Interactivity API iteration for WordPress 6.8

[luisherranz]

• Part of #41236.

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In WordPress 6.7, work focused on important improvements to enhance the stability and simplicity of the Interactivity API internals, the introduction of new APIs like getServerState/getServerContext and wp_interactivity_get_element, improvements to the types, and progress on the Gallery block lightbox and Query block’s Instant Search.

In WordPress 6.8, the primary focus will be on:

1. Enhancing client-side navigation, advancing full page client-side navigation while addressing and improving the limitations of region-based client-side navigation.
2. Finishing the lightbox of the Gallery Block and the Instant Search functionality for the Query and Search Blocks.

Work is also continuing to improve the documentation, tracked in the Interactivity API documentation's Tracking Issue.

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This is the list of initial tasks, although we will edit this post as we progress and discover other things that we need to do.

Client-side navigation (priority)

• [ ] Review how to inject data-wp-interactive in the body.
• [ ] Review region-based settings (like the Query block) when full-page is enabled.
• [ ] Use the next page's import map on the imported script modules.
• [ ] Find the best strategy to preload and replace all the CSS assets and HTML at the same time.
  • Keep an eye on CSS with incremental ids outside of the regions (see this issue).
• [ ] Figure out if we need to whitelist all the compatible script modules.
• [ ] Add a way to subscribe to virtual pageviews.
• [ ] Make sure that client-side navigation is disabled when incompatible blocks are detected.

General enhancements

• [ ] Lazy loading of interactive blocks
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/58284
• [ ] Introduce withEvent and require Interactivity API actions that use the event object to use it
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/64944
• [ ] Support array.length access in references on the server
  • https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/pull/7751
• [ ] Add default for data-wp-class
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/65803#issuecomment-2468475673
• [ ] Add default for data-wp-style
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/65803#issuecomment-2468475673
• [ ] Improve typing of promises inside generators
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/65439

Core blocks (priority)

• [ ] Query and Search blocks: Instant Search
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/63053
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/63147
• [ ] Gallery block: Lightbox
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/56310
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/62906

Core blocks (optional)

• [ ] Accordion block
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/64119
• [ ] Tabs block
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/63689
• [ ] Dialog block
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/61297

Bug fixes

• [ ] https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/63749
• [ ] https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/67174
• [ ] https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/60455
• [ ] https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/63249
• [ ] https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/63749
• [ ] Make directive suffix validation more strict on the server
  • https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/62426
• [ ] Whitespace can trip up WP_Interactivity_API::_process_directives() when there is a core/button text block binding
  • https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/62522

Optional

• [ ] Support for data-wp-client-only-component
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/discussions/67306
• [ ] Support for data-wp-slot and data-wp-fill
• [ ] Support array[0] access in references
• [ ] Add tests for getElement() attributes
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/63126
• [ ] Release official syntax for unique-ids
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/discussions/62720
• [ ] Review all errors and make them more consistent
• [ ] Allow async directive registration
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/60670
• [ ] Show directive names in Preact's dev tools
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/60049
  • Slack conversation
• [ ] Keep improving TypeScript support
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/61695
• [ ] Support handling navigate() failure states
  • https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/59856

[sethrubenstein]

Just an update that when we saw work on https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/63689 stop we decided to pick up what was there and continue development of a new core/tabs block. Hopefully (scheduling permitted) I should be able to open up an early PR for review next week. That and https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/61297 we're creating for a project we have launching Feb, hoping we can align on those two new iAPI powered blocks for WP 6.8 release.

[luisherranz]

Wonderful, thanks Seth! 👏

I've added the Dialog block to the list 🙂

[sirreal]

https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/pull/7751 (.length support on server-processed directives) is ready for review.