It's always an exciting time when the next major Sencha release is right on the horizon, especially with the continued advancement and growing popularity of web-based applications. As a long time supporter of Sencha we've seen the framework(s) come a long way, but here is why we are especially thrilled for Ext JS 5.
An improvement to the core architecture has been long overdue, and more recently one of the confusing differences between Ext JS and Sencha Touch. With the introduction of new views and models (specifically ViewControllers) architecture flexibility has been greatly enhanced. This should eventually allow for developers to choose their preference and standardize it across all their work with Sencha products. Most importantly though, the ability to keep event functionality isolated to a dynamic view improves general organization and performance.
When many people think of two-way data binding, they envision something like data from a model populating a form, and changes to that form being reflected back to the model record. Not only is this easily possible, but tying these model fields (via the use of the new ViewModel) to actual component properties is a breeze as well. Coupled with custom properties and setter functions allows for endless possibilities for streamlined component ecosystems.
URL Routing is another long overdue feature, and something that bridges another key difference with Sencha Touch. Everything you should need to handle complex routing & segments.
We've seen many developers hesitate to embrace model associations, but there shouldn't be any excuses now. Not only have associations become more accommodating (thanks to the new ManyToMany association type) but they are simply easier to use - only requiring a single link most of the time.
TreeViews have always been great, however they have never quite fit too well alongside regular data stores and views. With the new ability to actually specify unique models at different tree levels should offer much more flexibility and maintainability of your data organization.
It only makes sense to minimize the differences between what the application does and what the user sees - especially when it comes to validation. Many developers in the past have reluctantly resorted to setting up dual validations on a model and on a form, or putting together custom logic to join the two. This is now native functionality in Ext JS 5.
There is a reason grids are so popular: today's world is largely data driven. Most people have become very comfortable quickly taking in table and grid visualizations. Of course, when a grid forms the core of your application, it would make sense that a high level of grid customization would be required. In the past this has always fallen on the shoulders of the generous Sencha developer community, given the complexity of how grids (and all grid plugins) are based on columns. Not only should cell-level customization be easier moving forward, but Ext JS 5 comes with specific components designed for this purpose.
Ask most website owners these days and they will tell you a huge portion of their traffic comes from mobile - so much so, that we no longer believe "desktop only" to be a viable option. While it will never be as perfect as Sencha Touch for tablets, simply ensuring touch gestures are fully supported is a huge milestone. Not just for Ext JS: read on to find out why.
In our opinion, the most important improvement across the board is the vastly enhanced standardization of the Sencha Core package. In the near future -- upon the next major release of Sencha Touch -- we will finally have a solid standardization between the following parts:
We definitely see this trend and emphasis on Sencha Core continuing into the future, and that's something to be very happy about. With the increasing usage and the variety of "mobile" devices out there, not to mention completely new mediums right around the corner, the need will exist for a completely platform agnostic web framework. The first step of course is consolidating the various layers, starting with the abstract - and of course, ending with purely visual components. In this sense, the new changes to Ext JS 5 should be openly embraced and looked at as the foundation to a feature heavy core package to set the stage for the future.
To find out more, we recommend checking out the latest Sencha Blog postings, read the detailed documentation about all the new features, or jump right into trying it out.
