[Bug?] createPerchanceTree does not load imports

@wthit56 · 3 months ago

[Bug?] createPerchanceTree does not load imports

@perchance · edit-2 3 months ago

Thanks! I added a better error message. I’ve just updated the createPerchanceTree bullet point on the perchance.org/advanced-tutorial page with this text:

Note that if you have imports within the text, then you’ll need to to make sure the data for that import is preloaded by importing it into your generator somewhere. It doesn’t matter where it’s imported, you just need to have {import:foo} somewhere in your generator if you want to use {import:foo} within your createPerchanceTree text. Related: perchance.org/dynamic-import-plugin

@wthit56 · 3 months ago

Cool… So, is there a way of just dynamically adding that import? Something like window.root.blah="{import:foo}"? Or is that stuff only ever checked onload?

I’ll look into integrating that dynamic importer! 👍

@wthit56 · edit-2 3 months ago

@[email protected] Okay I’ve added dynamic import to my plugin. Took me hours to figure out how to get it to actually work with createPerchanceTree though. Pretty much because for some reason it doesn’t add the imported tree to the moduleSpace. So I had to figure out what that was, where it was, how to add it there… but that was only after I’d been trying like 10 other things 😂

I feel like it would just make sense it would automatically add whatever it loaded to moduleSpace honestly. That’s where all imports live anyway, I think. And it would make this stuff “just work” without needing more deep knowledge about how it works internally.

Anyway… here’s the code I’ve come up with:

var context = createPerchanceTree(context);
 for (var node of context.$allNodes) {
  if (node.$imports) {
    for (var name  of node.$imports) {
      window.moduleSpace[name] = dynamic_import(name);
    }
  }
}

And now it just works. Anything tricky about how I’ve done it? Anything I should avoid or add for any reason?

(Actually I think the above code could be used to chain through imports, in fact… right? So you could support that in that plugin itself maybe?)

@perchance · 3 months ago

I feel like it would just make sense it would automatically add whatever it loaded to moduleSpace honestly. Oh, hmm, I think that makes sense if it were to recursively load all sub-imports (i.e. if the module is “properly” loaded, then it should be added to the module space).

I’ve just added a second input param to createPerchanceTree so you can specify the generator/module name, and if you do, then it adds it to the module space with that name: createPerchanceTree("foo=123", {name:"my-module-name"}). With that, I can now upgrade the dynamic import plugin to do as you suggest - recursively import all sub-imprts. Here’s a fork for you to test:

https://perchance.org/dynamic-import-plugin-test1#edit

Can you please test this and let me know if there are any issues? If there are no issues, I see no reason why the actual dynamic-import-plugin shouldn’t be updated with this code. I doubt this change would break anyone’s generator, especially since the dynamic-import-plugin is quite new.

Example: https://perchance.org/4auik0v09f#edit

Thanks!

@wthit56 · edit-2 3 months ago

you can specify the generator/module name

Oh that’s pretty sweet! Not what I was talking about though 😅

(Edit: Ah I think I see what you mean. You’ve made it so that it’s createPerchanceTree’s responsibility to add it to the moduleSpace. In mine I just added it from what was imported, on the import side. But I guess either way gets the job done.)

I was talking specifically about calling dynamic_import(name). It returns the imported thing, but doesn’t save it to window.moduleSpace with that name. Looks like it caches it for its own use, but doesn’t put it in the moduleSpace for everything else to use after it’s imported.

I actually made my own recursively loading thing (not really recursive but looping through all import names it finds), and built it into my own createPerchanceTree function: https://perchance.org/advanced-createperchancetree

Has demos within that page too so you can see it working.

@perchance · edit-2 3 months ago

If you can give feedback on https://perchance.org/dynamic-import-plugin-test1 that would be great. You should be able swap out your {import:dynamic-import-plugin} for {import:dynamic-import-plugin-test1} and if it doesn’t do something that you want it to, or if it breaks something, or whatever, let me know.

Btw, I don’t think this is correct: imported = dynamic_import(name); window.moduleSpace[name] = imported; since the dynamic import plugin returns $output of the module if it has one.

And in general, making your own edits to moduleSpace is probably not a good idea. If there’s something like this that you want to do (i.e. “messing with internals” to some degree), then you should always make a feature request. Otherwise all your stuff could break at some point due to engine implementation-detail changes. But if something is documented in perchance.org/examples or perchance.org/advanced-tutorial then it’s safe to use.

@wthit56 · 3 months ago

Oh I’ve put it back to using the original importer now by the way, so you can delete that test if you wish–it’s safe.

@wthit56 · 3 months ago

Yes, it works fine by the looks of it. 👍 I’ve integrated it into my createPerchanceTree version too.

I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right, but it did work anyway, so I left it at that. I know I’m playing with fire doing stuff like this but it’s either that or sitting on my hands doing nothing. I find it more interesting trying to do this stuff myself. And I always chat to you about it here anyway, to find out if there’s a way I’m “supposed” to do it, or if there’s just no official capability yet.

That’s how I even found out about that importer. I just needed it extended to fit my needs.

I have also read through both of those, so I’m up to speed. There’s just a lot of stuff the engine can do, just not through official means. And I like to dance on the edge 😜

@perchance · edit-2 3 months ago

or sitting on my hands doing nothing […] And I always chat to you about it here anyway

I really love how you just dig in and solve the problems yourself - this is a very useful trait to have in life. So long as you let me know so I can create an “official” way I’m happy 😅 Thanks for pushing at the edges of the engine - it’s very helpful! I’m going to switch https://perchance.org/dynamic-import-plugin to use the new recursive import code now.

@wthit56 · 3 months ago

By the way, with my createPerchanceTree, I’m now setting the moduleSpace property to the equivalent of dynamic_import().$root.getSelf, and it seems to still work. Does that look right to you?

@wthit56 · 3 months ago

I just edited your demo page and tried it with my own chain of test imports and seems to work fine 👍

How’d you get it to work without throwing because it had stuff that wasn’t already imported?

@wthit56 · 3 months ago

I got it working! Made my own wrapper for createPerchanceTree, that does this recursive loading at the same time. A touch hacky, as for whatever reason it seems running dynamic_import tries to get those imports? Or something? So I wrap that part in a try-catch everything else (seems to) work just fine.

https://perchance.org/advanced-createperchancetree

No problem if you want to take these ideas and work it into the engine itself by the way–all good if I can help improve the platform in my own way. 👍 @perchance