API documentation

A TypeScript-based API for the LARA Interactive API. This also includes all the types for the API which are shared with the server-side Typescript files that implement the LARA-side of the API.

NOTE: this file (in /docs) is auto-generated as part of the lara-typescript build using TypeDoc by combining the API client's readme file with auto-generated output. If you wish to edit this document please edit lara-typescript/src/interactive-api-client/README.md.

Installation

First install the package:

npm i --save @concord-consortium/lara-interactive-api

Then import it into your code:

import * as interactiveApi from "@concord-consortium/lara-interactive-api" or import just necessary functions: import { setHeight, useInteractiveState } from "@concord-consortium/lara-interactive-api"

the API is compiled TypeScript and includes the typings in .d.ts files in the package. These typings are automatically loaded by the TypeScript compiler so you do now need to install a separate @types/... package.

Usage

API functions

All the Interactive API helpers are exported as single functions. For example;

import { setHeight, setHint, getAuthInfo } from "@concord-consortium/lara-interactive-api"

Some functions might accept types, e.g. getInteractiveState<InteractiveState>(). When there are more types accepted, the order of the type variables is important, it is InteractiveState, AuthoredState, DialogState, and IGlobalInteractiveState. If you do wish to skip a type variable just use {} in its place and any type variable left off on the end defaults to {}, eg:

const getInitInteractiveMessage<IInteractiveState, {}, {}, IGlobalInteractiveState>();

Hooks

If you are using React you will instead want to the use the hooks which wrap the API functions in a more easily used form. All the hooks start with use prefix. To use the hook first import it:

import { useInteractiveState } from "@concord-consortium/lara-interactive-api"

and then call the hook using your type variables in your React component.

Here is a minimal example of a useInteractiveState hook:

const { interactiveState, setInteractiveState } = useInteractiveState<IInteractiveState>();
...
const handleButtonClick = () => {
  // Functional update, usually safer option:
  setInteractiveState((prevState: InteractiveState) => ({ numButtonPresses: prevState.numButtonPresses + 1 }));
  // Or regular update that can cause troubles when new state is based on the previous one:
  // setInteractiveState({ numButtonPresses: interactiveState.numButtonPresses + 1 });
}
...
<button onClick={handleButtonClick}>{interactiveState.numButtonPresses}</button>

Calling the setInteractiveState method returned by the hook will both update the state held inside the hook and also send the message to LARA. This means that calling setInteractiveState will trigger a new React render of your components that use the useInteractiveState hook.

The same applies to other state-based hooks and their setters:

• useAuthoredState
• useGlobalInteractiveState