Skip to content

Commit

Permalink
feat(docs): update FAQ
Browse files Browse the repository at this point in the history 
Co-authored-by: Diana Lau <[email protected]>
Signed-off-by: Rifa Achrinza <[email protected]>
  • Loading branch information
@achrinza @dhmlau
achrinza and dhmlau committed Oct 9, 2020
1 parent 672d331 commit 7d4a3e2
Showing 1 changed file with 108 additions and 34 deletions.
142 changes: 108 additions & 34 deletions docs/site/FAQ.md
View file
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ permalink: /doc/en/lb4/FAQ.html
summary: LoopBack 4 is a completely new framework, also known as LoopBack-Next.
---

## About the project

### What’s the vision behind LoopBack 4?

- Make it even easier to build apps that require complex integrations
Expand All @@ -17,23 +19,80 @@ summary: LoopBack 4 is a completely new framework, also known as LoopBack-Next.

See [Crafting LoopBack 4](Crafting-LoopBack-4.md) for more details.

### Where are the tutorials?
### Is LoopBack 4 a REST framework?

See [Examples](Examples.md) and [Tutorials](Tutorials.md).
**Yes and no.** Unlike other REST frameworks, LoopBack 4's scope spans beyond
creating REST APIs, and the individual Node.js packages are designed with this
in mind. This leads to increased flexibility for more complex use-cases and
enables reuse of concepts across different projects.

### What features are planned?
LoopBack 4's focus is still REST APIs and will continue to innovate in improving
the API developer experience.

Our roadmap is captured in
[here](https://github.com/strongloop/loopback-next/labels/roadmap). You can also
check out our
[monthly milestone plans](https://github.com/strongloop/loopback-next/labels/Monthly%20Milestone).
See
[Can non-REST projects utilize LoopBack 4?](#can-non-rest-projects-utilize-loopback-4)
for details on how to leverage LoopBack in other projects.

For LoopBack 3 users, here is the list of LB3 feature parity we wish to be
implemented in the future:
https://github.com/strongloop/loopback-next/issues/1920.
### Why introduce so many new concepts?

Do you have some other features in mind? Add your feature requests at
[loopback-next/issues/new](https://github.com/strongloop/loopback-next/issues/new).
At first glance, concepts such as Inversion of Control, Dependency Injection,
Services and Providers may seem daunting when coming from other typical Node.js
projects. However, these have been well-defined and battle-tested in many other
programming languages such as C# and Java. Furthermore, they have been rapidly
adopted by other Node.js project such as Angular.

These concepts improve code readability and predictability by promoting use of
SOLID principles, and by doing so, aid in code maintainability in the long term.

### Can non-REST projects utilize LoopBack 4?

**Yes they can!** LoopBack 4 was designed to be flexible to support non-REST
projects. Here's a few examples:

- `@loopback/context`

Dependency injection framework. Can be used to in any Node.js project to
improve code maintainability.

- `@loopback/core`

Builds on top of `@loopback/context` and introduces higher-level concepts such
as Services to further improve code maintainability.

- `@loopback/metadata`

Create and inspect TypeScript decorators to define, merge and inspect
metadata.

- `@loopback/repository`

Cross-database ORM and ODM framework. Can be used to create cross-database
designs, queries and relations.

- `@loopback/filter`

Contains LoopBack filter typings and builders. Can be used to build queries on
LoopBack API consumers.

- `@loopback/graphql`

Brings first-class support for building GraphQL APIs. Can be used alongside or
independent of `@loopback/rest`.

### Can I still use `require` and `import` without Dependency Injection?

**Yes you can!** LoopBack 4 projects are still Node.js projects at its core.
Hence, developers still can leverage on existing and familiar Node.js concepts
to build their applications. We still recommend utilizing the Dependency
Injection framework where possible to improve code maintainability.

### LoopBack 3 vs LoopBack 4

We recommend that current users migrate to LoopBack 4, which can be done through
following the [migration guide](migration/overview.md) and new users start with
LoopBack 4. See
[Differences between LoopBack v3 and v4](Understanding-the-differences.md) if
you're interested in the differences between the two versions.

### Why TypeScript?

Expand All @@ -47,10 +106,9 @@ reasons:
- **Improved extensibility** and flexibility. LoopBack 4's core is simpler than
LoopBack 3.x with well-defined extension points. A lot of responsibility will
be shifted to extensions (components), which can be JavaScript or TypeScript.
- Unified tooling. TypeScript developers all use the same IDE: Visual Studio
Code. The LoopBack ecosystem could someday be filled with useful best
practices around that IDE and even great developer plugins. Right now that
effort is split between various editors and basically non-existent.
- **Unified tooling**. A good proportion of TypeScript developers use Visual
Studio Code. Hence, we provide out-of-the-box Visual Studio Code
configurations to make LoopBack application development more convenient.
- **Future-proofing**. Ability to leverage the latest and future JavaScript
constructs.

Expand All @@ -64,25 +122,35 @@ projects).
For more details, see the lengthy discussion in
[#6](https://github.com/strongloop/loopback-next/issues/6).

### Does JavaScript still work?
## About the documentation

LoopBack 4 itself is written in [TypeScript](https://www.typescriptlang.org)
(that compiles to JavaScript), but it supports applications written in both
TypeScript and JavaScript. The documentation assumes you have a basic
understanding of the JavaScript language; and when it says "JavaScript" it is
understood to mean ECMAScript version 6 (ES6).
### Where are the tutorials?

Some of the examples use ES6 syntax. We encourage you to get familiar with ES6
constructs such as arrow functions, classes, template literals, let, and const
statements.
See [Examples](Examples.md) and [Tutorials](Tutorials.md).

### LoopBack 3 vs LoopBack 4
### What features are planned?

We recommend that current users migrate to LoopBack 4, which can be done through
following the [migration guide](migration/overview.md) and new users start with
LoopBack 4. See
[Differences between LoopBack v3 and v4](Understanding-the-differences.md) if
you're interested in the differences between the two versions.
Our roadmap is captured in
[here](https://github.com/strongloop/loopback-next/labels/roadmap). You can also
check out our
[monthly milestone plans](https://github.com/strongloop/loopback-next/labels/Monthly%20Milestone).

For LoopBack 3 users, here is the list of LB3 feature parity we wish to be
implemented in the future:
https://github.com/strongloop/loopback-next/issues/1920.

Do you have some other features in mind? Add your feature requests at
[loopback-next/issues/new](https://github.com/strongloop/loopback-next/issues/new).

## Technical usage

### Does JavaScript still work?

**No.** While some packages _may_ work with JavaScript, there is no guarantee
that all features will be compatible. Please see GitHub issues
[#560](https://github.com/strongloop/loopback-next/issues/560) and
[#1978](https://github.com/strongloop/loopback-next/issues/1978) for prior
discussion and the issues of supporting a pure-JavaScript experience.

### How do I disable the API Explorer?

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -183,9 +251,9 @@ Binding keys used by `@loopback/*` packages are consolidated under

### What is the difference between general and configuration bindings?

Configuration bindings are APIs that leverage the general binding API to
standardize the naming convention of the configuration binding keys needing to
create a completely separate key. See
Configuration bindings leverage an existing binding key to transparently
standardize the naming convention of the configuration binding keys without
needing to create a completely separate key. See
[Configuration by convention](https://loopback.io/doc/en/lb4/Context.html#configuration-by-convention).

### Can I attach an Express router?
Expand All @@ -195,3 +263,9 @@ Yes. See [Mounting an Express Router](Route.md#mounting-an-express-router).
### Can I mount an Express middleware?

Yes. See [Using Express Middleware](Express-middleware.md).

### LoopBack middleware vs Express middleware

Where possible, use LoopBack middleware instead. Express middleware are less
flexible and LoopBack integration is only meant to be a compatibility layer for
**existing** middleware. See [Middleware](Middleware.md) for more details.

0 comments on commit 7d4a3e2

Please sign in to comment.