![DPU.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmeBqrYiMLr2r6bLQGa4xkvUbzs2j5nrzX3ZrcVHTVEWEf/DPU.jpg)

Hello Steemians. We’re kicking 2019 off with a [whole bunch of devportal updates](https://github.com/steemit/devportal/pull/409)! Below you will find summaries for some of the updates, but for a complete list be sure to go to: https://github.com/steemit/devportal/pull/409.

<h1>[Issue 384](https://github.com/steemit/devportal/issues/384)</h1>

A tutorial was added that demonstrates how to use the new API methods by explaining how developers can submit a transaction to the blockchain, and then use the new transaction polling API to determine the status of the transaction. 

<h1>[Issue #361](https://github.com/steemit/devportal/issues/361)</h1>

Documentation for a new transaction polling API was added. The plugins needed to enable this API on a steemd node were added along with a new section in “APPBASE API” for the new method prefixes that were added. New API definitions were also added to the "APPBASE API" section for the new methods.

<h1>[Issue #371](https://github.com/steemit/devportal/issues/371)</h1>


Some changes were made to the [plugin and API list](https://developers.steem.io/tutorials-recipes/plugin-and-api-list) from issue [#269](https://github.com/steemit/devportal/issues/269), in which documentation was created for steemd plugins. A link to the plugins was added to the menu. The plugin name that needs to be enabled within the `config.ini` file in order to turn on the plugin was clearly defined. All dependencies were reviewed to ensure that they are documented appropriately.  
 
<h1>[Issue #402](https://github.com/steemit/devportal/pull/402)</h1>

Some useful rake tasks were added mainly to improve the process for keeping up with continued changes to the devportal over time. 

<h3>ops_dump</h3>

This task outputs all known ops, except virtual ops. We can use this to find undocumented ops. Using `rake ops_dump #` we can save the output to the project and run it later to find differences in new runs. `rake ops_dump[true]` will include virtual ops in the results and `rake ops_dump[true,true]` uses appbase naming.

<h3>test:proof</h3>

This task checks the HTML generated by Jekyll and other assets to find problems. In particular, it locates issues in HTML like duplicate IDs. This is most useful for avoiding issues that can impact dynamic features. The html-proofer gem is used and can be configured to be more or less opinionated. Currently, it is configured to look at:

```["ImageCheck", "HtmlCheck", "ScriptCheck", "FaviconCheck", "LinkCheck"]```

```rake test:proof```

<h3>Database API Details</h3>

Documentation on `database_api` has been expanded to include previously missing details with [PR #404](https://github.com/steemit/devportal/pull/404). Examples were added for each method in `database_api`. This is very useful because it includes some of the newer methods available in Steem. 

<h1>Improving the DevPortal</h1>

The devportal is an important resource for developers who are interested in leveraging the Steem blockchain and we are excited to continue making improvements. For a complete list of all of the PRs that were merged, go [here](https://github.com/steemit/devportal/pull/409) and be sure to check out our devportal at developers.steem.io.

_The Steemit Team_