, we're not quite there yet.
However, we are proactively working towards a system where:

* Python is not involved in the generation of static assets.
* We minimze conditionals that differentiate between "older" (aka "XModule-style")
  XBlocks and newer (aka "pure") XBlocks.
* Each XBlock's assets are contained within their own folder as much as
  possible. See ``./vertical`` as an example.

Themable Sass (.scss)
*********************

XBlock CSS for ``student_view``, ``author_view``, and ``public_view`` is compiled from the various ``./<ClassName>BlockDisplay.scss`` modules, such as `AnnotatableBlockDisplay.scss`_.

XBlock CSS for ``studio_view`` is compiled from the various ``./<ClassName>BlockEditor.scss`` modules, such as `AnnotatableBlockEditor.scss`_.

Those Sass modules are mostly thin wrappers around the underscore-prefixed Sass
modules within block-type-subdirectories, such as `annotatable/_display.css`. In the
future, we may `simplify things`_ by collapsing the top-level Sass modules and
just directly compiling the block-type-subdirectories' Sass.

The CSS is compiled into the static folders of both LMS and CMS, as well as into
the corresponding folders in any enabled themes, as part of the edx-platform build.
It is collected into the static root, and then linked to from XBlock fragments by the
``add_sass_to_fragment`` function in `builtin_assets.py`_.

.. _AnnotatableBlockDisplay.scss: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/tree/master/xmodule/assets/AnnotatableBlockDisplay.scss
.. _AnnotatableBlockEditor.scss: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/tree/master/xmodule/assets/AnnotatableBlockEditor.scss
.. _annotatable/_display.scss: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/tree/master/xmodule/assets/annotatable/_display.scss
.. _simplify things: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/issues/32621

Static CSS (.css)
*****************

Non-themable, ready-to-seve CSS may also be added to the any block type's
subdirectory. For example, see `library_source_block/style.css`_.

JavaScript (.js)
****************

Currently, edx-platform XBlock JS is defined both here in `xmodule/assets`_ and outside in `xmodule/js`_. Different JS resources are processed differently:

* For many older blocks, their JS is:

  * bundled using a `webpack.builtinblocks.config.js`_,
  * which is included into `webpack.common.config.js`_,
  * allowing it to be included into XBlock fragments using ``add_webpack_js_to_fragment`` from `builtin_assets.py`_.

  Example blocks using this setup:

  * `ProblemBlock`_
  * `HtmlBlock`_
  * `AnnotatableBlock`_

* For other "purer" blocks, the JS is used as a standard XBlock fragment. Example blocks:

  * `VerticalBlock`_
  * `LibrarySourcedBlock`_

As part of an `active build refactoring`_, we will soon consolidate all edx-platform XBlock JS here in `xmodule/assets`_.

.. _xmodule/assets: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/tree/master/xmodule/assets
.. _xmodule/js: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/tree/master/xmodule/js
.. _ProblemBlock: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/blob/master/xmodule/capa_block.py
.. _HtmlBlock: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/blob/master/xmodule/html_block.py
.. _AnnotatableBlock: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/blob/master/xmodule/annotatable_block.py
.. _VerticalBlock: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/blob/master/xmodule/vertical_block.py
.. _LibrarySourcedBlock: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/blob/master/xmodule/library_sourced_block.py
.. _active build refactoring: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/issues/31624
.. _builtin_assets.py: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/tree/master/xmodule/util/builtin_assets.py
.. _static_content.py: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/blob/master/xmodule/static_content.py
.. _library_source_block/style.css: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/blob/master/xmodule/assets/library_source_block/style.css
.. _webpack.builtinblocks.config.js: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/blob/master/webpack.builtinblocks.config.js
.. _webpack.common.config.js: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/blob/master/webpack.common.config.js