Desmos API v1.8.0 released
desmos-api-announce
Desmos Studio PBC is very happy to announce the release of version 1.8.0 of the Desmos API.
This release is part of our scheduled release cycle, and we recommend all users upgrade to this version. Benefits of upgrading include:
remaining consistent with what students see on high-stakes tests where Desmos Calculators are embedded in the test platform.
offering an experience for students in your product similar to the one at desmos.com.
ensuring the best interaction with the latest browsers and platforms.
We will help all of our partners upgrade to version 1.8.0 in a timely fashion. Please email Chris Lusto (ch...@desmos.com) with any questions.
These technical release notes are intended for developers who incorporate the Desmos API into their own applications. We ask kindly that you do not forward this email to your customers. If you’d like a user-facing summary to send to your customers (districts, teachers, etc.), or for other product inquiries, please contact Meaghan Maguire (mea...@desmos.com) or email partne...@desmos.com.
New Features:
Version 1.8.0 introduces a powerful new syntax for exploring function parameters. It also increases the flexibility of table columns and offers important usability improvements, including expanded onscreen keypad functions, more keyboard shortcuts and input options, and additional audio trace information.
Substitutions. The new with keyword allows you to answer questions about what would happen if some parameter were to take on different values—without actually having to replace the existing parameter. You can use substitutions, for example, to explore the locus of a point or collapse multiple expressions into one-liners.
Table column flexibility and styling. Independent table columns can now be defined through references to lists, just like dependent columns. We also unified the behavior of different forms of table columns when the user chooses to connect their points.
Usability improvements. When in audio trace mode, users now have the option to hear spoken information about the viewport bounds. The rgb() and hsv() color functions now appear in the functions menu of the onscreen keypad. There are new keyboard shortcuts to toggle between the global radian and degree angle mode, or between fraction and decimal evaluations for individual expressions. And it is now possible to copy evaluated values from the keyboard.
New API Features:
Added a playing expression property that may be set via setExpression and determines whether an expression should animate, if it is a slider.
Added the ability to make expressions readonly when the authorFeatures flag is set. This makes it impossible to edit the LaTeX of an expression, while retaining the ability to change settings, show/hide, or directly manipulate where relevant (sliders or movable points, for example).
Added substitutions constructor option to the graphing calculator to enable or disable "with" substitutions.
Added an event object with a isUserInitiated property to the global change event.
Code Updates:
We have deprecated the Desmos.LabelSizes convenience object. The labelSize expression property now accepts an arbitrary LaTeX string, not merely a string enum. Legacy enum values in graph states created with previous API versions will be automatically migrated to equivalent numerical values as part of a call to GraphingCalculator.setState(). Desmos.LabelSizes.SMALL will now be equal to the LaTeX string '0.85', Desmos.LabelSizes.MEDIUM will now be equal to '1', and Desmos.LabelSizes.LARGE will be equal to '1.35'. We recommend updating code to use LaTeX strings directly instead of the Desmos.LabelSizes properties, but Desmos.LabelSizes will continue to be supported for backwards compatibility.
We have deprecated the administerSecretFolders API flag and renamed it to authorFeatures. We will continue to support administerSecretFolders for backwards compatibility, and it will be equivalent to authorFeatures.