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 a JavaScript framework must be even more project specific than the choice of a web development framework. In addition, the choice of a web framework may already determine the JavaScript framework (e.g. because one comes bundled). For these reasons, 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.
• Is 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	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
License	?	?	?	?	?	?	?

Java Web Framework

Evaluation matrix available at Java Web Framework.

Links

• http://mootools.net/slickspeed/
• a useful comparison

Document Object Model

Concurrent Versions System