WAB future

[LefterisKoumis]

ESRI insist that there no plans to remove the WAB which is based on JS API 3.x. 

However, this FAQ posted at:

https://developers.arcgis.com/javascript/latest/guide/faq/

It says clearly that currently that they just fix bugs until it retires on 8/1/22.

What is the status of ArcGIS API 3.x for JavaScript?

We are continuing to release version 3.x with bug fixes only (essentially maintenance mode). It is slated to be retired on August 1, 2022 however we will continue to host all versions on our CDN for the foreseeable future (so apps built with older versions of the API will continue to have access beyond the retirement date). See the Product Life Cycle document for more information.

[shaylavi]

I believe they mean to say that all new functionality and features will be delivered only to the new v4 API and not the old one. They won't flick off the switch when so many applications still rely on it, just like with ArcMap & Python v2, which was supposed to be retired by now.

[EkremCanli2]

Will WAB at one point switch over to 4.x or will the Experience builder (which is a 4.x app) receive the same widgets and custom web tool capabilities as the WAB? Right now the Exp. Builder is not as rich in functionalities out of the box as the WAB is. 

[shaylavi]

The Experience builder is expected to receive the same widgets and custom web tool capabilities as the WAB - they've said it's in their road map, starting with the core and most popular widgets, which are partially there already. For just a 1-year-old product, I personally find it to be very impressive.

The WAB cannot be switched over. It's very different and it wouldn't make sense to do so. With that being said, there is already an option to create WAB 3D apps, which I believe to be working with the new API, but I might be wrong - I never explored it.

[LefterisKoumis]

You are correct. The only way to use JS API 4.x on WAB is by creating 3d apps.

[LefterisKoumis]

WAB will not be switched over to JS API 4.x for the development of 2D apps. Currently ESRI will keep providing security and bugs updates to the 3.x API untill 2022. It will take a while for the EB to catch up with the WAB functionalities. Custom widgets are built by the general Geonet community who are not ESRI staff. So, it depends of how many developers will switch to the EB which is based on a new JS library namely the ReactJS. This is the reason why the widgets from WAB cannot be easily converted to the EB because they are using different JS framework.

[LefterisKoumis]

Thank you for your response. Yes, I understand it won't go away, but who would want to use WAB apps when they will not receive any security or bug updates after 2022?

As the JS API 4.x grows and provides more powerful tools, who would want to use the same stagnant WAB when the new EB will provide a lot richer user experience based on JS API 4.x? 

It seems to me that at this time, until the EB is fully developed, users who depend on building web GIS apps based on templates, they will have to wait for a couple years before they have access to a full library of  widgets performing complex spatial and non spatial analysis.