September 2015 Summaries

The Internet of Things (IoT) connects physical devices to the virtual world, enabling a vast array of interconnected systems, and Ionic offers a powerful platform for developing apps that interact with these devices. Ionic's efficiency and native support capabilities make it an ideal choice for creating apps that can communicate with various IoT hardware, as demonstrated by companies like Femto.io, Bubblegum, and Jewelbots. Femto.io uses Ionic to interface with Bluetooth Smart for a wireless sensor board, while Bubblegum employs Ionic and iBeacons to create an app for a Crossfit gym that reveals workouts only when members are on-site. Jewelbots uses Ionic to develop technology-enabled friendship bracelets, allowing for communication and programming, which encourages young girls to engage in coding. These examples illustrate Ionic's potential in the rapidly evolving IoT landscape, showcasing its speed-to-market capabilities and cross-platform integration.

Ionic Lab, a tool designed for Ionic users who prefer graphical interfaces, has launched its Windows version following the release of its public beta, with a new update also applied to the Mac version. The Windows version focuses on building Android applications, featuring platform-specific functionality while maintaining parity with the Mac version. Recent updates to Ionic Lab include enhancements to the error and notification system, bug fixes, and the ability to copy error messages. Future developments planned for Ionic Lab encompass customized app settings, one-click system setup, integrated Cordova plugin searching, additional preview options, and tighter integration with the Ionic Platform. Users are encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions for further improvements.

Web developers, career-changers, and students interested in mobile development can access numerous low-cost or free resources to learn Ionic, a popular mobile app development framework. Notable collections of Ionic resources include Andrew McGivery’s 170+ Ionic Resources, Juarez Filho’s Ionic Adventures, and Emerson Thompson’s Ionic Collection, while online courses such as Simon Reimler’s "Ionic by Doing" and Asim Hussain’s "Ionic from Web to Mobile" provide practical learning experiences. The article highlights Appcamp, a free online Ionic project designed by Brandy Carney and Ben Sperry, and encourages participation in remote conferences and in-person events tracked through the Ionic Worldwide Twitter Collection and Slack group. Feedback and community engagement are encouraged through various social media platforms, and developers are invited to share their creations and join the developer registry.

As iOS 9's release approaches, Ionic developers must address several changes and bugs impacting their applications, especially those previously published for earlier iOS versions. Key issues include a window.location bug in UIWebView affecting Angular's browser location detection and a tilde CSS selector problem disrupting radio buttons, both requiring specific patches or updates. Additionally, iOS 9's new App Transport Security feature, blocking non-HTTPS traffic, necessitates adjustments in the development process for apps built with Xcode 7 and the iOS 9 SDK. While these issues do not affect mobile websites using iOS Safari or the new WKWebView environment, the imminent support for WKWebView in Cordova promises performance and feature enhancements for Ionic apps. The Ionic team plans to enhance their OS release testing to prevent future regressions, acknowledging that assumptions about iOS beta fixes did not hold true.

In September 2015, a breaking change in UIWebView for iOS 9 was identified, potentially causing issues for apps, particularly those using window.location semantics and Angular's $location service, leading to intermittent UI problems and console errors with infinite digest warnings. To address these issues, a patch created by the Angular team, angular-ios9-uiwebview.patch.js, was released, which should be incorporated into affected Ionic and Angular apps. Developers are encouraged to add 'ngIOS9UIWebViewPatch' to their angular modules and use version 1.1.0 or higher of the patch while a more permanent solution is being developed in collaboration with Apple and the Angular team. The patch aims to mitigate the impact of the change, and users are invited to report any ongoing issues as they work towards a lasting fix.

In a screencast by Mike Hartington, techniques for animating elements in Ionic apps are explored, focusing on achieving smooth, performant animations. Initially, a keyframe animation was created to slide items from the left by animating the "left" property, which led to performance issues known as "jank" due to recalculations by the web view. To address this, the solution involved using the "transform" property with "translate3d" to leverage hardware acceleration, resulting in smoother animations by offloading the animation process to the device's GPU. This approach enhances the visual experience on devices by minimizing stuttering and providing seamless transitions.

Ionic, an open-source framework, is empowering web developers to transition into mobile development using familiar technologies, and it has been increasingly incorporated into educational settings worldwide to teach coding. Developers and educators are creatively using Ionic to introduce students of all ages to mobile and web development, from university courses at Howard University and the University of Lorraine to younger students in the Netherlands and Oklahoma City. This initiative aims to lower barriers to entry in mobile development, fostering a more diverse and inclusive tech community. Notable examples include Aaron Saunders' elective course at Howard University, Arnaud Lahaxe's revised curriculum at the University of Lorraine, and Carmen Long's program at Tulakes Elementary, which adapts to students' limited access to technology by using Ionic to teach HTML without the need for WiFi or data. These efforts are seen as a way to shape the future of mobile development by introducing a diverse range of new developers to the field.