According to Stack Overflow’s 2020 Developer Survey, JavaScript is the most commonly used programming language for the eighth year in a row. As the top choice for creating the client-side of web apps, JavaScript is one of the most popular programming languages. Therefore, more and more JavaScript tools have been created and changed quickly. So, it’s a problem for front-end engineers when selecting a framework fits the project best.
Top 6 useful and popular JavaScript libraries and frameworks for front-end web development
1. React – A JavaScript library for building user interfaces
React is a powerful JavaScript library (maintained by Facebook) for creating user interfaces. It is not the earliest disruptive JavaScript-based web framework. But React is the most disruptive and influential JavaScript-based Web framework. In addition, React is well known for the Virtual DOM, which gives better user experience and performance gain.
A few years after its release, the React team introduced React Native, a tool for creating hybrid mobile applications for iOS and Android using JavaScript.
Key features:
- React is one of the most unopinionated frameworks where React-core is just a component-based library for the View layer.
- React has the slogan: “Learn Once, Write Anywhere.” Software Engineers can use React to develop web (React), mobile app (React Native), desktop app (Electron), and back-end development (with Node.js).
- React offers the best in class server-side rendering (SSR) with excellent SEO support.
- The tech giant Facebook’s need drives React development. The upside is that React features are battle-tested by the 2.6 billion Facebook users.
- React is continuously improving itself and recently introduced React-fiber (better concurrency), React hook (less boilerplate code), Suspense (better rendering).
Popularity. React holds leading positions in many of the previously mentioned surveys. It’s the most loved and wanted web framework among Stack Overflow developers, and the most popular on the HotFrameworks website.
A lot of tech giants use React.js for web development such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Airbnb, Netflix, New York Times.
Community. React has a large and vibrant community. On the React.js official website, you can find a curated list of the best practices, materials, and courses on React. You can also find links to chats and communities of developers in Reddit, Spectrum, Stack Overflow,… React meetups and conferences are organized regularly all around the world.
Syntax: See the Web Components page.
2. Angular – One framework for mobile & desktop
Angular (also referred to as Angular 2+) is a web development platform built in TypeScript that provides developers with robust tools for creating the client-side of web applications. The first version of this framework was known as AngularJS. The second version, known simply as Angular, is a complete reworking of the first version.
Key features:
- Angular.js is an end-to-end framework with “out of the box” support to develop enterprise application. In Angular CLI, it has one of the best command-line tool in the JavaScript landscape.
- With TypeScript and separating the template from styling and business logic, it is especially suited for the enterprise-grade large code-base.
- It is inherently the most secure front-end framework with built-in features like DOM sanitization.
- Although Google is not backing Angular the same way as Facebook is backing React, it is still putting enough resources so that Angular remains an attractive and innovative framework. Recently it has added lazy loading, differential loading to improve loading time of modules.
- In Angular 9, it releases a new rendering engine ivy to improve startup time, response time, and to reduce bundle size.
Popularity. According to HotFrameworks, AngularJS is the second most popular framework, while Angular is the third. Angular is also the third most wanted web framework according to StackOverflow.
Such well-known companies as Microsoft, Forbes, Paypal Community, Google use Angular or AngularJS in their projects. Discover the gallery of inspiring websites using AngularJS or Angular!
Community. Over its more than nine-year history, Angular has gathered a large and active community. Angular offers a plethora of third-party tools. There are also regular meetups dedicated to sharing knowledge and best practices among Angular developers. Angular has more than 50,000 stars on GitHub, while AngularJS has 59,000.
Syntax. See the Template syntax page.
3. Vue.js – The progressive JavaScript framework
Vue.js is a progressive JavaScript library created by Evan You in 2014. It is one of the easiest Front-end frameworks where developers can write SPA applications with minor effort. Developers can use Vue.js as an End-to-End framework with Routing, State management like Angular, or as only a view layer like React. It also offers Angular like two-way data-binding with additional Reactivity and React like rendering using Virtual DOM.
Key features:
- Vue.js offers progressive app development and best in the class documentation. If you have a large legacy JavaScript code-base, then you can progressively modernize your code-base with Vue.js.
- Vue.js works both as an opinionated end-to-end framework and a View layer with state management.
- It offers reactive two-way data binding (like Angular) and Virtual DOM, Event Sourcing (like React).
- Vue.js has equal support for JavaScript and TypeScript.
- Vue.js is going through a major overhaul and improvement in the upcoming Vue.js 3.0.
Popularity. In Stack Overflow’s 2019 Developer Survey, Vue was the second most wanted web framework. HotFrameworks has put Vue.js in fourth place among JavaScript frameworks.
Nintendo, Louis Vuitton, Bilibili, Behance, and BMW are among the most popular companies using Vue.js.
Community. Vue has a vibrant community. It has forums in different languages where Vue developers can ask for help and get a quick response.
Developers have created an Awesome Vue repository – a curated list of top content related to the Vue.js framework. There’s also the Vue.js events website that helps developers find meetups and nearby Vue developers.
Syntax. Check out the Vue Syntax page.
4. Ember.js – Make it faster
Emberjs is a client-side open-source framework for creating single-page web applications with complex user interactions. This framework boasts scalability and flexibility. It gets regular updates and provides a full package of commonly used features.
Key features:
- End-to-end opinionated cohesive framework focusing on “Convention over Configuration.”
- Instead of one tech giant, Ember is backed by several tech giants like LinkedIn, Yahoo. As a result, it is not driven by one corporation’s needs.
- Ember’s data library is the best to access data across multiple sources at once, set up asynchronous relationships.
- In Ember CLI, it has the best CLI among all JavaScript frameworks, which helps to scaffold and generate all the necessary codes with the right structure, including all dependencies.
- In its latest release Ember Octane, it has introduced HTML first and component first approach with improved support for state management and reactivity.
Popularity. Tech giants such as Netflix, LinkedIn, Heroku, Microsoft, and others rely on this framework. See who’s using Ember.js!
Community. Ember has a huge and active community that regularly contributes to Ember Observer, a website that aggregates solutions to common tasks.
Every year, Ember developers gather at EmberConf, where they discuss ways to improve this framework and share knowledge and best practices of using Ember.
Syntax. Check out the Components page.
5. Svelte – Cybernetically enhanced web apps
Svelte is a component-based JavaScript framework for front-end development. In 2016, Rich Harris had the groundbreaking idea to develop a JavaScript framework with no framework-specific runtime and released Svelte. The idea was to use the Svelte compiler, which would compile framework-specific code to plain JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and render the compiled code to the browser.
Key features:
- It is a compile-time framework and does not need any framework-specific runtime. It has the smallest bundle size among all frameworks.
- Svelte performs the DOM rendering via reactive programming, which is faster than Virtual DOM most times. As a result, Svelte gives the fastest rendering among all frameworks.
- Svelte is just a View layer like React-Core, and it is an unopinionated framework.
- Svelte supports both client-side and server-side rendering with excellent SEO support.
- Developers can use Svelte to develop a Web app, Cross-platform Mobile App development, or Desktop app development.
Popularity. Svelte 3 appeared at the end of 2019 and has quickly gained ground. Svelte will continue to conquer the world of frontend web development. Rakuten, The New York Times, and Razorpay already use Svelte.
Community. The fact that Svelte appears in JavaScript development trends has boosted the Svelte community. More and more developers name Svelte a “game-changing” and “wunderkind” JavaScript framework that is “more reactive than React.” Currently, Svelte’s GitHub page has almost 34,800 stars and 299 contributors.
Syntax. See the Examples page.
6. Aurelia – Simple. Powerful. Unobtrusive
Aurelia is a promising tool that presents itself as a collection of JavaScript modules combined into a powerful platform for building applications. Most of these modules can be used as a standalone solution in any type of JavaScript project. Created back in 2015, Aurelia follows the ECMAScript standard and allows for creating browser, desktop, and mobile applications.
Key features:
- Aurelia follows the convention over configuration (CoC) philosophy. Everything is already configured and ready to use, so all developers need to do is start coding.
- Aurelia allows you to define parent routes in one place and configure sub routes in a child component, hiding the inner complexity and making components fully encapsulated.
- Aurelia is highly modular and unopinionated. This gives you freedom in creating apps without forcing you to use a certain paradigm or follow rules predefined by the framework. Thanks to Aurelia’s modularity, certain components can be easily swapped out.
- By default, Aurelia uses one-way data binding, but it’s possible to switch to two-way data binding when appropriate.
- Well-written structured guides on how to use Aurelia is on the official website. Also, the development team is working on Aurelia University, an official course that will help newbie developers get started with Aurelia.
Popularity. Aurelia isn’t that popular a tool, but it’s already been recognized by developers. According to HotFrameworks, it’s the tenth most popular JavaScript framework. On its GitHub page, Aurelia has 11,400 stars and almost a hundred contributors.
Community. On the Aurelia website, you can find a forum where developers discuss recently added features and ways to improve Aurelia.
Syntax: See the Templating
JavaScript is one of the programming languages used in ICTS‘s projects. As a software development boutique, we focus on cutting-edge technologies to help clients boost their revenues or visualize their idea into minimum viable and scalable products. Discover our core tech stack and contact us to find out what benefits we can bring to your web applications, sites, and portals for corporate and internet-focused projects!
Reference:
- https://towardsdatascience.com/top-10-javascript-frameworks-to-learn-in-2020-a0b83ed3211b
- https://yalantis.com/blog/javascript-frameworks-how-to-make-your-choice/
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