The Advantages of Using Ionic Framework in Mobile App Development 2022

Author

Ruchir Kakkad

10 Jan 2022

10 min

Created in 2013 as an open-source SDK for hybrid mobile apps, Ionic has over 5 million apps built using this kit. It provides platform-specific UI elements through a library of native components for iOS and Android. Ionic is essentially an npm module, requiring the installation of Node.js to function as part of a large JavaScript ecosystem.

Front-end technologies and WebView

Ionic uses front-end technologies like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Angular for application development. Ionic helps build cross-platform mobile applications using web technologies with a single code base. It allows web developers to create web pages executed in the browser instance of a device called WebView. WebView can be provided as a plugin, and it’s an app component that renders web pages and displays them as a native app.

Based on Apache Cordova and Angular. The first versions of Ionic were based on Angular, a popular front-end framework used to build dynamic web pages and advanced web applications, PWA for short. Ionic can use the CLI (Command-Line Interface) and Angular components to build fully functional mobile applications.

Another part of Ionic responsible for accessing native features is based on Apache Cordova plugins. Cordova is a tool for building mobile applications using web technologies, relying on its APIs instead of platform-specific ones. As long as Ionic uses WebView, it does not have access to the device’s hardware APIs by default. Cordova provides these APIs as plugins to access functions such as the camera, gyroscope, or smartphone sensors. These API sets are also known as Cordova Bridge. Apache Cordova provides Ionic applications with native APIs, serving as a bridge between the web view and the device’s operating system.

Ionic Native

When it comes to building an app, you want to achieve every bit of functionality required. For this purpose, Ionic Native was created, and it is a set of Cordova plugins designed to support standard APIs and integration. Ionic Native is available as a free bundle (Community Edition) and a paid bundle (Enterprise Edition), an extended version developed by the Ionic team.

Ionic v.4 and web components

Since its inception, Ionic has been dependent on the components of the Angular framework as a tool for Angular users. The change came with the fourth and latest version of Ionic, full of new features.

With the fourth version, Ionic has become agnostic, which means he is independent of Angular. There are plans to add support for React and Vue.js, but Ionic can be used without any frameworks. This change was made possible through the use of web components and the promotion of the Ionic CLI. The CLI has been redesigned and adapted to work with the Angular CLI. So, you can work with Angular if you like it, but also use other supported frameworks to expand the technology stack that can be used with Ionic.

Another significant change is the move to web components. Web components are sets of features that use standard APIs natively supported by almost all mobile browsers. Thus, they can be deployed on any mobile platform or create desktop applications with the Electron framework or PWAs. The use of web components also allows the use of any framework with Ionic.

Web components are wrapped HTML elements that are interoperable with each other. Each of these items contains custom theme support for iOS and material design (Android) by default, making theme identity across many apps quite an easy task. It has been announced that Ionic will be distributed as a bundle of over 100 web components.

The advantages of Ionic development

Ionic offers several amenities for mobile application development, covering over 3.2% of the overall mobile application market.

That said, Ionic allows you to build mobile apps without hiring native developers. Anyone familiar with web technologies and Angular can leverage web skills to create fully-functional applications. The creation of a single code base for all your platforms gives these guarantees:

– Reduced development costs, hired native developers, and maintained the codebase.

– faster time to market on both platforms.

– Ease of maintenance thanks to integrated navigation instruments and debugging tools.

– The ability to turn your Ionic application into a desktop application or a PWA.

The economic purpose of using Ionic is clear if you focus on getting the app up and running quickly. Development on Android, iOS, and maybe even Windows devices is much cheaper in a single codebase than native development.

Popular technologies and ease of learning

It’s no secret that web technologies are the most popular, with JavaScript being the most popular programming language. Having Ionic as your mobile app development tool ensures that you will have no problem hiring developers for your project.

Ionic is considered an easy-to-learn tool: developers can quickly grasp the basics or choose between various web frameworks that Ionic supports.

Of course, having native development expertise would only be a plus, as Ionic does not compile the entire application in a native language. Instead, it compiles the UI elements and uses Cordova or Capacitor plugins (a native bridge platform for Ionic) for the rest of the functionality. It’s easy to build and maintain an application with the only web technology stack. But if you need to fix the plugin or develop a custom one for a specific feature, you’ll need a native Android or iOS developer.

Wide range of integration capabilities and plugins

If you feel like you’re not getting enough benefit from your Ionic app, there are many tools you can still integrate it with. The official list of technologies to integrate can be found on the Ionic website. It provides easy access to analytical instruments, payment systems, security and testing tools. It also contains several plugins that facilitate integration with a device’s hardware. But keep in mind that some plugins are available as part of the Enterprise version of Ionic, which requires payments to use Premier plugins and tools.

You can also check the Cordova plugins list for more plugins, which can be sorted by platform availability. Or you can also use the Capacitor plugins, downloading them from npm. A complete procedure for using Capacitor plugins is described in the guide.

A wide choice of user interface elements and rapid prototyping

Thanks to its library of UI components, older versions of Ionic have already proven effective in mimicking the look and feel of native apps. These components can be used as ready-made elements to build your graphical user interface (GUI) or use these elements for customizations. Combined with web components, Ionic can speed up the process of UI logic development and keep the native look at no additional cost.

The UI components of Ionic consist of two parts, which can be broken down into the actual graphical element of your GUI and its functionality. By accessing the code of the UI component, you can modify the operation of an element.

Another aspect that increases the speed of Ionic development is the ability to prototype. Using out-of-the-box user interface elements allows you to create prototypes of your future applications in a relatively short period. For this purpose, you are free to use a prototyping tool called Ionic Creator. It is maintained by the Ionic team and offers a drag and drop interface for building interactive prototypes, but it cannot be used to build the entire application.

Test comfort

As long as the Ionic apps only work through a web view, the device’s browser can test the app. It’s much more convenient because you don’t even have to use a testing device to ensure everything is working properly. The same concept applies to a variety of mobile devices.

The browsers offer built-in testing and debugging tools that make the whole testing process convenient. To test Angular components used in older versions, one can use Angular CLI, while Ionic CLI is suitable for web component testing. Thus, a test device or emulator may only be required to test some native functionality.

Concise documentation

What is the documentation for? More often than not, when you have a question about the tool, you will search for specific forums and communities to find the answer. You can also find guides for various installation, configuration, launch, and tuning tasks with Ionic in the documentation.

A strong community

As long as the creators of Ionic take care of the accessibility of their tool for users, the community will continue to grow. With over 5 million developers and constant activity on the forum, you will find the answer to any question if it has not been covered in the documentation.

Categories
  • AI/ML
  • Web Development
  • Laravel
  • Computer Vision
  • Mobile App Development
  • Digital Twin
Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter and receive a selection of cool articles every weeks