Spectrum, S2, S2-foundations updated merge plan

[GarthDB]

Problem statement

Currently, Spectrum 1 data has been released in @adobe/spectrum-tokens. This data can be found in the latest npm tag (v12.27.0) and the main GitHub branch in this repo. Spectrum 2 data can be found in the beta npm tagged releases (13.0.0-beta.56) and the beta branch in this repo.

As the data is defined in these branches today, we don't have a very clear migration path from S1 to S2.

History

See the previous RFC discussion for more details on the history of the S2 work.

Proposal

In discussion with Spectrum Web Components and Spectrum CSS, the update proposed plan is to stop work on S2 Foundations and instead plan to release the S2 work in the beta branch when Spectrum 2 is ready for release.

Diagram

I've included an update diagram of the current relationship of the S1 and S2 data and the proposed merging strategy.

---
title: Spectrum Tokens S2 Release Proposal
---
gitGraph TB:
    checkout main
    commit id: "41b962e" tag: "12.27.0"
    branch beta
    branch s2-foundations
    checkout s2-foundations
    commit id: "7b5c104" tag: "simplified corner rounding"
    commit id: "a0ec757" tag: "non-gray-800 colors update"
    checkout beta
    commit id: "7cc7930" tag: "13.0.0-beta.55"
    commit id: "5f67e9c" tag: "13.0.0-beta.56"
    checkout main
    merge beta
    commit id: "-" tag: "13.0.0"

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Alternatives considered

See the previous RFC discussion for more details on the previous alternatives considered.

Consequences or Required Actions

Other projects like React Spectrum and Spectrum iOS have already been using the S2 data in the beta branch, and the Spectrum Design System Figma files are based on this data, so it will have less of an impact on projects than the previous proposal of the S2 Foundations work.

Unresolved questions

What is the timeline for the S2 release? What requirements are needed for Spectrum 2 to be considered finished and ready for moving the beta data to the main branch?

Most likely, the Spectrum Design team will need to finish the S2 component definitions, update the Spectrum Website, and release the Spectrum 2 Figma files, but none of this has been formally defined yet. The actual work for this project (Spectrum Tokens) would just involve replacing the main branch with beta and releasing it as version 13.0.0 on NPM. It might be beneficial to provide migration guides for engineering teams, but that would probably be best served by the implementations themselves, not tokens specifically.

As pointed out by @Deanna-w1 in the comments below, "it's not about when S2 is 'done'. It's more about when we will feel comfortable communicating that it's out of Beta."

Conclusion / Actions

This RFC has been sent out to all the implementations that consume Spectrum Tokens, and following the feedback, we've found that this updated plan primarily impacts Spectrum Web Components and Spectrum CSS, as was expected. It should not impact the other implementations or platforms because they are either not yet testing S2 design data or they have been using the beta branch data already.

We still have unanswered questions about the timeline, but we will proceed further with this plan.

[karstens]

Hi @GarthDB, Is this an update to the diagram in your proposal? Does this update mean: The existing work on the beta branch will be merged into the main branch, but the s2-foundations updates will not be merged into main?

[GarthDB]

@karstens yes. That's the new proposal we are working towards with Spectrum Web Components and the Spectrum Design Team.

[najikahalsema]

We also would want to make sure that all the S1 components have their S2 equivalents outlined, per your migration guide point. SWC is still missing an implementation for Tray.

[GarthDB]

This would be great criteria for moving out of beta. @Deanna-w1 is this planned for S2 leaving beta?

[Deanna-w1]

It's something that's up for discussion. I'll make sure folks chat more about this at the leadership level!

[Deanna-w1]

Hello, we chatted more about this and confirmed that Tray is not missing. The S2 theme of this component currently only includes global token value changes (not any feature or breaking changes). If there are additional changes needed, design will work on them.

Generally speaking, for any components not included in the P1/P2 list, they should still inherit the S2 theme as is with no additional changes unless otherwise stated or planned.

I'll continue to drive conversations about the criteria and comms for S2 to be out of beta! Let me know if you have any questions.

[Deanna-w1]

Thanks for putting this together Garth!

One thing to clarify - It's not about when S2 is "done". It's more about when we will feel comfortable communicating that it's out of Beta

I'll be driving conversations to align us all on this (websites, tokens, implementations, Figma libraries, etc) and that will impact the timeline for merging and communicating about this.

[GarthDB]

I updated the RFC to include that language.

[GarthDB]

This does not change the S1 maintenance in the future. Anytime critical patches are needed on old versions, we can make patch releases.

[GarthDB]

Some comments have been made internally on this slack thread.