The (working) UI library and Front End Styleguide for edX/Open edX applications and sites.
- Overview
- License
- Dependencies
- Documentation
- Development - Documentation Site
- Development - UX Pattern Library Package
- Use and Deployment
- Contributions
This library contains the following:
- A working preview and documentation system for edX application UI - known as "PLDOC".
- Styleguides and standards for general Front End, HTML, Sass/CSS, and Accessibility-minded development
- Portable Sass/CSS utilities and modules for use within edX applications
The code in this repository is licensed the Apache 2.0 license unless otherwise noted. Please see the [LICENSE file](https://github.com/edx/ux-pattern- library/blob/master/LICENSE.txt) for details.
Using the edX Pattern Library source code in a project current requires:
- locally installing Bower - see below for more installation details.
- Use of modern web browsers - see Open edX/edX browser support
- the use and compilation of Sass into CSS using perferrably LibSass (if using the Sass method for including the pattern library).
Also, the Pattern Library currently relies on the following thrd party libraries:
| Library | Version | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Bourbon | 4.2.3 | basic sass/CSS utilities |
| Animate.css | 3.3.0 | pre-set CSS animations |
| bi-app-sass | latest | right-to-left/left-to-right directional support for layouts |
| breakpoint-sass | 2.6.1 | CSS breakpoint/media-query management |
| susy | 2.2.5 | Grid configuration and utilities |
| A Font Garde | 0.1.6 | A set of reliable (nay, bulletproof) patterns for icon fonts. |
The UX Pattern Library has its own living documentation site at http://ux.edx.org. Additionally, we have many styleguides and how-to wiki documents in the Github repository.
To work on the code of the documentation site portion of this repo, you'll need recent versions of the following things installed on your local machine.
| Library | Version | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Bundler | 1.10 | Used to install jekyll and its dependencies |
| Node.js | 0.12.x or 4.0.x | Support for the asset pipeline |
| Bower | 1.5.0 | fetch and compile javascript assets |
| GulpJS + other gulp-based packages | 3.9.0 | Task runner for build process |
The Pattern Library is managed through Jekyll, a static website generator, so you'll need to install that.
Mac Users
We use a Ruby gem called Bundler to install Jekyll, as that allows us to track the version of Jekyll running on github pages easily.
We assume you have ruby 2.0.0 or later installed. If you don't, an easy way to do that is to use RVM.
With that out of the way, next step is to install bundler, and then to use that to install Jekyll:
$ gem install bundler
$ bundle install
Windows users
Windows users have a bit more work to do, but luckily @juthilo has provided some instructions with his Run Jekyll on Windows guide.
You may also need to install Pygments, the Python syntax highlighter for code snippets that plays nicely with Jekyll (which we use to highlight Front End source code). Read more about this in the Jekyll docs.
If you've never used Node or npm before, you'll need to install Node. If you use homebrew, do:
brew install node
Otherwise, you can download and install from here.
After instaling Node.js, you can install Bower, a package manager we use to download and maintain many of our vendor and external library refereces.
To install Bower globally:
npm install -g bower
After Bower is installed, you can install all of the edX UX Pattern Library dependecies with:
bower install
NOTE: Bower files should not be edited or removed outside of the Bower workflow.
From the directory you've checked out this repo into locally, run:
npm install
This runs through all dependencies listed in package.json and downloads them to a node_modules folder in your project directory.
NOTE: You may need to run this more than just once (if encountering errors when running the gulp command) as new dependencies may have been added.
To run the version of gulp installed local to the project, in the root of your this project, run:
./node_modules/.bin/gulp
To view the Pattern Library locally (and to watch for any local changes to
content/assets), run the default gulp task with:
gulp
This will run the default gulp task defined in gulpfile.js, which includes the general local development set-up task (build-development) and file/asset watching (watch).
After running the default task, your local instance of the Pattern Library can be viewable at http://localhost:3000. There are additional views:
- http://localhost:3000/examples/**/* - where full page examples and demos are kept
- http://localhost:3000/patterns/**/* - permalinks for individually documented pattern library patterns
When developing changes or new work within the PLDOC, please make sure to:
- leave the Pattern Library Source Code (contained in
pattern-ibrary) unedited (or edit in a separate branch/commit) - run the production preparation-focused gulp task
gulp build-production, which will optimize any checked in production assets (styles, images, and scripts), if you've added or heavily edited new PLDOC assets.
If you add or edit any patterns in this repo (found in _src/pattern-library/) or change any bower-centric settings (e.g. bower.json), please do the following:
- test that the change you've made will not negatively affect the bower package other apps and codebases are relying on
- talk to the UX Team about any bumps (based on semantic versioning) in the bower package's version number that are needed.
The UX Pattern Library is meant to be a starting UI Framework to support edX and Open edX applications and sites. To start using the UX Pattern Library in an edX/Open edX app, please follow these steps:
After instaling Node.js, you can install Bower, a package manager we use to download and maintain many of our vendor and external library refereces.
To install Bower globally:
npm install -g bower
Next, you'll want to add the edx-pattern-library registered package as a
bower dependency and install it all at once.
bower install edx-pattern-library --save
NOTE: Bower recommends initializing your project as a bower project in order to manage third party dependencies such as the 'edx-pattern-library' bower package. Bower explains how to do that well with bower.json``.
You can use the edX UX Pattern Library as a static CSS base alongside other CSS files. To do so add a reference in the <head> of your app's HTML
<link rel="stylesheet" href="[path to your bower or manually managed assets]/edx-pattern-library-ltr.min.css" />NOTE: The Bower package comes with several variations of compiled CSS, including:
- RTL and LTR support - noted by either a
*-ltror*-rtlsuffix) - Minified and expanded CSS output formats - for production and development/debugging purposes respectively.
NOTE: This way of using the edX UX Pattern Library is currently in beta is not as widely tested as the Sass method (described below). If you find bugs/issues, please log them. .
You can also use the edX UX Pattern Library as part of your CSS's Sass compilation (our preferred method). To do so,
just import all utilities (see the utilities directory) and what components (see the components directory) you want.
All components and utilities can be imported by default by importing the _edx-pattern-library.scss partial. See the example below taken from main-ltr.scss + the _build.scss compilation of the edX Pattern Library's Documentation Site:
// ------------------------------
// edX Pattern Library Site: Main Style Compile - LTR
// About: Sass compile for the edX Pattern Library Site. This does not contain styles for other edX products/experiences (e.g. account/onboarding). Any styles defined in the partials contained here should be prefixed with ".pldoc-" to avoid cascade/run-off into the element stylings.
// ------------------------------
// #CONFIG
// ------------------------------
$layout-direction: ltr;
@import 'config';
// ------------------------------
// #LIB
// ------------------------------
@import 'lib';
@import '{path to edx-pattern-library Bower package}/pattern-library/sass/edx-pattern-library';
// ------------------------------
// #EXTENSIONS
// ------------------------------
@import 'utilities';
@import 'components';
@import 'layouts';
@import 'views';
@import 'overrides';
NOTE: Since both libSass and RubySass lack a way to pass in variables/configuration into their @import {file} method, each app is responsible for 1) storing any bower-based dependencies, including the edx-pattern-library, in the best directory structure for that app's set up and 2) creating a _lib.scss partial to import all third party library dependencies from that structure for the Pattern Library to use (see above example).
See the UX Pattern Library Files + Application Files guidelines and example style compile for more examples, details on how to use partials, and general background.
If you'd like to customize what to import, you can manually import specific elements from the bower package. Here's an example of customizing the default import demo above:
// ------------------------------
// edX Pattern Library Site: Main Style Compile - LTR
// About: **Customized** Sass compile for the edX Pattern Library Site. This does not contain styles for other edX products/experiences (e.g. account/onboarding). Any styles defined in the partials contained here should be prefixed with ".pldoc-" to avoid cascade/run-off into the element stylings.
// ------------------------------
// #CONFIG
// ------------------------------
$layout-direction: ltr;
@import 'config';
// ------------------------------
// #LIB
// ------------------------------
@import 'lib';
@import '{path to edx-pattern-library Bower package}/pattern-library/sass/global/core';
// use UXPL's buttons, headings, copy, grid, and layouts
@import '{path to edx-pattern-library Bower package}/pattern-library/sass/patterns/buttons';
@import '{path to edx-pattern-library Bower package}/pattern-library/sass/patterns/headings';
@import '{path to edx-pattern-library Bower package}/pattern-library/sass/patterns/copy';
@import '{path to edx-pattern-library Bower package}/pattern-library/sass/patterns/grid';
@import '{path to edx-pattern-library Bower package}/pattern-library/sass/patterns/layouts';
// ------------------------------
// #EXTENSIONS
// ------------------------------
@import 'utilities';
@import 'components';
@import 'layouts';
@import 'views';
@import 'overrides';
There are a few places you can start to explore configuring aspects of the UX
Pattern Library for your purposes. You can find many configurations and base
settings in src/sass/utilities/_variables.scss and can override/customize
those in your application's utilities.scss partial (they'll be used
throughout the rest of the compile).
NOTE: The code and design contained in the library has not been tested for use alongside other UI Frameworks such as Bootstrap or Foundation.
NOTE: The source code of the Pattern Library does not include any local or production-focused Sass/Front End tooling. It's expected that your app/site has its own Sass compiler (preferrably LibSass).
Contributions are very welcome. The easiest way is to fork this repo, and then make a pull request from your fork. The first time you make a pull request, you may be asked to sign a Contributor Agreement.
Please refer to our [contributor guidelines](https://github.com/edx/edx- platform/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.rst) in the main edx-platform repo for important additional information.
There are a few additional details alongside our general guidelines to keep in mind contributing to the UX Pattern Library:
If you're looking to suggest an idea or you're thinking about developing a feature, start a discussion by visiting the Open edX JIRA site and create a new "Issue" by selecting the "Create" button at the top of the page. Choose the project "UX Pattern Library" and the issue type "New Feature" or "Improvement" (you may first need to create a free JIRA account).
If you notice an issue or a bug with the Pattern Library, we would love ot hear about it! Follow the above instructions on logging a new UX Pattern Library JIRA issue and then assign the issue type of "Bug" to your issue. An edX UX Team member will then take it from there and triage your bug.
Conversely, if you want to help resolve any known bugs/issues, which are tracked in JIRA, you can create a free JIRA account and then comment on the ticket to indicate that you are working on it. Don't hesitate to ask clarifying questions on the ticket as needed, too, if anything is unclear.
For code contributions, please open up a pull request! PRs will get OSPR tickets assigned to them, as mentioned in the above contributing guidelines.
An edX UX Team member will be working with you on any pull requests you make. They will be evaulating your pull request from a design point of view as well as from a Front End Development perspective. Other team members as well as UI/Front End Developers may also lend a hand.
The Pattern library source code doesn't currently leverage the Open edX test suite nor are there any automated tests configured for this codebase currently.
In addition to the general contributor documentation, any contributions should meet specific Front End Development requirements, including the guidelines and principles listed in: