Java Script Framework

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Introduction

In the following we list criteria to take into account when choosing a JavaScript Framework for a web application project and evaluate several frameworks according to these criteria.

It must be noted though, that the choice of JavaScript framework must be even more project specific than the choice of a web development framework. In addition, the choice of web framework may already determine the JavaScript framework. For this reason, we also give some general considerations:

• Will the application make use of other JavaScript libraries - e.g. googlemaps, etc.? If so, care must be taken to choose a framework that plays well with others.
• Is a heavy-weight framework acceptable, or will light-weight options do?
• Is security an issue? When sensitive data and ajax are to be used together, the framework should support secure XmlHttpRequests.
• If accessibility an issue?
• How much and what kind of performance is needed? DOM traversals in large pages? Many event handlers attached to DOM nodes?
• Do we want to host the JavaScript framework/library on our servers or include from a hosting service (or even a content delivery network)?

It is also quite common to switch JavaScript frameworks/libraries in the course of a project, because either special functionality (e.g. make tables sortable) is no longer sufficient or a framework which was used for faster prototyping becomes a performance bottleneck and is replaced with custom code. Since this approach is common, specialized JavaScript libraries providing just a single functionality should also be taken into consideration.

Method

The criteria are sorted by order of relevance in 3 categories:

• A -> Must
• B -> Should
• C -> Nice to

Cat. A - Must

• Opensource
• Big community/support/Documentation
• Cross Browser compatibility (which browsers?)

Cat. B - Should

• Sufficient number of patterns available
• Sophisticated patterns (for scientific use)
• Fits to other JS Frameworks
• Unique coding style
• Supports CSS1-3
• Chainability (?)
• Easy to learn/adopt
• Easy to reuse, to customize and maintain
• Subversion or CVS version repository

Cat. C - Nice to

• Plugins
• Knowledge base (in house)

List of Frameworks

This list is not exhaustive, but it lists the most common frameworks.

• Yahoo! User Interface Library
• JQuery
• Ext JS
• Prototype
• Scriptaculous
• Dojo
• MooTools
• MochiKit

See more framework listings/comparisons here and here or just google.

The Matrix

Criteria	Framework
	Yahoo! UIL |	JQuery |	ExJS |	Prototype |	Scriptaculous |	Dojo |	MooTools |
Cat. A
Opensource	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Performance	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Big community/support/Documentation	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Internationalization	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Browser compatibility	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Cat. B
Number of patterns	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Sophisticated patterns	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Fits to other JS Frameworks	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Unique coding style	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Supports CSS1-3	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Chainability (?)	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Easy to learn/adopt	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Easy to reuse, to customize and maintain	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Subversion or CVS version repository	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Cat. C
Plugins	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Generfal Information
Actual version	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Licence	?	?	?	?	?	?	?

Links

• http://mootools.net/slickspeed/

Document Object Model

Concurrent Versions System