Save time in your javascript project development by mastering these 7 front-end frameworks

JavaScript is one of the most popular programming languages in the world. It is one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web, alongside CSS and HTML.  More than 95 % of the world’s websites are powered by JavaScript on the client side for web page rendering and functionalities.  JavaScript can also power the full stack from front-end to back-end by leveraging the power of Node.  It is a lightweight and dynamic type of language, meaning the variable type is decided on run time. 

Due to the way the JavaScript engine is built and runs the code, and because of its dynamic type capabilities, sometimes you may result in unpredictable results. Developing using only the core JavaScript language is very verbose and time-consuming.  This is where frameworks and libraries come to the rescue. 

What is a front-end framework?  

A framework is a basic structure or the foundation of something, such as a system, a building, or a project.  Think of it as a customized temple that you can use and modify to meet specific needs.  You do not need to start from scratch or build everything by yourself. With a framework, you already have a well-designed and tested temple that you can use to speed up development.

A front-end framework is a code base that provides ready-made solutions that you can use to create user interfaces (UI).  The good thing about using a framework is that you know it is already being tested and used by other developers.  It is ready to be customized and deployed to production. 

In the article, you will learn about the 12 most used JavaScript front-end frameworks that can help speed up and scale your development.

1 . Angular

Angular was developed by Google. It is one of the most popular JavaScript front-end frameworks. Angular is based on Typescript, which is a superset of JavaScript. It is one of the few frameworks out there that offers a full spec of features built-in, such as dependency injection, asynchronous compilation, routing, and more. Angular has a great community of supporters and a lot of resources available. 

Pro:

• Component-based architecture 
• High testing capabilities
• A lot of core built-in features 
• Supported by Google
• Based on typescript (robust code development)
• Object-oriented architecture
• Easy two-way biding 

Con:

• High learning curve
• A lot of boiler code 
• Can get very complex quickly 

2. React

React is another highly popular JavaScript framework developed by Facebook. React has a huge community of supporters as well, and it is a little less opinionated than Angular. React uses JSX as makeup, whose syntax is very similar to HTML, to write components. It makes it easy to inject the component into the web page. 

Pro

• Easier to learn and beginner-friendly
• Reusable component
• SEO friendly
• Use of virtual to make component rendering faster and easier

Con

• Documentation 
• Learning JSX syntax can feel a bit complex
• Update frequency

3. Vue.js

Vue is another very popular JavaScript framework developed by Evan You.  It is more lightweight than Angular and React.  Vue is fast and offers numerous features that web developers can use to build simple applications in a single day. 

Pro

• Lightweight and easy to integrate
• Beginner-friendly
• Fast
• Documentation 
• Reactive two-way biding 

Con

• Lack of plugins
• Not backed by the big tech giants 
• Scalability 

4. Backbone.js 

Backbone.js is another lightweight JavaScript framework developed by Jeremy Ashkenas.  It depends heavily on jQuery and Underscores libraries to deliver its core functionality. Backbone.js provides rich API of function for client-side functionality.  It is easy to add more functionality by using extensions.

Pro

• Store data in models instead of DOM
• Beginner-friendly 
• Flexible
• Lightweight and very fast
• Potable

Con

• No two ways data bidding 
• a lot of boilerplate code 
• A bit hard to debug

5. Svelte

Svelte is more of an open-source front-end compiler.  It compiles the typescript code into vanilla JavaScript and uses a more traditional development approach. Svelte application’s logic and views are separated using the MVC architecture principles. 

Pro

• Lightweight and easy implementation
• Beginner-friendly
• Less boilerplate code

Con

• Smaller size community
• Not many tools are available 
• Scalability
• Limited ecosystem

6. Ember.js

Ember.js is another open-source JavaScript framework that supports both MVC (Model View Control) and MVVM architecture (Model View– View Model). Ember.js supports two-way bidding, and it is very reliable for handling complicated user interfaces.

Pro

• Ember CLI
• Support both JavaScript and typescript 
• Offer server-side rendering 
• Good documentation

Con

• Components cannot be reused 
• High opinionated framework
• Not suitable for a small project
• No customization 

7. Polymer

Polymer is another open-source JavaScript framework developed by Google.  It tries to simplify the complexity of building website elements by providing great functionalities such as one-way and two ways data bidding. 

Pro

• Reusable components
• Good for single-page application 
• Offer declarative syntax to attach event listener and shadow DOM children event

Con

• Bad performance on mobile 
• Not easy to debug 
• Hard to develop large-scale applications

JavaScript is very powerful and widely used.  There are a lot more JavaScript front-end frameworks, but learning how to use the suggested ones above will take you a long way in your front-end development journey.  Which one is the best?  Which one you should use highly depends on your use case and your project scopes and requirements.  You need to fully analyze your project requirements and make an informed choice because each framework has its own advantages and disadvantages.  Please let us know in the comment which one is your favorite and why.  I can’t wait to read your comments. 
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