Which Javascript Framework is the easiest and most powerful?

Question

I use various javascript frameworks, including mootools, jquery, prototype, and scriptaculous, and found them good, but hard to extend to more complex ideas.

If I am going to fall off and study one, which is the easiest to expand and use, while remaining strong enough to use it in a variety of ways?

Answer 1

I suggest jQuery.

I will tell you some of the main arguments from the presentation that my team yesterday proposed to senior management to convince them of this.

Causes:

• Community acceptance. Check out this chart . It shows that searches for "prototype", "yui" and "scriptaculous" grow from 2004 to 2008. Then out of nowhere in 2006, searches for "jquery" doubled compared to other libraries. The community actually converges on one leading product, which is jQuery.

• jQuery is very concise and readable. I conducted an experiment in which I took existing code (randomly selected) written in YUI and tried to rewrite it in jQuery. In jQuery, that was 1/4. This makes it 4 times easier to write, and 4 times easier to maintain.

• jQuery integrates well with the rest of the web world. Using CSS syntax as a key to select elements is a brilliant trick that helps bring together the highly disoriented worlds of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

• Documentation: jQuery has excellent documentation with clear specifications and working examples of each method. He has great books (I recommend jQuery in action.) The only competitor that matches him is YUI.

• Active user community: The Google group, which is the main forum for discussion of the Prototype community, has about 1,000 members. The Google Group for jQuery has 10 times more members. And my personal experience is that the community is generally helpful.

• Easy learning curve. jQuery is easy to learn, even for people with experience working as a designer, but without coding experience.

• Performance

  . Check out this one published by mootools. It compares the speed of various frameworks. jQuery is not always VERY fast, but it works well for every test.

• Works well with others: jQuery noConflict mode and the small size of the main library help it work well in environments that already use other libraries.

• Designed to use JavaScript. Looping is a pain in JavaScript; jQuery works with installed objects, you almost don't need to write a loop. The great power of JavaScript is that functions are first-class objects; jQuery makes extensive use of this feature.

• Plugins jQuery is designed to make writing plugins easier. And there is a huge community of people who write plugins. Everything you want is probably there. Check out examples like this or this for visual examples.

Hope you find it convincing!

Answer 2

In my opinion, jQuery is exceptionally powerful and simple. It uses CSS selector syntax to distract elements and adds two functions to the global namespace: jQuery () and $ (), which is an alias for jQuery ().

There are tons of plugins available for jQuery so you can do things like create slide shows, accordion controls, rich calendars, etc. The book jQuery In Action is a phenomenal companion to online reference material.

We used it in our last project to create a rather rich planning tool, and we liked it very much, we encourage its adoption in our consulting company as a deactivation standard for all JavaScript. You can check the results at http://www.stanleysteemer.com

Answer 3

See also (other related questions):

• Javascript Library Comparison
• Which JavaScript library would you choose for a new project and why?
• What is the most useful general purpose javascript library for rich internet applications?
• What JavaScript framework is best for web development?
• Which JavaScript library is recommended for neat user interface effects?
• What is the best lightweight javascript structure?
• Any good AJAX framework for Google App Engine applications?

Answer 4

jQuery is my favorite

Answer 5

Prototype . Simple, unobtrusive and makes your javascript code cleaner than ever.

This one has a wonderful user group where you can get answers to questions almost immediately

Answer 6

Another vote for jQuery. He is small, focused, but very powerful. It is also reasonably well documented (usually horribly) by the JS library standards.

It is also very easy to expand once you get around the syntax.

Answer 7

NOTE. . This answer was previously Angular / Ember / etc. therefore addresses an obsolete issue.

I teach this material, and in fact I had no choice but to be at home in JQuery, since most in the industry have already “chosen” it (not always a good reason, I know), but also because for students it’s already know some CSS - entry point below.

I also used Mootools (my second choice), but a colleague convinced me to switch to JQuery with the "programmability" argument - I find it more understandable for coding and understanding. The jQuery community, online documentation, free online books, and third-party sites too.