Ember.js explained

Ember.js
Logo Alt:Ember.js logotype
Author:Yehuda Katz
Developer:Ember Core Team
Genre:JavaScript library
Programming Language:JavaScript
Operating System:Cross-platform
License:MIT License[1]

Ember.js is an open-source JavaScript web framework that utilizes a component-service pattern. It is designed to allow developers to create scalable single-page web applications by incorporating common idioms, best practices, and patterns from other single-page-app ecosystem patterns into the framework.[2]

Ember is used on many websites including HashiCorp, DigitalOcean, Apple Music, Square, Inc., Intercom, Discourse, Groupon, LinkedIn, Live Nation, Ghost, Nordstrom, and Twitch.[3] [4] [5] Although primarily considered a framework for the web, it is also possible to build desktop and mobile applications with Ember when utilizing a hybrid app pattern.[6] [7] [8] The most notable example of an Ember desktop application is Apple Music, a feature of the iTunes desktop application.[9]

The Ember trademark is owned by Tilde Inc.[10]

History

In December 2011, the SproutCore 2.0 framework was renamed to Ember.js, to reduce confusion between the application framework and the widget library of SproutCore 1.0.[11] [12] The framework was created by Yehuda Katz, a member of the jQuery, Ruby on Rails and SproutCore core teams.

Design

According to the company, Ember was designed around four key ideas:

Web applications
  • Ember sets out to provide a solution to the client-side application problem.
    More productivity
  • Ember is one component of a set of tools to provide a development stack. Ember CLI provides an application structure and build pipeline with an add-on.[13] [14]
    Stability
  • Ember aims to prioritize backward compatibility and allow it to be maintained while still evolving the framework.[15]
    Future web standards
  • Ember was an adopter of standards around JavaScript and the web, including promises, web components and ES6 syntax.[16] [17] Yehuda Katz, one of Ember's co-founders, is a member on TC39, which is the committee responsible for future versions of the JavaScript language.[18]

    Like Ruby on Rails, Ember follows convention over configuration (CoC), and the don't repeat yourself (DRY) principle.[19] It has been described as a highly opinionated framework built to be very flexible.[20]

    Concepts

    According to the company, Ember consists of five key concepts:[21]

    Routes
  • In Ember, the state of an application is represented by a URL. Each URL has a corresponding "route object" that controls what is visible to the user.
    Models
  • Every route has an associated model, containing the data associated with the current state of the application.[22] While one can use window.fetch to load JSON objects from a server and use those objects as models, most applications use a model library such as Ember Data to handle this.
    Templates
  • Templates are used to build the application's HTML and are written with the HTMLBars templating language. (HTMLBars is a variation of Handlebars that builds DOM elements rather than a String.)[23]
    Components
  • A component is a custom HTML tag. Its behavior is implemented using JavaScript, and its appearance is defined using HTMLBars templates. Components "own" their data. They can also be nested and can communicate with their parent components through actions (events). Other component libraries, such as Polymer can also be used with Ember.[24]
    Services
  • Services are just singleton objects to hold long-lived data such as user sessions.[25]
  • Ember also provides dependency injection, declarative one-way data-flow, tracked properties, and automatically updating templates.[26]

    Ember software / Addons

    Ember.js is one component of a complete front-end stack built and supported by the Ember core team.

    Ember CLI

    Ember-CLI aims to bring convention over configuration to build tools. A command line utility based on broccoli, running the command <nowiki>ember new <app-name></nowiki> generates a new Ember app with the default stack.[27] This provides:

    Other features include:

    Ember Data

    Most Ember applications use Ember Data, a data-persistence library providing many of the facilities of object-relational mapping (ORM).[35] However it is also possible to use Ember without Ember Data.[36]

    Ember Data maps client-side models to server-side data. It can then load and save records and their relationships without any configuration via a RESTful JSON API that implements the JSON API specification,[37] provided certain conventions are followed.[38] However it is also configurable and can work with servers through the use of adapters and addons.[39] JSON API has server library implementations for PHP, Node.js, Ruby, Python, Go, .NET and Java.[40] Connecting to a Java-Spring-based server is also documented.[41]

    The first stable version of Ember Data (labeled 1.13 to align with Ember itself) was released on June 18 June 2015.[42]

    Ember Inspector

    The Ember Inspector is an extension currently available for the Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome web browsers for debugging Ember applications.[43] [44] Features include the ability to see which templates, components, and views are currently rendered, see the properties of any Ember object with a UI that computes bindings and computed properties, and access one's application's objects from the console.[45] If Ember Data is used, one can also see the records loaded for each model.

    Fastboot

    Fastboot is an Ember CLI add-on created by the Ember core team that gives Ember developers the ability to run their apps in Node.js. This feature allows end users to see HTML and CSS right away, with JavaScript downloading in the background and taking over once it has fully loaded.[46]

    Liquid Fire

    Liquid Fire provides animation support for Ember applications.[47] Features include animated transitions between routes and between models within a single route. It provides a DSL for solidifying spatial route relationships, cleanly separated from view-layer implementation details. An example would be to animate a screen transition so that the new screen appears to slide in from one edge of the browser.[48]

    Release process

    See the releases blog for the full list of releases and detailed changelog.

    Release cycle

    Ember follows a six-week release cycle, inspired by the rapid release cycle of Google Chrome.[49]

    Starting with Ember 2.0, related projects supported by the core team have their releases coordinated, and share a version number with Ember itself.[50]

    Upgrading and backward compatibility

    Ember follows the semantic versioning convention.[51] In particular, breaking changes are only introduced at significant version numbers, such as 1.0, 2.0, etc. While new features can be added at point releases (1.1, 1.2...), and features deprecated, no breaking changes to the public APIs are introduced. Tooling was also under development in 2015 to help streamline the upgrade process.[52]

    In addition to this process, several steps were taken to mitigate issues around upgrading to the 2.0 release:

    The process follows the core Ember principle of Stability without Stagnation and is in marked contrast to the upgrade plans of similar projects such as AngularJS.[53]

    Future development

    Project status can be tracked via the core team meeting minutes.[54] However, major changes to Ember go through the Request For Comment process.[55] This gives the Ember community a chance to give feedback on new proposals. Notable RFCs include:

    Sponsorship

    Unlike other projects such as AngularJS (Google) and React (Facebook) which have the backing of one main company, Ember.js has a variety of sponsors and backers. These include users of the framework such as Yahoo!, LinkedIn and Bustle.[60] [61]

    Further reading

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: ember.js/LICENSE. GitHub. 27 April 2017. en.
    2. Web site: Enterprise Apps Are Moving To Single-Page Design . Aghassipour . Alexander . Chacko . Shajith . . 30 Nov 2012.
    3. Web site: Building With Ember.js at Groupon. TalentBuddy . 15 Oct 2015.
    4. Web site: Discourse-Built with Ember.js. GitHub . 15 Jul 2015.
    5. Web site: Intercom.
    6. Web site: Ember-Write Once, Run Everywhere . GitHub . 5 Jul 2015.
    7. Web site: Build better desktop apps with Ember . SpeakerDeck . 5 Jul 2015.
    8. Web site: Wicked Good Ember 2015 talk - Build better desktop apps with Ember, video . 5 Jul 2015.
    9. Web site: Built with ember - Apple Music . BuiltWithEmber . 21 Jul 2016.
    10. Web site: Ember.js: Legal. emberjs.com. en. 2019-02-14.
    11. Web site: 13 Dec 2011 . SproutCore 2.0 becomes Ember.js . The H.
    12. Web site: 12 Dec 2011 . Amber.js (formerly SproutCore 2.0) is now Ember.js . yehudakatz.com.
    13. Web site: Ember CLI . 15 Dec 2018.
    14. Web site: Ember Addons . 15 Dec 2018.
    15. Web site: Innovating Fast And Slow: EmberJS Insists, "We Don't Need To Break The Web" . ReadWrite . Asay . Matt . 4 November 2014 . 18 Jun 2015.
    16. Web site: JavaScript Promises. Mozilla . 18 Jun 2015.
    17. Web site: Web Components . WebComponents . 18 Jun 2015.
    18. Web site: TC39: Members . TC39Wiki . 18 Jun 2015.
    19. Web site: What we've learned from Ember.js after 2 months developing our new product.. Solid. 16 December 2014. 3 November 2015.
    20. Web site: Top Reasons Why Industry Experts Use Ember.js And How You Can Adopt It Yourself. TalentBuddy. 14 October 2015.
    21. Web site: 5 Essential Ember 2.0 Concepts You Must Understand . EmberIgniter . Frank Treacy . 31 August 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160727201740/http://emberigniter.com/5-essential-ember-2.0-concepts/ . 27 July 2016 . dead .
    22. Web site: Ember.js - Models: Introduction . Emberjs . 21 Jan 2014.
    23. Web site: Jackson. Robert. HTMLBars. GitHub. 18 February 2015.
    24. Web site: How To Add Polymer To Your Ember Project . ProgramWithErik . 27 March 2015 . 11 Aug 2015.
    25. Web site: Ember Services Tutorial . ProgramWithErik . 26 July 2015 . 27 July 2015.
    26. Web site: Getting Into Ember.js . Bango . Rey . Nettuts+ . 14 Mar 2013.
    27. Web site: Ember CLI . 15 Dec 2018.
    28. Web site: Ember testing . 15 Dec 2018.
    29. Web site: Ember CLI-managing dependencies . 15 Dec 2018.
    30. Web site: Ember CLI asset compilation . 15 Dec 2018.
    31. Web site: Ember CLI Blueprints . 15 Dec 2018.
    32. Web site: Ember CLI Writing Addons . 15 Dec 2018.
    33. Web site: Ember Addons directory. emberobserver.com . 15 Dec 2018.
    34. Web site: Ember CLI Overview . 15 Dec 2018.
    35. Web site: Ember Data README . . 4 Dec 2013.
    36. Web site: Ember without Ember Data . 23 March 2013 . Evil Trout . 2 Jan 2014.
    37. Web site: JSON API specification . 16 Jun 2015.
    38. Web site: Ember.js Models . Emberjs . 26 Jun 2015.
    39. Web site: Ember Observer-Data . EmberObserver . 16 Jun 2015.
    40. Web site: JSON API implementations . JSON API . 26 Jun 2015.
    41. Web site: Integrating Ember.js with the Spring Framework . SpringEmber . 20 August 2014 . 26 Jun 2015.
    42. Web site: Ember Data 1.13 release . 18 June 2015 . 18 Jun 2015.
    43. Web site: Firefox Addons - Ember Inspector . Mozilla . 5 August 2015.
    44. Web site: Chrome Web Store - Ember Inspector . Chrome Web Store . 18 Feb 2014.
    45. Web site: Ember Inspector . Ember.js . 28 Jun 2015.
    46. Web site: Inside Fastboot. Faking the DOM in node. Emberjs . 8 January 2015. 19 June 2015.
    47. Web site: Liquid Fire: Animations & Transitions for Ember Apps. GitHub . 19 June 2015.
    48. Web site: Animations in Ember.js with liquid-fire. airpair.com. 10 July 2015. 8 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201108135538/https://www.airpair.com/ember.js/posts/animations-in-emberjs-with-liquidfire. dead.
    49. Web site: New Ember release process . 6 September 2013 . 19 June 2015.
    50. Web site: Ember Project at 2.0 . 16 June 2015 . 19 June 2015.
    51. Web site: Ember API Freeze . 18 January 2013 . 19 June 2015.
    52. Web site: Ember Watson Addon . 19 June 2015.
    53. Web site: Angular 2.0 announcement . 29 October 2014 . 19 June 2015.
    54. Web site: Ember core team meeting minutes. Emberjs . 5 Jul 2015.
    55. Web site: Ember RFC process. Emberjs . 18 Jun 2015.
    56. Web site: Ember Engines. EmberAddons.com . 19 Jan 2016.
    57. Web site: Engines. Emberjs . 3 Feb 2015.
    58. Web site: Refining the Release Process RFC. Emberjs. 18 Jun 2015.
    59. Web site: Outlet Focusing RFC. http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20160924214534/https://github.com/nathanhammond/rfcs/blob/master/text/0000-outlet-focusing.md. dead. 24 September 2016. Emberjs. 18 Jun 2015.
    60. Web site: Ember sponsors . Emberjs . 18 Jun 2015.
    61. Web site: Interview with Mike North, Principal Software Engineer, Yahoo . Emberweekend . 10 Aug 2015.

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