In order to end the year with good news, the tail.select JavaScript library is getting an update. Jumping from 0.5.x to 1.0.0 entails some breaking changes. Let’s break down the why’s and the how’s.
Why?
tail.select has been my go-to library for <select> dropdowns for a long time. It is actively being used in 400+ websites, some of my plugins, and some of my themes. But the code is huge, and maintaining it, or introducing new features, is hard. The library even has compatibility code for 👴 MooTools and jQuery.
Around 40% of its capabilities and features are not used, and the documentation for these features is either incomplete or missing.
What?
The library has been rewritten from scratch using modern JavaScript, with zero dependencies, and a focus on performance. It is now 66% slimmer. The initial version will be a beta one, so I expect the final version to be even slimmer.
The library is now easier to install, and there are no separate CSS stylesheets, icons, or language files. Everything is in one file, and the tail.select() function allows for an options object with all customizations.
Note that if you are using a heavily customized version, you can stay on the current version, which will be archived and kept indefinitely.
When?
Really soon! It’s now in an internal testing phase, where I will be pushing it to all my plugins and to all my client websites. As soon as I am happy with the functionality, I will push an official release.
You can see it in action on the Knowledge Base page, where it’s already been working in the Acquaint FAQ WordPress plugin.
