[RFC] Naming the Graph Tabs

[fosfor15]

Hello everyone! 👋

As GraphLens continues to expand its visualization capabilities (including future features like the DI Graph), the extension panel needs a consistent and clear naming system for its tabs. Before making a final decision, this RFC is meant to share the current concepts and gather community feedback. Based on this discussion, a final Poll will be created later.

The Naming Concept

Graph vs Hierarchy: To make the tab names technically accurate, the proposed naming system is based on internal topology:

• Graph: Used when a structure allows for two-way and circular dependencies.
• Hierarchy: Used when a structure is strictly directional and circular dependencies are almost impossible.

Additionally, these proposals are inspired and justified by Angular documentation.

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Here are the tabs and the naming options under consideration:

Tab 1: The Application Architecture (Modules & Standalone)

This tab shows the structural building blocks and architectural relationships of the app's core entities: NgModules, Standalone components, and their imports.

Options: Architecture, Structure Hierarchy, Imports Hierarchy

Tab 2: Visual Entities (UI & Templates)

Currently, this tab visualizes the "Component tree": Components, Directives, and their relationships. The goal is to rename this tab to reflect its different entity types. Since components can technically have circular or even recursive relationships in their templates, this structure can behave as a graph, but it is ultimately rendered and commonly known as a tree. The word View is taken from Angular documentation, where it refers to a fundamental UI block.

Options: View Tree, UI Tree, View Graph, UI Graph

Tab 3: Dependency Injection (Upcoming in Q2-Q3)

This future tab will visualize the DI system: Injectors, Providers, Tokens, and DI-content. Since Angular's DI resolution bubbles up strictly in one direction and completely forbids circular dependencies, it is a perfect hierarchy.

Options: DI Hierarchy, DI System

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What are your thoughts and ideas?

Which naming combination feels the most natural and professional from an Angular developer's perspective? Are there any other suggestions?

Let's discuss it in the comments below! 👇

[AstroKitty15]

I prefer Architecture for Tab 1 and View Tree for Tab 2. These names feel the most intuitive and clean for a user interface

[bendrodrigez75]

Hi! I vote for the "Architecture", "View Tree" and "DI Hierarchy". Thank you for the well-documented and supported project!