August 2014 Summaries

Throwback is a mobile application developed by UC Berkeley students Peter Kim and Kevin Chen that allows users to relive past experiences by connecting through Facebook to view their historical posts and photos on a specific calendar date. Initially a web application, Throwback transitioned to a mobile platform using the Ionic framework, which appealed to Kim and Chen for its Angular compatibility and the ability to create a responsive, native-like user interface with ease. The application, available on both iOS and Android, targets users interested in nostalgia, particularly high school and college students, and benefits from Ionic's UI components and platform detection features that simplify cross-platform development. The developers chose Ionic to avoid maintaining separate code bases for iOS and Android, leveraging HTML5 for efficient cross-platform support, which allowed them to focus on building a single code base and making minor tweaks for each platform.

HabitRPG is a fantasy role-playing game designed to help users improve real-life habits through a reward system where achieving goals earns experience and gold, while failing goals results in lost hit points. Initially developed using PhoneGap, AngularJS, and Topcoat, the app transitioned to the Ionic framework for enhanced performance and features, aligning well with the team's existing JavaScript stack comprising AngularJS, Node.js, and MongoDB. The switch to Ionic allowed the team to replace custom solutions with cleaner, more efficient code components like side menus and tabs, and facilitated cross-platform development for iOS and Android, saving time and resources. The open-source nature of HabitRPG's website, mobile app, and Chrome extension allows for community contributions, and the choice of Ionic has positioned the app for future growth by enabling the integration of additional components and features.

Ionic Box is a solution developed by Ionic to streamline the process of setting up development environments for hybrid applications using Ionic, Cordova, and Android, addressing the common challenges faced by developers, particularly those using Windows. By leveraging Vagrant, a tool for creating reusable development environments via virtual machines, Ionic Box automates the setup process, enabling developers to quickly establish a complete environment with all necessary tools for building hybrid or native apps. Users can simply download the project, unzip it, and use Vagrant to configure and run a virtual machine that supports testing on Android devices, facilitating a smoother development experience.

Ionic's Collection Repeat is designed to efficiently handle the rendering of large lists in hybrid mobile applications, overcoming previous limitations in web technologies by adopting a strategy similar to native apps like iOS's UICollectionView. The system involves three main components: the collection-repeat directive, the CollectionRepeatManager, and the CollectionDataSource. These components work together to render only the items visible in the user's current scroll position, significantly improving performance and reducing jankiness by hiding off-screen elements instead of removing them from the DOM. This approach allows developers to maintain smooth scrolling and efficient data management in mobile webviews, enhancing user experience by leveraging the strengths of both web and native app development.

Ionic introduced a new feature called the Popover in its version 1.0.0-beta.11, which allows developers to create views that float above an app's content while remaining attached to the triggering element, similar to modals or action sheets. This feature is commonly used in applications to present additional information, select tools or configurations, and offer lists of actions, providing developers with extensive control over its design by utilizing AngularJS capabilities like template files and controllers. The Popover can incorporate various elements such as scrollable areas, header bars, and form inputs, behaving like a standard view, and is available in three styles—Base, iOS, and Android—to ensure platform consistency. Ionic aims to facilitate ease of development by automatically applying the correct platform style without manual adjustments, encouraging user feedback to enhance the feature further.

Denver-based Craft Boom has developed an application called Crafted Here, designed to help users locate independent breweries, distilleries, coffee shops, dispensaries, and wineries nearby. The app, which emerged from the 2013 National Day of Civic Hacking where it won multiple awards, uses the Ionic framework to streamline development and is built as an HTML5 app for cost-effectiveness and flexibility. Crafted Here is focused on enhancing users' experiences in exploring local craft industries like beer brewing, distilling, coffee roasting, cannabis production, and winemaking by providing detailed information on location and operational details. The app is available on both Android and iOS platforms, reflecting continuous improvements and algorithm updates to present users with the best local craft options.