Adobe UXP: Things you need to know! #1: Rundown of the UXP Announcement at MAX 2020

Summary

In this video, the speaker explores Adobe's new UXP (Unified Extensibility Platform), which is replacing the older CEP system for Creative Cloud extensions. UXP simplifies the development process by unifying UI and scripting engines, providing faster performance and a modern user interface. The platform includes new developer tools, common APIs for networking and file operations, and a new UXP Marketplace. While UXP represents a more polished version of ScriptUI, it is somewhat a closed system. The speaker offers insights on its benefits, along with personal plugins available for purchase, and invites feedback from the audience.

Takeaways

• 😀 UXP (Unified Extensibility Platform) will replace CEP (Common Extensibility Platform) as the future of Adobe Creative Cloud extensibility.
• 😀 UXP uses a single engine for both UI and scripting, simplifying development compared to CEP's dual-engine system.
• 😀 The UXP scripting engine offers a new DOM and uses a subset of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, resulting in native controls with faster performance and lighter footprint.
• 😀 Spectrum Web Components are the default UI components in UXP, providing a polished, consistent look for plugins without additional imports.
• 😀 Native HTML elements, though functional, offer a duller look compared to Spectrum components, which are more refined and modern.
• 😀 UXP introduces common APIs for Networking, File I/O, and upcoming support for Imaging and Machine Learning, expanding plugin capabilities.
• 😀 The UXP Developer Tool allows for creating both simple plugins and more complex React-based plugins.
• 😀 UXP offers a more reliable installation process via CCS (Creative Cloud Scripting) compared to ZXP, driven through the Creative Cloud Desktop App.
• 😀 The new UXP Marketplace simplifies plugin installation and distribution, replacing the old ZXP system.
• 😀 Despite initial hesitation, the speaker believes UXP represents a more polished version of ScriptUI, though still a more closed system compared to CEP.
• 😀 The speaker plans to explore UXP in greater detail in future content, such as blog posts, videos, and other resources, and promotes their own plugins on the UXP Marketplace.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the UXP platform introduced by Adobe?

The UXP platform is designed to replace Adobe's older CEP (Common Extensibility Platform) and provide a more modern, efficient, and consistent framework for developing plugins for Adobe Creative Cloud applications.

How does UXP differ from the CEP platform?

UXP consolidates the two engines of CEP into one, handling both the UI and scripting with a new engine. This makes UXP more efficient, with a simplified DOM and faster performance, as opposed to CEP's more complex two-engine system.

What is the benefit of UXP's new scripting engine?

The new scripting engine in UXP allows for faster performance and a lighter footprint by converting code into native controls. This results in more efficient plugins compared to the older system in CEP.

What kind of UI components does UXP support?

UXP supports React Spectrum components by default, which provide a modern, consistent design. Developers can also use native HTML elements, but these are less visually appealing compared to the Spectrum components.

Why should developers prefer Spectrum components over native HTML elements in UXP?

Spectrum components offer a more polished and consistent look, which helps maintain design uniformity across Adobe applications. Native elements are functional but lack the aesthetic refinement of Spectrum components.

What common APIs are available in UXP?

UXP offers common APIs for networking and file I/O, with potential future support for imaging and machine learning, making it a versatile platform for plugin development.

How does UXP simplify plugin installation and management?

UXP introduces the Creative Cloud Services (CCS) for plugin installation, offering a more reliable and streamlined process compared to the older ZXP installation method.

What are the advantages of UXP's single-engine approach?

The single-engine approach simplifies the development process by combining UI and scripting into one engine, resulting in improved performance, fewer complexities, and a more unified development experience.

How does the UXP Developer Tool help plugin developers?

The UXP Developer Tool helps developers create plugins, whether simple vanilla plugins or more complex ones based on React. It streamlines the development and testing process for UXP plugins.

What is the overall sentiment of the speaker about the transition to UXP?

While the speaker initially had reservations about the change, they express optimism about UXP, noting that it is a more polished, modern version of ScriptUI that offers many improvements, despite being a more controlled system compared to its predecessor.