While end users may be blown away by the new visualization and interaction possibilities with 3D tile mesh data in LuciadRIA 2020.0, the release also has a number of benefits for developers.
Let’s take a look at the top five reasons you should upgrade to LuciadRIA 2020.0.
1. Easier installation
LuciadRIA is now shipped as an NPM package, so you can simply use npm install to add it to a project, making the process easier than ever.
2. ES6 modules
The LuciadRIA API is now also packaged as a set of EcmaScript 6 (ES6) modules, which benefits both DevOps specialists and developers. Because ES6 is a standard, integration with modern JavaScript tools and build systems comes for free. In your Integrated Development Environment (IDE), you’ll benefit from improved code completion that corresponds with the public LuciadRIA API.
3. Typescript-based code base
As part of the release, the LuciadRIA team converted all the public API classes (and additional classes) to Typescript. This provides type-safety and decent refactoring tools.
The Typescript definition files included in the release are now always in sync with the Javascript files because they are both generated from the same input.
This doesn’t mean you have to use Typescript. You can still choose between Javascript and Typescript.
4. Reference documentation right in your IDE where you need it
In LuciadRIA 2020.0, the public Typescript definition files contain the API reference documentation. No need to leave your IDE to find out in what order you need to pass arguments to a certain method. Documentation is only one keyboard shortcut away.
Your development speed is exponentially increased, while your frustration is at zero.
5. Use-case-oriented documentation
Instead of wrestling with a daunting developer guide, you now start learning LuciadRIA using short, use-case-oriented tutorials and how-to’s. This enables the LuciadRIA team to enrich the documentation based on your feedback in the future.
To find out more about the LuciadRIA 2020.0 release, have a look at the Release Guide.
