Here is my lightweight vanilla JavaScript approach, using Flexbox:
http://codepen.io/lingtalfi/pen/zoNeJp
It was tested successfully in Google Chrome 54, Firefox 50, Safari 10, don't know about other browsers.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Title</title>
<script src="https://cdn.rawgit.com/lingtalfi/simpledrag/master/simpledrag.js"></script>
<style type="text/css">
html, body {
height: 100%;
}
.panes-container {
display: flex;
width: 100%;
overflow: hidden;
}
.left-pane {
width: 18%;
background: #ccc;
}
.panes-separator {
width: 2%;
background: red;
position: relative;
cursor: col-resize;
}
.right-pane {
flex: auto;
background: #eee;
}
.panes-container,
.panes-separator,
.left-pane,
.right-pane {
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
height: 100%;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="panes-container">
<div class="left-pane" id="left-pane">
<p>I'm the left pane</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="#">Item 1</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Item 2</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Item 3</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="panes-separator" id="panes-separator"></div>
<div class="right-pane" id="right-pane">
<p>And I'm the right pane</p>
<p>
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. A accusantium at cum cupiditate dolorum, eius eum
eveniet facilis illum maiores molestiae necessitatibus optio possimus sequi sunt, vel voluptate. Asperiores,
voluptate!
</p>
</div>
</div>
<script>
var leftPane = document.getElementById('left-pane');
var rightPane = document.getElementById('right-pane');
var paneSep = document.getElementById('panes-separator');
// The script below constrains the target to move horizontally between a left and a right virtual boundaries.
// - the left limit is positioned at 10% of the screen width
// - the right limit is positioned at 90% of the screen width
var leftLimit = 10;
var rightLimit = 90;
paneSep.sdrag(function (el, pageX, startX, pageY, startY, fix) {
fix.skipX = true;
if (pageX < window.innerWidth * leftLimit / 100) {
pageX = window.innerWidth * leftLimit / 100;
fix.pageX = pageX;
}
if (pageX > window.innerWidth * rightLimit / 100) {
pageX = window.innerWidth * rightLimit / 100;
fix.pageX = pageX;
}
var cur = pageX / window.innerWidth * 100;
if (cur < 0) {
cur = 0;
}
if (cur > window.innerWidth) {
cur = window.innerWidth;
}
var right = (100-cur-2);
leftPane.style.width = cur + '%';
rightPane.style.width = right + '%';
}, null, 'horizontal');
</script>
</body>
</html>
This HTML code depends on the simpledrag vanilla JavaScript lightweight library (less than 60 lines of code).