@ui5/dts-generator NPM

@ui5/dts-Generator

This npm package is used for generating (and checking) TypeScript type definitions (*.d.ts files) for SAPUI5/OpenUI5 libraries implemented in JavaScript, using their api.json files as input.

These api.json files for a UI5 library can be generated with the command ui5 build jsdoc, executed within the root folder of the respective library. This works for your own custom libraries as well as for the original UI5 sources. This command creates the api.json file at dist/test-resources/<library_namespace_and_name>/designtime/api.json (do not confuse this file with the api.json file one folder below inside apiref - that one is meant for the UI5 SDK). For the api.json files of original UI5 libraries, however, there is also a download tool provided.

For the original UI5 framework libraries, the resulting type definitions are published as @sapui5/types and @openui5/types.

The generator can produce both, the new "ES modules" version of the type definitions as well as the legacy "globals" version of the types, which is released as ts-types but will be discontinued for UI5 2.x.

In addition to the generation, this package also provides means to check the generated *.d.ts files in two ways:

by compiling them with the TypeScript compiler and
by running a dtslint check. The latter is mainly done because it is required for publishing the resulting type definitions at DefinitelyTyped. The UI5 team only applies this check to the OpenUI5 libraries which are actually published there. A working dtslint check is notoriously difficult to maintain due to changing requirements and a missing API (only CLI), hence it is only recommended when a release via DefinitelyTyped is required.

Details about the implementation of this package can be found in TECHNICAL.md.

Usage

Install the latest version via npm:

npm install @ui5/dts-generator --save-dev

You can then use the tool either from the command line as CLI or from your own NodeJS code using its APIs. Make sure to use at least version 3.x of the dts-generator, as its usage and API changed vastly compared to previous versions 2.x and below! There is a complete example for using one of the APIs a few sections below.

A minimal CLI call looks like this (you can use the value of the apiObject from the sample as content of the API json file):

npx @ui5/dts-generator <api_json_file> --targetFile <dts_target_file>

But usually you will have to pass additional arguments related to generation directives, paths of library dependencies etc.

The APIs

There are several alternative APIs for type generation. The difference is what input they require. Choose the most suitable one from:

generate: generate the *.d.ts file for one UI5 library from its api.json file (and optionally other files)
generateFromObjects: generate the *.d.ts content as string for one UI5 library from its api.json content given as JS object (and optionally other objects)
generateFromPaths: generate the *.d.ts file for one UI5 library from its api.json file (and optionally other directory paths)

The api.json download utility API is:

downloadApiJson: download api.json files for OpenUI5 libraries on which your library depends. Usually this is at least sap.ui.core, which contains all the base classes like sap.ui.core.Control.

The check APIs are:

checkCompile: test d.ts files by running a TypeScript compilation
checkDtslint: run the dtslint tool provided by DefinitelyTyped

Please see the TypeScript API for a detailed documentation and the respective arguments.

The CLIs

When started from the command line, the main file index.js is an entry point for generating *.d.ts files. When you got the package from npm, you will typically call this using npx @ui5/dts-generator. But when you checked out the sources, you can call index.js directly. The

Usage:
npx ui5-dts-generator <apiFile> <options>

(or: npx @ui5/dts-generator <apiFile> <options>)

(or: node <path-to-file>/index.js <apiFile> <options>)

With:
<apiFile>               File path+name of the api.json file for the library for which the d.ts file should be generated.

<options>:
  -h, --help            Show this help message and exit
  --dependenciesApiPath PATH
                        Directory where the api.json files are located for the libraries on which the currently to-be-built library depends.
  --dependenciesDTSPathForCheck PATH
                        Directory where the d.ts files are located of the libraries on which the currently to-be-built library depends. Typically used for
                        other UI5 libraries for which types are being generated in the same build run. Only needed for the check.
  --dependenciesTypePackagesForCheck
                        The names of type packages on which the currently to-be-built library depends. Typically used for other UI5 libraries being
                        developed separately. E.g. for @types/openui5 when the current build is for a library developed outside the UI5 teams. Only needed
                        for the check.
  --directivesPath PATH
                        Directory where the .dtsgenrc files for the libraries (current and dependencies) are located.
  --targetFile FILE
                        File path and name of the target d.ts file to write.
  --verbose             Set when the console output should be verbose.
  --skipCheckCompile    Set when the test compilation should be skipped.
  --dependenciesDTSPathForCheckForGlobals PATH
                        Directory where the d.ts files (using globals, not ES modules) are located of the libraries on which the currently to-be-built library
                        depends. Only needed when globals are generated and the check is run.
  --targetFileForGlobals FILE
                        File path and name of the target d.ts file to write for the type definitions with globals (not ES modules). Only needed when globals
                        should be generated.

The file download-apijson.js is used to fetch the api.json files which are needed in the above call for --dependenciesApiPath. In the npm package it is exposed as a separate binary and can be called as npx ui5-download-apijson.

Usage:
npx ui5-download-apijson <libs> <version> <options>

(or: node <path-to-file>/download-apijson.js <libs> <version> <options>)

With:
<libs>                  Comma-separated list of OpenUI5 library names, like: sap.ui.core,sap.m
<version>               Full version string of a UI5 version currently available from CDN, like: 1.120.2
<options>:
  -h, --help            Show this help message and exit
  --targetDir PATH      Directory where the downloaded files shall be saved. Optional; if not given, the following path is used: ./temp/dependency-apijson

The file runCheck.js is used for triggering a check of the generated *.d.ts files.

Usage:
node <path-to-file>/runCheck.js <dtsDir> [-h, --help] [--verbose] [--checkDtslint]

With:
<dtsDir>          File path+name of the api.json file for the library for which the d.ts file should be generated.

<options>:
  -h, --help      show this help message and exit
  --verbose       Set when the console output should be verbose.
  --checkDtslint  Set when the test compilation should be skipped.

Usage Example `generateFromObjects`

import { generateFromObjects } from "@ui5/dts-generator";
// Note: as the dts-generator is implemented as ES modules, this import only works
// when your code is an ES module as well. You can e.g. set "type": "module" in your
// package.json to enable ES module support.
// Otherwise, you can use:
// const { generateFromObjects } = await import("@ui5/dts-generator");

// This is the content of some minimal api.json file with a class.
// Normally these files are huge (3.5 MB in case of the sap.ui.core library),
// containing all APIs and documentation of the library,
// and are created by the UI5 build tools (as explained above).
const apiObject = {
  "$schema-ref": "http://schemas.sap.com/sapui5/designtime/api.json/1.0",
  version: "1.120.0",
  library: "my.lib",
  symbols: [
    {
      kind: "class",
      name: "module:my/lib/MyClass",
      basename: "MyClass",
      resource: "my/lib/MyClass.js",
      module: "my/lib/MyClass",
      export: "",
      visibility: "public",
      description: "A dummy class",
      methods: [
        {
          name: "doSomething",
          visibility: "public",
          description: "Does something",
        },
      ],
    },
  ],
};

// Directives help the dts generator handle typos and other inconsistencies in api.json files.
// They are maintained as '.dtsgenrc' files within some of the UI5 control libraries, e.g. in
// sap.ui.core, sap.m, and sap.f
const directives = {};

// Trigger the d.ts generation (async, so await the result)
const result = await generateFromObjects({
  apiObject,
  directives,
  dependencyApiObjects: [
    // Array of api.json files for library dependencies
    // (as plain JavaScript objects just like libJsonData).
    // The above dummy library has no dependencies, hence the array is empty,
    // but real control libraries will usually have at least sap.ui.core as dependency,
    // because that's where the required base classes like sap.ui.core.Control live.
  ],
});

// Usually one would output the d.ts content to a file instead.
console.log(result.dtsText);

When the above code is executed, the resulting type definition written to the console looks like this:

// For Library Version: 1.120.0

declare module "my/lib/MyClass" {
  /**
   * A dummy class
   */
  export default class MyClass {
    /**
     * Does something
     */
    doSomething(): void;
  }
}

declare namespace sap {
  interface IUI5DefineDependencyNames {
    "my/lib/MyClass": undefined;
  }
}

The last block which may be unexpected at first sight is for providing code completion in sap.ui.require/sap.ui.define statements.

As soon as a class in your library inherits from a class in another library, however, the dependencyApiObjects must given, otherwise you will notice that the base class is replaced with something generic like Object, which means that your type definitions are not providing the intended type-safety and code completion.

Support

For problems caused by the transformation process implemented in this dts-generator, please open issues in this repository on GitHub. However, issues in the UI5 type definitions which are also present in the API documentation originate from the JSDoc comments in the original OpenUI5/SAPUI5 code, so please directly open an OpenUI5/SAPUI5 ticket in this case.