Quick Overview
The flexibility
project is a JavaScript library that provides a polyfill for the CSS Flexible Box Layout module, also known as Flexbox. It aims to provide a consistent and reliable implementation of Flexbox across different browsers, including older versions that do not natively support the Flexbox specification.
Pros
- Cross-Browser Compatibility: The library works across a wide range of browsers, including older versions that lack native Flexbox support, ensuring a consistent layout experience.
- Comprehensive Flexbox Support: It implements a comprehensive set of Flexbox properties and features, providing a robust solution for complex layout needs.
- Lightweight and Efficient: The library is relatively small in size and efficient in its implementation, minimizing the impact on page load times.
- Active Maintenance: The project is actively maintained, with regular updates and bug fixes to ensure compatibility with the latest Flexbox specifications.
Cons
- Dependency on JavaScript: The library requires JavaScript to be enabled in the browser, which may not be suitable for certain use cases where progressive enhancement is a priority.
- Potential Performance Impact: While the library is designed to be efficient, the use of JavaScript-based layout solutions can still have a slight performance impact compared to native Flexbox support.
- Limited Flexbox Feature Support: While the library aims to provide comprehensive Flexbox support, there may be some edge cases or newer Flexbox features that are not yet fully implemented.
- Potential Compatibility Issues: As with any polyfill, there may be some edge cases or browser-specific quirks that can cause compatibility issues, requiring additional troubleshooting or workarounds.
Code Examples
Here are a few examples of how to use the flexibility
library:
- Enabling Flexbox Layout:
// Import the flexibility library
import 'flexibility';
// Apply the flexibility polyfill to the document
document.documentElement.classList.add('flexibility');
- Defining a Flexbox Container:
<div class="flex-container">
<div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
<div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
<div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
</div>
.flex-container {
display: flex;
flex-direction: row;
justify-content: space-between;
align-items: center;
}
.flex-item {
flex: 1;
}
- Responsive Flexbox Layout:
.flex-container {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
justify-content: center;
}
.flex-item {
flex: 0 1 200px;
margin: 10px;
}
@media (max-width: 768px) {
.flex-item {
flex-basis: 150px;
}
}
Getting Started
To use the flexibility
library, follow these steps:
- Install the library using npm or yarn:
npm install flexibility
- Import the library in your JavaScript file:
import 'flexibility';
- Apply the
flexibility
class to the<html>
element in your HTML:
<html class="flexibility">
<!-- Your content goes here -->
</html>
- Optionally, you can use the
flexibility
class in your CSS to target specific elements:
.flexibility .flex-container {
display: flex;
/* Flexbox styles go here */
}
That's it! With these steps, you can start using the flexibility
library to provide Flexbox support across a wide range of browsers.
Convert
designs to code with AI
Introducing Visual Copilot: A new AI model to turn Figma designs to high quality code using your components.
Try Visual CopilotREADME
flexibility
A JavaScript polyfill for Flexbox
Flexibility is a polyfill for the Flexible Box Layout, commonly known as Flexbox. With Flexibility, you get to design beautiful, flexible layouts on the web without sacrificing the experience in older browsers.
Flexbox lays out, aligns, and distributes elements in a container, even when their size is unknown or dynamic. To better understand Flexbox, read Chris Coyierâs excellent Complete Guide to Flexbox.
To start using Flexbox in Internet Explorer 8 & 9 or any older browser, download the flexibility.js script and include it anywhere on your page.
<script src="flexibility.js"></script>
If youâre only targeting Internet Explorer 10 and lower, add a
-js-display: flex
declaration before any display: flex
declarations in your
CSS, or use PostCSS Flexibility to automate this during your build process.
.container {
-js-display: flex;
display: flex;
}
If youâre targeting other browsers, use the data-style
attribute to alert these browsers to your changes.
<div data-style="display: flex;"></div>
When youâre ready to polyfill flexbox with JavaScript, use the flexibility
method on the outermost element you would like to polyfill.
flexibility(document.documentElement);
API
The global flexibility
method contains child functions for use within your
own framework.
flexibility.read
Argument: Element
Return flexbox related styles from an element.
flexibility.readAll
Argument: Element
Return a list of flexbox details from a matching element or its descendants.
flexibility.write
Argument: Details
Writes flexbox details back to their respective elements.
flexibility.writeAll
Argument: Array
Writes a list of flexbox details back to their respective elements.
To learn more about Flexibility, read the support section.
If you experience an issue, read the contributing section before creating an issue.
Convert
designs to code with AI
Introducing Visual Copilot: A new AI model to turn Figma designs to high quality code using your components.
Try Visual Copilot