Flexie enables the CSS3 Flexible Box Model, providing cross-browser support to older browsers. Flexie works like Selectivizr, which uses a CSS parser to identify elements with display: box and applies the appropriate flexbox properties. The project addresses the need for flexible layout capabilities in environments where native flexbox support is unavailable.
Flexie allows users to leverage flexbox functionality in older browsers, expanding layout options. It utilizes Selectivizr for efficient style sheet traversal, minimizing performance impact. The project includes normalization for box-align and box-pack properties in specific browsers. Flexie offers asynchronous API to run flexbox layout without directly modifying the stylesheet.
- Browser Support: Supports IE 6-9 and Opera 10.0+ and normalizes
box-alignin Webkit andbox-packin Gecko. - Asynchronous API: Provides an asynchronous API allowing flexible integration into projects without requiring direct stylesheet modifications.
- Flex Matrix / Ordinal Matrix: Allows developers to customize child element sizing and ordering within the flexbox layout.
- Property Normalization: Normalizes certain flexbox properties across different browsers to ensure consistent behavior.
- Developer Experience: Easy to implement with minimal setup, relying on existing selector engines.
Flexie is a maintained project with active development, though its support for advanced selectors and compatibility with YUI's selector engine have limitations. Regular updates address browser inconsistencies and provide improved feature sets.
Flexie benefits developers who need to support older browsers while utilizing modern flexbox layout techniques. It’s useful for projects requiring layout flexibility in legacy environments where the native flexbox model is not available. Flexie offers a practical solution for achieving complex layouts without relying on complex hacks.