Ionic 2 is the next generation of Ionic, the open source SDK that enables developers to build performant, high-quality mobile apps using familiar web technologies (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript). Ionic 2 is usually paired with Angular (2). Ionic 2 can also be used as a CSS framework but you'll miss out on the powerful gestures, UI animations and more useful things.
What is Ionic 2?
Ionic 3 was released on 7 April 2017 to overtake Ionic 2.
Ionic 2 was the next generation of Ionic's initial release, the open source SDK that enabled developers to build performant, high-quality mobile apps using familiar web technologies (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript).
Ionic 2 was usually paired with Angular (2). Ionic 2 could also be used as a CSS framework but that would void the powerful gestures and UI animations made to mimic native mobile interaction.
How to install and setup a project
Installing Ionic 2 can be done using npm and the ionic cli.
To install Ionic 2 run $ npm install -g ionic cordova. This will immediately install the ionic cli so all your ionic commands are ready to be used.
To setup a project with different :
- tabs:
$ ionic start myApp tabs - sidemenu:
$ ionic start myApp sidemenu - blank:
$ ionic start myApp blank
Where tabs will create an application where 4 tabs (positioned at the bottom of the screen are generated), sidemenu will generate a project with a sidemenu (also showing good use of NavController utilities) and blank will generate a project with just a single page.
Maturity/Version
Ionic 2's current version is 3.12.0. The first release of the final version. (as of 8 March, 2017).
how to install the latest version
If you want to create a new project with 3.12.0: $ npm install -g ionic
If you want to update an existing project to 3.12.0:
Update your package.json to match the following dependencies, remove the existing node_modules directory, and then run npm install:
"dependencies": { "@angular/common": "2.4.8", "@angular/compiler": "2.4.8", "@angular/compiler-cli": "2.4.8", "@angular/core": "2.4.8", "@angular/forms": "2.4.8", "@angular/http": "2.4.8", "@angular/platform-browser": "2.4.8", "@angular/platform-browser-dynamic": "2.4.8", "@angular/platform-server": "2.4.8", "@ionic/storage": "2.0.0", "ionic-angular": "2.2.0", "ionic-native": "2.4.1", "ionicons": "3.0.0", "rxjs": "5.0.1", "sw-toolbox": "3.4.0", "zone.js": "0.7.2" }, "devDependencies": { "@ionic/app-scripts": "1.1.4", "typescript": "2.0.9" } Read more at 1
Useful Ionic 2 links
- The Ionic 2 forum (active Ionic team members)
- Ionic GitHub (report bugs, request features)
- Getting Started (Guide by Ionic showing step-by-step guides)
- Documentation (Ionic 2 docs, ionicons, UI docs, API docs and more)
- Concepts (more detailed explanation of Ionic, explaining CLI and future concepts)
And of course the active community of Stack Overflow.
