PyNode Next v2!

[ehne]

PyNode Next v2

Howdy folks! Today I'm pleased to announce PyNode Next version 2, which includes many updates:

• An all-new UI: It's cleaner, and has more space for the graph.
• Refactored adding and removing functions: The overloading system is gone.
• Improved error reporting: No more wondering what's gone wrong.
• Improved type-hints and editor completion: For a better programming experience.
• Legacy arguments are gone: You no longer have to remember that there were hidden arguments.
• Smaller file size: ~40% smaller than v1.10.2

Update today by downloading it at https://github.com/ehne/PyNode-Next/releases/latest

A New User Interface

As a part of the new version, we've updated the UI, making it cleaner and smaller, giving more room for your graph. The navigation bar has been squished into the top-left corner, whilst still retaining all the original functions. 

We also added an alert for when you are running an older version of PyNode Next than the most recent version. This alert can be disabled by setting check_for_new_version to False.

begin_pynode_next(func, check_for_new_version=False)

Refactored Adding and Removing Nodes and Edges

At the core of PyNode Next is the ability to create nodes and edges. In the original version of PyNode, nodes could be added to the graph by either using strings as their ID's, or by adding them as an object.

graph.add_node('a')

# or

b = Node('b')
graph.add_node(b)

The same went for adding edges, you could add them either by specifying the start and end nodes, or by adding an Edge object.

graph.add_edge('a', 'b')

# or

e = Edge('a', 'b')
graph.add_edge(e)

In PyNode Next v2, we have made it so that the object versions of the adding functions are now their own separate function (graph.add()). This fixes a number of problems with v1.

graph.add_node('a')
graph.add(Node('a'))

graph.add_edge('a', 'b')
graph.add(Edge('a', 'b'))

We also did the same with the removing functions (graph.remove()):

graph.remove_node('a')
graph.remove(Node('a'))

graph.remove_edge('a', 'b')
graph.remove(Edge('a', 'b'))

The reason for this change is that it allows for a few things:

• Improved Error Reporting,
• Improved Type Hinting and Editor Completion,
• And a smaller codebase.

Improved Error Reporting

With PyNode Next v2, and the removal of the overloading system, we have greatly improved the quality of Python's error reports. In v1, because the overloaded function's argument signature internally is (*args, **kwargs), it would not tell you anything about missing arguments or incorrect types. Now with v2, the argument signature is correct to that specific function, and so should provide specific error messages.

Improved Type Hinting and Editor Completion

Because of the aforementioned overloading signatures, PyNode Next v1's editor completion was woefully poor. But with the new version of PyNode Next removing the overloading system, your IDE should provide far more useful type hints as well as editor completions.

Legacy Arguments Are Gone

In keeping with the theme of improving developer experience, we have removed the legacy arguments.

The original PyNode had several arguments that are there for features that only exist in the old version. But to retain backwards compatibility, we kept them there. Unfortunately, this meant that there would be weird times when you'd write some code, expecting one thing, but something else would happen. Notably, the set_label_style method:

Today, we've fixed that issue by getting rid of all legacy arguments:

• outline is gone from edge.set_weight_style, node.set_label_style, and node.set_value_style.
• relative is gone from node.set_position.

Other Changes

• Added an alert function.
• Replaced the default edge weight with an empty string.
• Removed the graph.random() method.

More changes can be found in the release notes.

Conclusion

That's basically it to PyNode Next v2. I hope you enjoy using it, and continue to send back your feedback to the GitHub Issues page.

Documentation for PyNode Next v2 should be up on the website soon. And a reminder that you can update to PyNode Next v2 by downloading it from the releases page.