Fix Lowcocer Comps Documentation

lowcoder-org · FalkWolsky · Feb 22, 2024 · Feb 20, 2024 · Feb 21, 2024 · Feb 21, 2024
commit 82c3de8565f9febaceff5aafa1d27860928f94dd
diff --git a/client/packages/lowcoder-comps/README.md b/client/packages/lowcoder-comps/README.md
@@ -1,22 +1,100 @@
-# lowcoder comp lib
+# Lowcoder Extra Components
+
+This is the workspace for Lowcoder Extra Components like Calendar, Image Editor, Mermaid Charts and eCharts.
+
+## Local Development preparation
+
+Navigate your terminal or bash to your /root folder (lowcoder repository) to install Lowcoder Extra Components dependencies and the Lowcoder SDK
+
+To develop with the Lowcoder Extra Components after you clone the Lowcoder Repository, first make sure the Lowcoder SDK is local built.
+
+```bash
+cd client/packages/lowcoder-sdk
+yarn build
+```
 
 ## Start
 
-Start dev server to develop your comp lib.
+Now you can start the local dev server for Lowcoder Extra Components to develop and add your Component Plugin
 
 ```bash
+cd client/packages/lowcoder-comps
 yarn start
+```
 
-# or
+The local dev server will build for roughly a minute and open then a Browser Window on http://localhost:9000/ with the Lowcoder Component Builder. 
+
+## Local development
+
+After the local dev server is started, the Lowcoder Component Builder is prepared. A new browser window should open at http://localhost:9000 This is the Components Preview, which allows you to see your new component in action, as it would work in the Lowcoder Editor.
+
+Data, methods and properties are visible and interactive, so you can test your Component during development. The view will get automatically refreshed.
+
+The Lowcoder Component Builder makes the development & publishing of multiple individual components as bundle possible. Find the /src/comps folder in /lowcoder-comps. Here are existing components to find. It is suggested for new components to create a new folder. In the left navigation of the Components Preview you can switch between your components.
+
+to see your component and include it in the processing on the development server, you have to do the folloiwing steps:
+
+### modify /lowcoder-comps/package.json
+
+```JSON
+"yournewcomponent": {
+    "name": "Your new Component name",
+    "icon": "./icons/your-icon.svg",
+    "description": "A Component Plugin to ...",
+    "category": "itemHandling",
+    "layoutInfo": {
+        "w": 6,
+        "h": 30
+    }
+}
+```
 
-npm start
+
+Please choose one category out of:
+
+ - dashboards
+ - layout
+ - forms
+ - collaboration
+ - projectmanagement
+ - scheduling
+ - documents
+ - itemHandling
+ - multimedia
+ - integration
+
+layoutInfo helps you to define the size (in grid-cells) of your Component in the grid for the very first moment, when a user drags your Component out of the components display on the right side in the Lowcoder Editor.
+
+### modify /lowcoder-comps/src/index.ts
+
+```JavaScript
+Add your Component for the exported members of Lowcoder Extra Components 
+
+import { ChartCompWithDefault } from "./comps/chartComp/chartComp";
+import { ImageEditorComp } from "./comps/imageEditorComp/index";
+import { CalendarComp } from "./comps/calendarComp/calendarComp";
+import { MermaidComp } from "comps/mermaidComp";
+
+import { YourComponent } from "comps/yourComponentFolder/yourComponent";
+
+export default {
+  chart: ChartCompWithDefault,
+  imageEditor: ImageEditorComp,
+  calendar: CalendarComp,
+  mermaid: MermaidComp,
+
+  yourcomponent: YourComponent,
+};
 ```
+Now your Plugin should be visibe and displayed in the Lowcoder Component Builder at http://localhost:9000/
 
 ## Build
 
-Build current comp lib into a .tgz file that you can upload it to the Lowcoder Comp Market.
+When you finish development and all tests, you can build the Components to use it in runtime.
 
-Before build you should change the version in package.json file.
+This will build the current Component Plugins into a .tgz file that you can upload.
+
+**Before build you should change the version in package.json file.**
 
 ```bash
 yarn build
@@ -25,3 +103,18 @@ yarn build
 
 npm run build
 ```
+
+## How to publish a Component Plugin
+
+With the following command you can publish the script to the NPM repository:
+
+```bash
+yarn build --publish
+```
+
+This command will publis the whole Lowcoder Extra Components bundle to [NPMjs](https://www.npmjs.com/)
+Make sure, you updated the Version of Lowcoder Comps before in /lowcoder-comps/package.json
+
+## Contribute your Plugin
+
+If you wish to contribute your plugin and persist it as general Lowcoder Extra Component, please raise a PR to our /dev branch in the Lowcoder Community-Edition Repository https://github.com/lowcoder-org/lowcoder
diff --git a/client/packages/lowcoder-comps/package.json b/client/packages/lowcoder-comps/package.json
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "jest": "29.3.0",
-    "vite": "^4.5.2",
+    "vite": "^5.0.12",
     "vite-tsconfig-paths": "^3.6.0"
   }
 }