[angular] How to get `DOM Element` in Angular 2?

Angular 2.0.0 Final:

I have found that using a ViewChild setter is most reliable way to set the initial form control focus:

@ViewChild("myInput")
set myInput(_input: ElementRef | undefined) {
    if (_input !== undefined) {
        setTimeout(() => {
            this._renderer.invokeElementMethod(_input.nativeElement, "focus");
        }, 0);
    }
}

The setter is first called with an undefined value followed by a call with an initialized ElementRef.

Working example and full source here: http://plnkr.co/edit/u0sLLi?p=preview

Using TypeScript 2.0.3 Final/RTM, Angular 2.0.0 Final/RTM, and Chrome 53.0.2785.116 m (64-bit).

UPDATE for Angular 4+

Renderer has been deprecated in favor of Renderer2, but Renderer2 does not have the invokeElementMethod. You will need to access the DOM directly to set the focus as in input.nativeElement.focus().

I'm still finding that the ViewChild setter approach works best. When using AfterViewInit I sometimes get read property 'nativeElement' of undefined error.

@ViewChild("myInput")
set myInput(_input: ElementRef | undefined) {
    if (_input !== undefined) {
        setTimeout(() => { //This setTimeout call may not be necessary anymore.
            _input.nativeElement.focus();
        }, 0);
    }
}