NEWS

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blockr.core 0.1.3

• New exported generic external_ctrl_vars() (with a block method) and predicate has_external_ctrl() provide a public, polymorphic API for resolving a board component's external_ctrl declaration into the set of externally controllable variable names. This promotes the previously internal block_external_ctrl_vars(), letting dependent packages dispatch on it (e.g. for dock extensions) instead of re-reading the raw external_ctrl attribute (#192).

blockr.core 0.1.2 (2026-04-28)

• The mod slots in update(...) payloads for blocks, links and stacks now uniformly expect a delta shape: a named list keyed by entry ID, where each entry is a named list of argument values to apply on top of the live entry.
  • For blocks, keys must be in block_external_ctrl_vars(blk) — non-ctrl-able changes go through rm + add. Ctrl-arg writes hit the corresponding reactiveVal in place; block_name (always treated as ctrl-able) updates the block's registry attribute.
  • For links and stacks, deltas are merged onto the current entry via the new update_link() / update_stack() S3 generics. The default methods reconstruct the entry through its stored constructor, preserving sub-class attributes. Sub-class owners (e.g. dock_stack adding color) only need to register a method when their constructor deviates from the convention (#175).
• block_external_ctrl_vars() always includes "block_name" — every block can be renamed through update(...) regardless of its external_ctrl opt-in. The default ctrl plugin panel renders a block_name field on every block card alongside any opted-in ctrl vars. block_supports_external_ctrl() (which would now be TRUE for every block) has been removed; the gates that used to call it have been simplified accordingly.
• The default block_server.block now constructs a block_name reactiveVal per block and appends it to the vars list passed to the ctrl plugin. Two guarded observers keep that reactiveVal in sync with the block's block_name attribute on the board (one emits an update(mod = ...) when the ctrl plugin writes the rv; the other pulls registry-attr changes back into the rv). The ctrl_block_server plugin signature is unchanged — block authors and custom ctrl plugins see uniform vars reactiveVals.
• A blockr option attach_default_packages can be set to opt into evaluating block expressions with objects from default packages directly available.
• Add ctrl_block() plugin for external block control, allowing blocks to be driven programmatically from outside the standard block UI.
• Add clear_board() for removing all blocks/stacks from a board.
• Add bbquote() and helpers (., ..) for cleaner code generation via bquote()-based quasiquotation.
• Export custom_plugins() and custom_options() for easier board customization.
• Add block_metadata() for retrieving per-block metadata and attach block metadata with defaults to block objects.
• Export test utilities (blockr_test_exports(), new_mock_session(), export_safely()) for use in downstream package tests.

blockr.core 0.1.1 (2025-12-06)

• Add Block-level notifications via (optional) expr server return value component cond.
• Export get_board_option_value() to make available current option settings via session$UserData.
• Introduce (optional) dependency on thematic to auto-style plots.
• Export toolbar_ui() which takes case of the "core" toolbar UI component.
• Utility functions chr_ply() and related, as well as miscellaneous utilities such as set_names(), coal(), etc. are now exported for use in dependent packages.
• Export export_code() to make it easier for third-party generate_code() plugin implementations.
• Use evaluate::evaluate() to capture plots.
• Add new_fixed_block() for applying a fixed (i.e. non-paramtetrized) transformation to data input.
• Board server callbacks are invoked with an additional argument session.
• Export assertion utilities such as is_string(), is_count(), etc.
• Improved ser/des, which now includes package/constructor information for all board, blocks, stacks and options. The corresponding infra
• Board options now contain UI/server components to provide more options for customization. Also blocks can require certain options to be available.
• Introduces block_render_trigger() to control per block class when to re-render the block output.
• Rework of block notifications to provide a reactiveValues() object containing notification types a separate components.
• Auto-ID generation can now be customized with a default provided by the ids package (if available).
• Use the glue package for logging/block notifications; add a glue-based text block.
• New board restore mechanism based on session$reload().
• Improvements to the registry: block icons and a fixed set of categories.

blockr.core 0.1.0 (2025-05-20)

• Initial CRAN submission