JavaScript Frameworks —
By: Mai Pham
Tags: React, Vue, Framework, Angular, JavaScript

The 3 most popular front-end web development frameworks

As a software developer newbie, I’ve often battle with the question “which language should I learn? Which framework should I be familiar with?” Being fresh out of a bootcamp where JavaScript and React were the core topics of the curriculum. Technology is ever-evolving; I can’t help but wonder about other JavaScript frameworks and how they compare to each other. So, in this article, I have decided to compile a list of the most popular front-end JS frameworks that I have seen while researching.

Javascript is an object-oriented and prototype-based programming language that are functional and imperative. Javascript is used both on the client-side and server-side. JS Frameworks are a collection of libraries that contributes already written JS code that can be used for standard programming features and tasks. It allows you to create web applications efficiently and quickly (in other words, by using frameworks, you don’t have to build everything from scratch). Frameworks are also free and open-source!

React.js

Coming in at №1, React is the most prominent JS framework since it was launched by Facebook in 2003. It has become highly popular because of its simplicity and flexibility by allowing developers to create reusable UI components. Reusable components are code blocks that can be classified as either classes or functions. Each component represents a specific part of a page such as a button, a list, a form, etc. In terms of syntax, most developers agree that React is the easiest to learn if you know JavaScript. React is actually a library that is especially popular when it comes to front-end web development. Aside from Facebook, business giants like AirBnB, Paypal, Instagram, and Netflix (to name a few) use React.

Reusable components

Efficient performance due to virtual DOM

Strongly preferred for Single Page Applications

Angular

Coming in №2 is Angular. Some will debate that Angular may be more popular and in-demand than React. Founded in 2009 and backed by Google, Angular is an open-source front-end web framework that allows JS to bind with HTML and CSS. The latest version of Angular was released last year, in 2020 that is based on TypeScript. Angular allows developers to create native and web applications for mobile and desktop. Just like React, Angular also uses component-based structure. This allows developers to manipulate, and reuse the components as needed. Aside from Google, other tech giants that use Angular are Microsoft, YouTube, and Samsung

Has built-in dependency injection that enables developers to build, comprehend and evaluate applications

One-way data binding — allows singular behavior for the app and minimizes risks of possible errors

Designed to develop a Single Page Application

Vue.js

Coming in at №3, Vue is another open-source, progressive JS framework for developing a creative User Interface(UI). The integration with Vue in projects using other JS libraries is made easier because it is developed to be adaptable. One of the strengths of Vue is its command-line-interface (CLI). It provides plugins and presets that quickly scaffold a new project via Vue create, or instantly prototype new ideas via Vue serve. In addition, the framework supports declarative rendering and uses Shadow DOM that makes for lightning-fast page loading. Companies that use Vue are PlayStation, Nintendo, Adobe, and Google’s Career Platform.