New Data Studio Developer Tools Make Building Connectors and Viz Easier
Community Connectors tooling
Typically, developing a community connector means using the online Apps Scripts environment. The online editor is an excellent tool that can be used for all online tasks, but it doesn’t support automating repetitive (and error-prone) tasks. By using a project generated from dscc-gen, updating a deployment becomes as easy as running npm run update_production and trying out your latest changes is just npm run open_latest.
To create a new community connector with dscc-gen, just run this command:
npx @google/dscc-gen connector
After the command finishes, you will have a working connector with a production deployment and best-practice deployment scripts. If you have an existing connector, you can still use dscc-gen to get the best-practice deployment scripts. See existing connectors for details.
For more information on commands that are available, see the local development developer documentation.
Community Visualization tooling
Typically, developing a community visualization means editing local files, re-uploading the changes, and reloading a Data Studio report. This template provides a local development cycle and scripts that make bundling and deploying your code a breeze. By using a project generated by dscc-gen, deploying a visualization with caching enabled becomes as easy as running npm run build:prod && npm run push:prod.
To create a new community visualization with dscc-gen, just run this command:
npx @google/dscc-gen viz
After the command finishes, you will have a working visualization with a lightning-fast local workflow and best-practice build/deployment scripts.
For a rundown of how to best use this tool, visit the local development developer documentation.
Templates and use cases
Our tooling supports the most common use-cases for connectors and visualizations. We’ve open sourced the library and code on GitHub, where you can make and request improvements.
Looking forward
We’re continually adding features to our developer platform. Community visualizations just added support for filter interactions, and connectors added many improvements throughout 2018. Sign up for updates on our the Data Studio developer ecosystem.
