Ivy is the code name for next-generation compilation and Rendering pipeline or Rendering Engine. It was released in Angular 8 as Opt-in. At the release of Angular 9, Ivy was intended to be the by default rendering engine instead of the older compiler and runtime, known as View Engine.
In Angular 8, Ivy refers to the next-generation rendering pipeline and view engine for Angular. It is a significant update aimed at improving various aspects of Angular applications such as performance, size, and developer experience. Here’s what you should cover in your answer:
- Compiler and Runtime: Ivy is a new compiler and runtime that offers better performance, smaller bundle sizes, and enhanced debugging capabilities.
- Tree Shakable: One of the key features of Ivy is its tree-shakable nature, meaning it allows developers to remove unnecessary code during the build process, resulting in smaller bundle sizes for applications.
- Incremental DOM: Ivy introduces an incremental DOM (Document Object Model) approach, where the framework only updates what has changed in the DOM rather than re-rendering the entire view. This leads to better performance, especially for large applications.
- Improved Debugging: Ivy provides improved debugging capabilities by generating more human-readable and understandable error messages, making it easier for developers to identify and fix issues in their code.
- Improved Tooling and IDE Support: With Ivy, Angular’s tooling and IDE support have been enhanced, providing developers with better integration, autocomplete, and overall development experience.
- Compatibility: Ivy is designed to be backward compatible with existing Angular applications, allowing developers to upgrade their projects gradually without major disruptions.
- Ahead-of-Time (AOT) Compilation: Ivy continues to support ahead-of-time compilation, which helps improve startup performance by pre-compiling Angular templates into efficient JavaScript code during the build process.
In summary, Ivy in Angular 8 represents a significant improvement in terms of performance, size, and developer experience, offering benefits such as smaller bundle sizes, better debugging capabilities, and improved tooling support.