Hey everyone,

We have some exciting news to share about the improvements we've been making to our OutSystems Applications. As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance performance and maintainability, we're optimizing how JavaScript code is deployed in ODC applications, including the embedding of third-party JavaScript. To achieve this, we will be progressively rolling out the removal of RequireJS and the introduction of a JavaScript bundler by October 21st. 

Why Are We Making this Change

The change involves these key decisions:

• Transitioning from AMD modules loaded by RequireJS to the ESM standard. This was necessary because RequireJS is no longer maintained, whereas ESM is a standardized format supported by all major browsers, ensuring long-term stability.
• Introducing a JavaScript bundler to optimize code for OutSystems applications. This was driven by customer requests, as bundling optimizes the generated code by removing unnecessary parts (tree-shaking) and minifying it, resulting in smaller and faster-loading bundles.

What This Means for You

• Smaller applications: ESBuild provides smaller bundler sizes which reduces the amount of transferred data on application startup.
• Future-Proofing: By adopting a JSBundler, we're positioning our product to take advantage of future JavaScript advancements, ensuring we stay ahead of the curve.
• Improved Developer Experience: Incompatibilities on JSNodes are detected during application publish.

How Can You Make This Transition Smoothly

We understand that any change in the underlying technology can raise questions and concerns, especially when breaking changes are being introduced. We did extensive testing to make sure you have the least impact possible on your web and mobile apps. Here's how you can understand the possible impacts and ensure a smooth experience.

Fix any Strict Mode violations in JS Nodes

With the move to ESM, code running in JS Nodes now runs in strict mode. This means that the semantics of some JavaScript features will change, and you may need to adapt to that. Adhering to strict mode will provide better security, safety, and performance in your JavaScript code, so making this change in your applications should have a positive impact. You can learn more in the official documentation.

Example of incompatible code will result in an error while publishing

Update Forge Dependencies

Below you can find a list of all forge assets that have been updated to meet the requirements described above. Please make sure you update the following Forge components to the minimum version stated below:

Built-in Plugins impacts

This transition required some changes to the OS DeepLinks. These changes have no impact on the available APIs, but do require a new mobile package version. To migrate, follow the steps below:

Create new mobile package versions

Updating the Mobile Plugins requires a new mobile application package, just follow the steps:

• Open your apps in ODC Studio and update the mentioned assets,
• Republish all mobile applications with the updated assets.
• Promote all your applications from Development to Production.
• Generate new mobile application packages with MABS 10 to be distributed to end-users.
• If your mobile apps are published in mobile stores for the general public, please make sure to publish their newest packages in the App Store and Google Play stores.

Key Takeaways

• Optimized applications with JSBundler introduction
• Follow the previous steps to make sure your applications are not impacted.
• Progressive rollout will start on October 21st

Thank you for your continued support and trust in our product.

Best regards.