The Ext team is proud to announce that the first public release of Ext v2.0 is available for download. This new version of the Ext framework introduces a host of new features, a new document center, expanded & better organized samples and bug fixes. Another important aspect to note is that there has not been a significant library size increase in this new version.
New Features
In our last posting, we went into detail about some of the new features in Ext 2.0. Many of these features are unique to the Ext 2.0 framework and will make developing desktop-like application substantially easier. These include:
- Scrolling Tabs
- Highly configurable single-level column grouping capabilities as well as summary rollups at the group level.
- Anchor layout in forms to ensure a consistent size and position for form fields irregardless of browser size.
- Treeviews that support additional columns for each leaf node.
Along with the features list above, there are many additional features and architectural changes that make working with 2.0 more intuitive and flexible than previous releases. If you haven't tried 2.0 yet, you should. You won't be disappointed.
New API Documentation Center
We wanted to make traversing the Ext API as simple as possible and that prompted a substantive revamp of our document center. The new version continues to make use of the intuitive treeview metaphor but great expands on this by taking advantage of the new scrolling tabs feature being introduced in Ext 2.0. By selecting a specific API topic on the tree, a new tab will appear allowing developers to maintain multiple API documents open at one time instead of being limited to only one page at a time. A new search feature has also been added which acts to filter down the treeview based on a keyword entered into the search field.
In addition, each page now contains quick links which will immediately scroll the users down to view properties, methods and events of a specific class.
Finally, a new “Direct Link” feature greatly simplifies the ability to bookmark specific pages of the API by providing a permalink for specific sections of the documentation.
2.0 Migration
We are working on a 2.0 migration guide and several new tutorials that cover working with the new 2.0 component model, container and layout managers. We hope to have them available with the Beta 1 release.
New 2.0 Samples
Prior to this release, the demos for Ext were consolidated into the API viewer making it cumbersome to differentiate what was a demo and what was part of the API document viewer. We have now detached the demos and organized them onto a standalone page. The applications are also grouped into specific subsections to allow Ext developers to drill down into applications that show specific Ext functionality.
Portal Samples
Building dashboard-style applications similar to iGoogle or PageFlakes are all the rage so we've included a demo application as a foundation for building a portal application. The demo includes functionality for smooth repositioning of the portlets via drag and drop functionality and each portlet has the standard minimize and close functionality found in similar dashboard implementations. In addition, each portlet has a settings icon which is bound to a custom event handler and allows Ext developers to define behaviors that their users can apply to specific portlets.
Themes and Plugins Repository
User contributed Ext themes and extensions/plugins are an important aspect of the project allowing Ext developers to display their creativity by extending the Ext framework as well as leveraging new functionality not currently available in the library. Currently, these contributions are made via the support forum and are not posted in a way that makes finding specific functionality easy.
In an effort to organize these extensions, the Ext team is in the process of building a themes and plugins repository that will allow developers to submit the extensions and categorize them accordingly. Submitters will be able to give a good description of the extension as well as upload screenshots, all in an effort to make it easier for the community to find specific functionality.
More 2.0 Samples
All of the 2.0 samples can be seen at the Ext 2.0 Samples page. Additional samples are available in SVN.
2.0 Availability
The 2.0 codebase has stabilized and several clients have begun to use Ext 2.0 in production environments. Ext 2.0 is available for download and code updates are available to SVN subscribers in the Ext SVN under branches/ext2.0.
License
Ext 2.0 is being released with the same license options as 1.1. Please visit http://extjs.com/license for more details.
For many companies and products, Open Source licenses are not an option. Ext offers commercial licenses for these situations and for companies using Ext in commercial applications who want to help support the project. It is a non-copyleft license which gives companies complete freedom when integrating Ext in their products and web sites. During the 2.0 prerelease period, estimated until October 31st, we are offering a 25% discount on all commercial license purchases. If you were considering a commercial license, now is the time!
