June 2018 Summaries

Ionic Enterprise Edition provides a comprehensive guide for using Apple's TestFlight service to facilitate user testing for iOS applications. TestFlight allows developers to distribute early app builds to a select group of up to 10,000 testers, enabling them to provide feedback prior to the official App Store release. The document outlines the necessary steps for integrating TestFlight with Ionic Pro, including setting up provisioning profiles, certificates, and the necessary tooling such as the Ionic Pro Deploy plugin. This integration allows developers to deliver code updates throughout the 90-day testing cycle, ensuring the app is up-to-date with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript changes without needing a new upload unless native layer changes are made. The process involves configuring the app in Xcode, setting up signing and distribution profiles, and using iTunes Connect to manage testers and beta-test reviews. Ionic's guide emphasizes the importance of proper configuration and provides resources for additional support through its Enterprise Customer Success team.

Ionic View, an app designed to preview in-progress applications, is being sunsetted due to Apple's decision to remove such testing and sharing apps from the App Store. This change, effective by September 1, 2018, comes as Apple enforces stricter policies against apps that allow users to preview incomplete applications. The Ionic team is exploring alternative sharing solutions for Ionic Pro, such as using native sharing platforms like TestFlight and Google's Beta program, building native IPA/APK files, or creating a browser-based version of apps. While these options are still under consideration, the team welcomes user feedback and is committed to developing a more robust sharing solution that addresses past limitations, such as customization issues and native functionality. The company plans to provide guidance on using TestFlight to improve app testing processes and encourages users to share their thoughts on future sharing features.

Jorge Vergara's guest post offers an insightful guide on integrating Firestore, a fully managed NoSQL document-based database, into Ionic apps. Firestore provides a structured approach to data storage compared to the Real-time Database by organizing data into documents and collections. The tutorial covers the installation and configuration of Firebase SDK and AngularFire2 for Angular-based Ionic apps, emphasizing the importance of maintaining proper security measures during development. It explains how to perform CRUD operations in Firestore, including reading specific documents or collections, adding and updating data, and removing documents or fields. While there are options to delete entire collections, it is discouraged due to potential operational blocks, with the Firebase CLI suggested for non-production data removal. The post serves as a foundational overview with practical examples to manage app data effectively, and it encourages readers to explore a more detailed guide for building a Master/Detail view using Ionic and Firebase/Firestore.