Progress keeps UI development accessible with latest release
Progress, a provider of application development and digital experience technologies, has released the latest version of Kendo UI, the tooling for building a modern Web UI.
This offering is now the only commercial JavaScript component toolset to fully support Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 compliance.
It also includes major feature updates, new components and new themes.
WCAG 2.1 defines how to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning and neurological disabilities.
Building off of Kendo UI's previous support for WCAG 2.0 and WAI-ARIA, Progress remains at the forefront for developers who want to enable people with disabilities to access their web apps.
WCAG 2.1 adds 17 success criteria for compliance and Kendo UI tooling now meets all 17 criteria including mobile accessibility, help for individuals with low vision as well as cognitive and learning disabilities.
By implementing these standards, Progress helps developers build UI that is accessible out of the box, without the need for writing additional code.
"We exist to help the developer community develop modern apps with the best customer experience easily and quickly," says Progress developer tooling business senior vice president and general manager Faris Sweis.
"Accessible apps are a requirement for digital experiences that can engage everyone, including those with disabilities. We are proud to be the first to provide support for these standards to make the creation of accessible apps easy.
The applications built with components adhering to these guidelines are not only accessible to people with disabilities, but also to users of all kinds of devices and interfaces: desktop browser, voice browser, mobile phone, automobile-based personal computer and more.
"When we are using Kendo UI, we don't have to spend time designing around accessibility, because it is already there as a part of the tool. It is a force multiplier for our development and design processes," says Truematter front-end developer and interactive designer Bekah Rice.
"Kendo UI enables us to spend our time building and optimising the user journey, with the confidence that the end UX will be accessible to everyone.
In addition to support for WCAG 2.1, the latest Kendo UI R3 2018 release also features updates to the TreeList component, new components including MultiColumnComboBox and an ArcGauge, a new Material Theme for jQuery and Vue, Dialog, Stock and Sparkline Charts for React, and Scheduler and Notification components as well as Chart features for Angular.
