Although this issue may seem outdated, for those arriving in 2017 or later, I will provide an explanation of what actually occurs and how to resolve it:
The $ionicHistory.clearCache() code snippet is as follows:
clearCache: function(stateIds) {
return $timeout(function() {
$ionicNavViewDelegate._instances.forEach(function(instance) {
instance.clearCache(stateIds);
});
});
},
It becomes evident that the method takes a parameter called stateIds, which is essentially an array of state names. This realization came after some confusion on my part initially.
Further delving into the topic, we encounter the code for $ionicNavView.clearCache used within the previous line "instance.clearCache(stateIds)":
self.clearCache = function(stateIds) {
var viewElements = $element.children();
var viewElement, viewScope, x, l, y, eleIdentifier;
for (x = 0, l = viewElements.length; x < l; x++) {
viewElement = viewElements.eq(x);
if (stateIds) {
eleIdentifier = viewElement.data(DATA_ELE_IDENTIFIER);
for (y = 0; y < stateIds.length; y++) {
if (eleIdentifier === stateIds[y]) {
$ionicViewSwitcher.destroyViewEle(viewElement);
}
}
continue;
}
if (navViewAttr(viewElement) == VIEW_STATUS_CACHED) {
$ionicViewSwitcher.destroyViewEle(viewElement);
} else if (navViewAttr(viewElement) == VIEW_STATUS_ACTIVE) {
viewScope = viewElement.scope();
viewScope && viewScope.$broadcast('$ionicView.clearCache');
}
}
};
`
Upon analyzing the clearCache function, it is important to note that it does not indiscriminately clear all caches. Instead, it only destroys cached views matching values present in the stateIds array. In the absence of parameters, it simply eliminates the current view.
Consequently, the Ionic-recommended solution involves invoking $ionicHistory.clearCache() with an array containing all relevant state names as arguments.
For instance:
$ionicHistory.clearCache(['login', 'map', 'home']);
I find it surprising that any Ionic developer overlooked this simple detail without diving into the code before. Hopefully, someone benefits from this insight, despite the delay.