We are currently in the process of re-writing our development guide to make it easier to find information. The new guide is still WIP but viewable in [development/new_fe_guide](../new_fe_guide/index.md)
> We are currently in the process of re-writing our development guide to make it easier to find information. The new guide is still WIP but viewable in [development/new_fe_guide](../new_fe_guide/index.md)
This document describes various guidelines to ensure consistency and quality
This document describes various guidelines to ensure consistency and quality
across GitLab's frontend team.
across GitLab's frontend team.
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@@ -32,32 +32,41 @@ For our currently-supported browsers, see our [requirements][requirements].
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@@ -32,32 +32,41 @@ For our currently-supported browsers, see our [requirements][requirements].
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## [Development Process](development_process.md)
## [Development Process](development_process.md)
How we plan and execute the work on the frontend.
How we plan and execute the work on the frontend.
## [Architecture](architecture.md)
## [Architecture](architecture.md)
How we go about making fundamental design decisions in GitLab's frontend team
How we go about making fundamental design decisions in GitLab's frontend team
or make changes to our frontend development guidelines.
or make changes to our frontend development guidelines.
We use [Snowplow](https://github.com/snowplow/snowplow) for tracking custom events.
## Generic tracking function
In addition to Snowplow's built-in method for tracking page views, we use a generic tracking function which enables us to selectively apply listeners to events.
The generic tracking function can be imported in EE-specific JS files as follows:
```javascript
import{trackEvent}from`ee/stats`;
```
This gives the user access to the `trackEvent` method, which takes the following parameters:
| `category` | string | Describes the page that you're capturing click events on. Unless infeasible, please use the Rails page attribute `document.body.dataset.page` by default. | true |
| `eventName` | string | Describes the action the user is taking. The first word should always describe the action. For example, clicks should be `click` and activations should be `activate`. Use underscores to describe what was acted on. For example, activating a form field would be `activate_form_input`. Clicking on a dropdown is `click_dropdown`. | true |
| `additionalData` | object | Additional data such as `label`, `property`, and `value` as described [in our Feature Instrumentation taxonomy](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/feature-instrumentation/#taxonomy). | false |
Read more about instrumentation and the taxonomy in the [Product Handbook](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/feature-instrumentation).
### Tracking in `.js` and `.vue` files
The most simple use case is to add tracking programmatically to an event of interest in Javascript.
The following example demonstrates how to track a click on a button in Javascript by calling the `trackEvent` method explicitly:
Sometimes we want to track clicks for multiple elements on a page. Creating event handlers for all elements could soon turn into a tedious task.
There's a more convenient solution to this problem. When working with HAML templates, we can add `data-track-*` attributes to elements of interest. This way, all elements that have both `data-track-label` and `data-track-event` attributes assigned get marked for event tracking. All we have to do is call the `bindTrackableContainer` method on a container which allows for better scoping.
Below is an example of `data-track-*` attributes assigned to a button in HAML:
By calling `bindTrackableContainer('.my-container')`, click handlers get bound to all elements located in `.my-container` provided that they have the necessary `data-track-*` attributes assigned to them.
| `data-track-label` | The `label` in `trackEvent` | true |
| `data-track-event` | The `eventName` in `trackEvent` | true |
| `data-track-property` | The `property` in `trackEvent`. If omitted, an empty string will be used as a default value. | false |
| `data-track-value` | The `value` in `trackEvent`. If omitted, this will be `target.value` or empty string. For checkboxes, the default value being tracked will be the element's checked attribute if `data-track-value` is omitted. | false |
Since Snowplow is an Enterprise Edition feature, it's necessary to create a CE backport when adding `data-track-*` attributes to HAML templates in most cases.