February 2017 Summaries

Ionic has enhanced its framework to better support desktop applications by introducing a new responsive grid system, which is a mobile-first flexbox grid designed to scale across devices, from mobile to desktop. The grid system is structured around a 12-column layout and allows full customization through Sass, supporting media queries for various breakpoints and providing attributes for grid, row, and column elements. Notable features include the ability for columns to expand or resize according to their row, customizable column widths, and alignment attributes for both vertical and horizontal orientation. This update requires users to transition from the old grid attributes to the new system, with a focus on simplifying the layout by specifying the number of columns instead of percentages. Alongside these changes, Ionic is committed to ongoing improvements, including enhanced accessibility and new components like split pane support, reflecting a dedication to user feedback and expanding the framework's capabilities for desktop environments.

Ionic has introduced a new Split Pane feature, enhancing the functionality of Ionic apps by allowing developers to create responsive side menus with side-by-side navigation controllers, which adapt to different screen sizes by displaying on larger screens and collapsing on smaller ones. This feature provides flexibility by enabling independent or concerted navigation between the menu and content sides, with options for a fixed or side menu display. To test this feature, users can install the latest nightly version of Ionic, and basic usage involves wrapping `<ion-menu>` and `<ion-nav>` components within the new `<ion-split-pane>` component. The Split Pane is available from Ionic version 2.x onwards, and more detailed documentation and examples are expected to be provided soon.

Ionic is focused on reducing the final bundle size of its apps, with a particular emphasis on optimizing Ionic Native, which previously included a substantial amount of unused plugin code. To address this, Ionic Native 3.x has transitioned each plugin into its own npm module, allowing developers to install only the specific plugins they need, such as the Camera plugin, which can be accessed via the @ionic-native/camera package. This change has resulted in tests showing a 15% reduction in bundle size, improving app loading times. Users are encouraged to try the new alpha version by modifying their package.json dependencies and adjusting their import statements accordingly. Feedback is welcomed through comments or issues filed on the repository, as Ionic continues to implement further optimizations for filesize and boot time.