March 2016 Summaries

Ionic Creator is a tool designed to aid mobile app developers in efficiently closing deals with clients by offering a tangible experience akin to test-driving a car. It allows developers to rapidly create app prototypes using a drag-and-drop interface, enabling them to present prospective clients with a functional preview of their custom app, which can be crucial for securing sales, especially for high-priced projects. By incorporating client-specific branding elements such as logos, colors, and language, developers can offer a tailored experience that helps clients visualize their app as a reality. Ionic Creator also simplifies the development process by exporting ready-to-use Ionic code, which reduces workload and provides developers with more flexibility during negotiations. The tool is positioned as an essential resource for mobile app development agencies to streamline their workflow and enhance client engagement.

Ionic and Stamplay together provide a streamlined approach to developing cross-platform mobile applications by combining modern web technologies with scalable, maintainable backend solutions. Ionic offers a framework for building multi-platform mobile apps, while Stamplay serves as a Backend as a Service (BaaS) that allows developers to integrate third-party APIs through a web-based GUI, eliminating the need for extensive coding. The guide includes a starter kit to create a cross-platform to-do app, featuring user registration and task management functionalities, leveraging Stamplay's API for user accounts and task data handling. The setup process involves cloning a GitHub repository, installing necessary tools and dependencies, and configuring both the Ionic framework and Stamplay services. The application allows users to register, log in, create, update, delete, and manage tasks, with features to mark tasks as complete or incomplete, all without needing to write backend code. With these tools, developers can focus on the app's unique aspects and user experience, rather than backend complexities.

Ionic 2 beta.3 has officially announced support for Universal Windows Platform Apps, offering a complete UI look-and-feel and component set specifically for Windows devices. This development is particularly beneficial for enterprise companies with significant deployments of Windows Phones and for those interested in building apps for mobile Windows devices like the Surface. The integration leverages Windows 10's capability to use JavaScript as a native app development language, and full Windows previews have been added to Ionic's documentation. Users are encouraged to update their npm dependency on ionic-angular to 2.0.0-beta.3 or higher, as support for Windows Phone 8 and below will not be provided.

Andrew McGivery's tutorial provides a straightforward guide to quickly creating a basic "Hello World" app using Ionic 2, aimed at developers with web development experience. The process involves installing the Ionic 2 CLI via Node.js, creating a new app with the command `ionic start helloWorld blank --v2 --ts`, and modifying the default template files to display personalized content. He explains how to change the `ion-title` and `ion-content` in the HTML template and bind a `name` variable from the TypeScript component to personalize the greeting. Finally, the app can be previewed in a web browser using the `ionic serve` command, demonstrating how developers can have the essential components of an app ready in under ten minutes.

Ionic app developers faced challenges with app submissions to the iOS App Store due to the use of a private API by the Ionic Keyboard plugin, which led to rejections for "non-public API use." The issue stemmed from the hideKeyboardAccessoryBar method, which was employed to make the keyboard resemble a native one by removing the accessory bar. Developers are assured that their apps already in the App Store are not at risk, and the plugin has been updated to remove the problematic method. Despite the lack of a public API to remove the accessory bar, Ionic is exploring future solutions that won't risk App Store compliance. The team is committed to keeping developers informed and updated on any developments regarding this issue.

The SQLite plugin for Cordova is a highly sought-after tool that allows developers to create a full SQLite database, bypassing browser-based storage, which can be daunting for those unfamiliar with database queries. To simplify its usage, the screencast suggests using PouchDB as an abstraction, making it easier to handle data storage by treating it like a regular JavaScript object that translates into a SQL data store. The provided code snippet demonstrates setting up PouchDB with a 'websql' adapter, handling database changes, storing data, and retrieving documents. The screencast aims to make integrating the SQLite plugin into applications more accessible, while also promoting additional resources and updates through a newsletter subscription.

The Ionic team, known for its interest in weather forecasts, collaborated with Cuttlesoft to develop an IoT-focused Ionic app for UCompass' WeatherSTEM product, which integrates scientific instruments, data, and educational curricula to help users interact with their environment. The app, available for iOS and Android, allows users to browse WeatherSTEM units installed across the U.S. and build custom dashboards for tracking and analyzing environmental data, which can be shared on social media. The system is also educational, providing schools with real-time weather data for teaching purposes. Cuttlesoft, responsible for developing the app and parts of the API, used Ionic and Cordova plugins for features like geolocation, Google Analytics, and push notifications, completing the project within a month despite a tight deadline. The app's versatility and ease of use have made it a favored platform for rapid mobile development, with Cuttlesoft's CTO, Emily Morehouse, praising Ionic's ability to maintain a unified codebase and facilitate quick iteration.

The text discusses recent updates and improvements to the Ionic Creator, an app development tool, highlighting the addition of Lee Schmidt to the team to enhance its performance and customization capabilities. Key updates include a simplified setup for tabs and side menus, a new video component for embedding YouTube and Vimeo, and enhanced button customization options. Additionally, the text mentions improvements such as a more informative plans page, the ability to choose side menu positions, and speed improvements that prevent unnecessary recompilation during previews. The updates also address various fixes, such as ensuring visibility for multi-team projects and proper sorting by access date, while expressing gratitude to the community with a discount code for new subscribers.

Wakanda is an open-source, full-stack JavaScript platform designed to streamline the development and deployment of enterprise mobile and web applications by integrating tools like Ionic, Angular, and Cordova. It provides developers with a comprehensive environment, Wakanda Studio, which simplifies the workflow by offering features such as data model visualization, automatic REST API generation, and secure data access management. The platform supports cross-platform app creation through its integrated frontend and backend capabilities, allowing the deployment of applications without command-line intervention. Developers can preview and test their applications on various devices with live reload features and easily manage backend deployment. Wakanda is compatible with Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux, and aims to reduce the development cycle time with its user-friendly setup and troubleshooting tools.

In March 2016, Ionic announced the public beta release of the Ionic Platform, a comprehensive suite of backend services and tools designed to assist web developers in creating scalable mobile apps using their existing skills. The beta introduces a significant new feature, Ionic Auth, which facilitates user authentication through various methods such as email/password and social media logins. The release also includes enhancements to existing services like Ionic Push and Deploy, aiming to improve scalability based on insights gained during the alpha phase, which saw over 300,000 users engage with the platform. Alongside the beta launch, a new website was unveiled to provide extensive information about the platform's offerings. Existing alpha users are advised to transition to the beta services within 60 days to prevent disruptions. The announcement also reveals that pricing details will soon be available, with an emphasis on gathering user feedback to refine the cost structure. The company expresses gratitude to its community for their feedback during the alpha phase and plans to release further content and tutorials to optimize the use of the new services.

With the advent of Angular 2.0, the transition from Angular 1 has sparked concerns among developers about the need to adapt to what appears to be a new framework. However, insights from the Ionic team's experience reveal that Angular 2 is more of a new implementation of the same framework rather than a completely new entity, sharing high-level similarities with Angular 1. Angular has evolved into a conceptual design pattern with multiple implementations, allowing developers to build applications using ES5, ES6/TypeScript, or Dart, with ES6/TypeScript emerging as the standard. The transition involves syntactic changes, such as moving from ng-repeat to ngFor, and a shift to a component-based model replacing the directive/controller setup from Angular 1. This evolution aligns with modern JavaScript standards, reducing the complexity of learning the framework for new developers and enabling seamless integration with the ES6 ecosystem. As developers become familiar with the new syntax, they find that many underlying concepts remain consistent, facilitating a smoother transition and making Angular 2 a promising enhancement over its predecessor.

Exis has integrated support for Ionic, simplifying the process for developers to launch their apps by providing cloud services such as user authentication, data storage, and custom backend solutions. This integration allows developers to focus on frontend development while utilizing Exis' cloud storage to bypass the need for building their own backends, or they can opt for Exis cloud hosting to run custom servers with Node.js without the hassle of infrastructure maintenance. A tutorial is available for leveraging Exis as a backend storage solution, and developers interested in creating an Ionic app with a custom Node.js server hosted by Exis can find a demonstration provided by the platform.

Implementing modern authentication in an Ionic 2 app is simplified by using Auth0, which supports various social identity providers and features like multifactor authentication and single sign-on. This tutorial demonstrates how to utilize Auth0 and the angular2-jwt library to manage authentication, handle JSON Web Tokens (JWT), and efficiently implement login and logout functionalities. It covers setting up an authentication service to manage user sessions, using Auth0Lock for login, and integrating JWTs for secure API requests. Additionally, the process of enabling multi-factor authentication and refreshing tokens is explained, ensuring a seamless user experience by scheduling token refreshes and handling app startup scenarios. Auth0's integration with Angular and Ionic, along with its ability to simplify authentication complexities, allows developers to focus more on the application's core logic rather than intricate authentication details.