JavaScript Frameworks That Will Rule 2017

The new year also brings some new trends in web and mobile app development. If you want to know JavaScript frameworks that will rule 2017, then this post is for you.

There are several JavaScript Frameworks available that a developer can take help of, to create engaging mobile apps. A developer can find a JavaScript Framework truly helpful in building an app with exceptional features. However, it is important to choose the right framework for a specific application development that can meet the requirements of a developer more precisely.

Here, we are presenting a list of popular JavaScript Frameworks for 2017, with their features and unique properties, helping developers to choose the best framework for their mobile app development.

1. JQuery Mobile

JQuery is a popular framework building mobile apps that can easily be accessed through a variety of devices, including touch-enabled devices. It is easy to integrate with third-party technologies and this expands its application area.

With HTML5 and CSS3, a developer can easily achieve custom-made user interface for his/her mobile application. The latest version of JQuery features a lightweight code base, which helps optimize the speed.

Pros:

• Easy to develop, if you understand HTML(HTML5) you will have pretty good understanding of jQuery Mobile
• Excellent 3rd party support, what through knowledge what through plugins
• Easy to debug
• Better for mobile web applications
• Official documentation

Cons:

• Sometimes slow and sluggish on mobile devices, application needs to be designed properly
• Dull look unless you are capable UI designer. All applications look the same, and it looks pretty bad on large screens
• Official documentation is lacking in some segments, too few information about jQuery Mobile architecture and JavaScript

Stay Informed- Popular Hybrid App Development Frameworks of 2015

2. AngularJS 2.0 & 1.x

After the most awaited official release of AngularJS 2.0, the popularity of the framework has reached a new level in today’s time. However, this is still a risky decision to jump to the new version if you are not so sure. Let us help your decision with this flowchart:

Whatever the conclusion you come to, you must admit that AngularJS (maintained by Google) has the capacity to build web applications like no other. With a rapid development pace, easy code integration, readiness for unit testing AngulatJS can certainly be you choice for next project.

Pros:

• Good documentation.
• Two-way data binding simplifies some parts of the process.

Cons:

• Two-way data binding checks for changes in the data model, which may lead to possible issues with performance and faster draining the battery of the device.
• Difficulties with understanding the code and debugging.
• Substantial framework size.

Stay Informed- Angular 2.0: Why Should You Upgrade?

3. ReactJS

One of other top JavaScript Frameworks in today’s time is ReactJS and again maintained by a reputed brand Facebook. Be it it’s ability to perform well in SEO (surprisingly being part of JS family), Simpler JSX, Virtual DOM or powerful JavaScript library, ReactJS is a developer’s choice to build dynamic & high traffic web applications.

However, while comparing with AngularJS, ReactJS falls short in testing simplicity and component structure. Also, needless to say, this does not make ReactJS fall far from AngularJS.

Pros:

• It is quite easy to be mastered.
• It is easy to maintain isolated components in React.
• Constant re-rendering of components provides efficient arranging at increasing complexity.
• Convenient architecture – Flux – is highly competitive to MVC. One-way data flow provides maintainability and efficient arrangement of data and DOM elements.
• It is the most light-weighted framework among the ones that are widely used today.

Cons:

• Some issues with DOM manipulation libraries are possible (e.g., jQuery).
• Frequent re-rendering may slow down the work of application at handling a large set of data.

4. Appcelerator Titanium

This open-source platform is more popular for developing cross-platform native apps. One can easily learn the framework to quickly build apps to be run on different platforms.

With a basic web development skill, one can build scalable apps, based on the MVC pattern. The framework allows developers to take better advantage of the native functionality of a device and include custom features.

Pros:

• By using native UI components, we achieve a distinct performance win;
• The Alloy framework works to normalize the UI across platforms;
• By using JavaScript, in normalizing code cross-platform, you can leverage existing skills on multiple platforms;
• Added value is realized being that Appcelerator provides items such as App Analytics and Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS);
• Titanium is free, as well as open-source.

Cons:

• Developers must manage platform SDKs locally; it’s recommended that you maintain a controlled build environment – a continuous integration (CI) process – particularly when targeting multiple platforms.
• SDK- related issues, due to versions and build, can rob time that is always better-suited to the delivery of product and features.
• The normalization of the UI across platforms, generally viewed as a Pro, can be a Con that requires the team to train on proprietary technology, and these skills are not applicable outside Titanium.

5. Backbone.js

As one of the oldest of the JavaScript frameworks in this review, it was first released in 2010 by Jeremy Ashkenas, Backbone is lightweight. Coming in at just 6.3KB when minified and compressed for production and with only one dependency (Underscore.js), it’s a highly versatile and minimalistic MVC (Model-View-Controller) framework that powers a lot of sites you may be familiar with: Twitter, Hulu, Pinterest and my personal favorite, Pandora Radio.

Pros:

• Highly flexible. You can choose not to implement some features (e.g Controller) based on your requirement.
• It is tightly integrated with underscore.js which is great.
• Initially, you have to write more JavaScript code but it’s very easy to implement complex user interaction.

Cons:

• Designed more towards consuming REST data.
• More complex initially if compared to knockout.js.

6. PhoneGap

PhoneGap is essentially based on Cordova. Cordova/Phonegap provides a set JavaScript APIs that connect to the device’s native functions such as Camera, Compass, Contacts, and Geolocation. Cordova/Phonegap lets us build a mobile application without the native programming language; instead, we can use a framework like jQuery Mobile. It will compile your app using the platform’s SDK and will be ready to install on the platform it supports including iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry and Web OS.

Pros:

• No need to learn other complicated languages to create mobile apps. All you should know is JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS3.
• All the PhoneGap apps can be installed much like a native app, and are able to leverage app store discoverability.
• It follows a plug-in architecture, which indirectly means that access to the native device APIs can be extended in a modular way.
• Using PhoneGap would enable you to distribute and integrate payment through the app store.
• Leverage from tons of libraries.

Cons:

•      If your mobile app includes too many graphic elements, performance could be a big issue.

 Which one are you planning to use in 2017? Let us know in the comments.