Front end programming is now in a frantic growth and has created a highly competitive environment. It is a world with more good choices than ever , where the possibilities and needs can create services and products that we previously imagined were unrealistic.
In this field, developers seem to have been more passionate than ever before. It is the time when we spend a great deal of time learning the technologies that we must constantly make the right decisions, which makes us passionately want to defend our choices . Choosing the right framework should not be something we like, but something that suits the requirements of the project so that the other choices seem to be erroneous.
Below we will approach six most known Javascript Frameworks , trying to contribute to the dialogue that evolves around these new technologies and their evolution.
The JavaScript Frameworks we will look at
- AngularJS
- Angular
- Ember
- Meteor
- React
- VueJS
AngularJS
Old-school Angular 1 has gone nowhere . It is easy to regard it as outdated as its successor has evolved and presents terrible prospects. But this is not the value factor, as it has been on the market for a long time and its ease of use has helped it penetrate many projects that are currently live and functional.
It’s a proven recipe, it has an extremely powerful ecosystem and there are plenty of talented developers who know it very well. Globally, it is the skill that employers require most, with React following closely.
The explanation for the great use of AngularJS is simple. AngularJS uses JavaScript, simple simple Javascript. It does not use either ES6 / ES2015 or TypeScript. It is not based on sophisticated development and analysis tools. There is no mystery hidden behind her. It is well structured and tested to solve problems. It offers stability, excellent query / response ecosystems, solutions, modules, tutorials and stack overflow answers. It is the solution with the most content for help and learning.
It is easy to classify AngularJS as a tool to withdraw and it is a mistake we often do, like passionate developers who want us to always be in the latest technology. However, we must not forget the cost of business for the implementation and management of systems but also the risk of untested technologies.
Angular
Angular we call version 2 and subsequent AngularJS (Angular 1) replacements. Angular, therefore, offers an extremely modern development environment with excellent performance, better architecture and more modern solutions. This is apparent from the beginning with the Command Line Interface (CLI) that helps us in the process of developing new projects through boilerplates and during the development of a project. It is a framework that includes everything.
It’s also the framework that really brings TypeScript to a prominent place. TypeScript has a rising template that allows developers to work in a strictly strict language, which is much easier to analyze and de-debug.
In addition, Angular is the first framework that actually implements Observables, which is one step above Promises. It is extremely powerful for “streams” and live updates in real time, data.
For large applications that will need a lot of functionality like routers, state management, APIs, etc., it’s better to have a comprehensive framework than to combine dubious quality modules from different developers.
And of course, at this moment Angular is undoubtedly the biggest theme in the world, with the greatest support, the largest community and the greatest commercial interest.
Ember
The ember has the reputation of the difficult to learn framework. In fact, it is one of the most efficient JavaScript frameworks for a variety of reasons. First there is the Ember CLI. Other frameworks also include CLI, but ember has developed it one step further.
It is also a comprehensive development environment that can handle processes such as scaffolding, boilerplate generation, serving, testing, dependecy management, deployment, and builds. It is too fast and uses strict conventions , which are another advantage, since it reduces the need for adjustments or redundancies through a clearly defined logic of defaults. For this reason, Ember applications typically look the same, have the same structure, build chain and similar functionality set.
Ember is growing rapidly and continuously. He was one of the pioneers of technologies such as ES6 and Promises while he is known for his willingness to make deprecate even central functions for the sake of build in functionalities.
One of its most powerful features is the tremendous ease of use and the very good development experience.
Meteor
The meteor is not a simple front end framework. It is a full stack framework . This means it has a comprehensive JavaScript framework for the front end but can also stand as a back end framework. Newer versions of the meteor officially support React and Angular for the front end.
The modern way to use frameworks is by sharing roles. The front end takes over the portion of the data display while an API backend assumes the data management. This means that there are actually two applications and probably written in a different language, which may mean additional developers. Meteor is a language all the way from the database to the user’s browser.
But it does not stop there. Meteor aims at cross platform development, that is, browser applications, mobile platforms (Android, iOS) and dektop!
Meteor supports add-ons via command line (Smart Packages) while assembling compiles from LESS / SASS code, conversion from coffeescript, minification, etc.
Lastly, let’s say it has a clear MVC (model – view – controller) architecture .
In conclusion, the meteor makes it promises, high interactivity, high speed, realtime applications developed in a single language.
React
React could be described as one of the biggest shocks experienced by JavaScript in recent years. Created from Facebook as a view layer and introduced the concept of Virtual DOM . Vdom is a representation of the actual status of the DOM stored in memory. Using vdom instead of the actual DOM for comparisons and updates means incredible performance gains.
React is “hot” at this time, and not only because of the developers. Largest companies are currently using it for the front end piece. Colossians such as AirBnB, Netflix, Atlassian, Paypal, Experia, etc. but also publishers such as BBC, NBC, NYT, rely on it.
React is just one piece of the puzzle, since it creates a core around which is designed solutions for every need, from Single Page Applications to Simple Web Components.
It has broken the mold with its various features. Its system is based on a component system returning JSX, an XML-like structure that puts the layout code directly into the component’s JavaScript code, creating a harmonic totality.
React has also introduced a number of innovations that are applicable to various systems such as Redux. Redux is a pattern management state that allows for consistent data representation of the application. We will talk about Redux more in a next article, as for Flux, another architectural approach emphasizing the dangers of so-called “two-way binding”.
Worldwide demand for developers is very high, a little lower than that of AngularJS (Angular 1).
VueJS
VueJS is the new child in the field of popular frameworks although its profile is not as high as the others. With this in mind, VueJS is the fastest growing framework with elements of a new “star”. It fits in situations similar to React. Perhaps we can not call it a framework, but certainly a library that assumes the View part of an MVC or MVVM architecture.
Its advantages are many. It aims to be used as a progressive framework in which pieces can be added at any time. Initially, it can load through CDN and is used to create simple components. During its development, new features such as router, state management, http abstraction, etc. are added, but none of these should be done from the outset.
So it has a very small learning curve, since you do not have to learn a whole framework to solve small problems. Everyone can begin with little functionality to solve simple problems and add complexity when needed.
In addition, VueJS is fast, very fast. Excluding React with Virtual DOM, VueJS has done a great job of optimization.
Finally, let’s say that the success of VueJS is partly due to the support of the Laravel framework community, which has developed enough to make it very easy to use.
Conclusion
In order to choose the “right” framework, the project’s needs must be played first , but certainly the potential future extensions we may need. Do not let your passion defend options that may not fit the needs of a project. Choose carefully and do not stop watching the developments.
Remember our article to test your coding skills free without installing any software