:spider_web: Latest Kobweb releases... 0.13.9 is a...

# kobweb

[David Herman]

🕸️ Latest Kobweb releases... 0.13.9 is a fun one! 🕸️

https://github.com/varabyte/kobweb/releases/tag/v0.13.8
https://github.com/varabyte/kobweb/releases/tag/v0.13.9

0.13.8

Pre-0.13.8, the logic for SimpleGrid was hardcoded in a way that columns maxed out at 6. However, with the power of CSS variables, the number of columns is now only bounded by your imagination. 🌈

SimpleGrid(numColumns(10)) {
    repeat(30) {
        Box(Modifier.size(50.px).backgroundColor(Color.Companion.rgb(Random.nextInt())))
    }
}

(See attached image)

0.13.9

The latest release introduces persistent client-server connections (think WebSockets) via a feature called API streams (a new companion to API routes, the way you declare REST endpoints in Kobweb)

Declaring and using streams will likely be a little more involved in practice, but for the simple case of just sending text back and forth, you're looking at some nice one-liners. Here, the following code sends text to the server which then immediately gets echoed back to the client (and logged to the console):

// Backend
val echo = ApiStream { ctx -> ctx.stream.send(ctx.text) }

// Frontend
val echoStream = rememberApiStream("echo") { ctx -> console.log("Echoed: ${ctx.text}") }
// later:
echoStream.send("Hello!")

A Kobweb power-user put together a chess playground is less than two days (see attached video).

Tons of potential in this feature! Hope the community has fun with it.

msedge_oPCpMnHETw.mp4