Roblox recently began redirecting users from the old Roblox Wiki API to the new Developer Hub.
Since the switch, I have noticed that the API reference on the new site lacks the specificity and compactness of the old Wiki site.
Although these differences are only a matter of visual preference, organization, and convenience, I feel that it would be beneficial for them to be improved. The new Developer Hub API reference has the following inconveniences:
- It takes more than twice as much space and displays less information than the old Wiki.
- The return values and default parameters for functions are not as specific as the old Wiki. More information is only available on each function’s specific page.
- Properties, events, and functions are arranged into individual boxes, instead of in more visually organized and compact columns.
All of these differences are demonstrated in these two images.
This is from the “Workspace” page of the old wiki:
This is the same page with the same functions, on the new Developer Hub:
The same functions are displayed in more than twice the space on the new site. This is partially because of the organizational method used. Each function and its description are displayed above one another contained in boxes listed down the page, separated by white space. This may not be the best layout, especially when looking at the more compact old layout.
Each function is divided into its return values, its name, its parameters, and its description. Considering this, it would be most visually logical to reorganize the vertical list into cells or columns, as the old Wiki is organized. The return values, names, parameters, and descriptions should be aligned into columns, with the corresponding information aligned into rows. This would create a more intuitive layout with less white space surrounding the functions.
For more complex functions, like the raycasting functions displayed above, it is imperative for the programmer to know the specific order of the return types. Take, for example, the function FindPartOnRayWithIgnoreList. On the new Developer Hub, its return value is simply displayed as “Tuple”. This, however, is insufficient for actually programming the function. It does not indicate the actual values returned, or the order in which they are returned. The returned values are BasePart, Vector3, Vector3, and Material, in that order. This information is only found by navigating to the specific page for that function. Although this is only an inconvenience, why display it on the old wiki, and not on the new Developer Hub?
It is the same case with the default parameter values. They are only displayed on each function’s specific page. Take FindPartOnRayWithIgnoreList for example again. What is the default value for the terrainCellsAreCubes parameter? You can’t tell by looking at the Developer Hub screenshot above. But you can tell by looking at the old Wiki screenshot. So why not display it? Writing in “= false” next to the parameter would not even take up an extra line.
As I said before, these are only inconveniences and visual preferences. However, as an avid developer, 90% of my time spent on the Wiki/Developer Hub is on the API documentation. For developers similar to me, these small changes would be significant improvements.