I recently stumbled upon some javascript forums (sadly, link is lost somewhere in the universe), where you could feel real hate against jQuery for not being… any good?
Most arguments seem to make sense actually.
Now, I really like jQuery, mostly for letting me concentrate on things I want to do rather on browser inconsistencies and it actually makes AJAXing with cool (or overused?) effects fun.
But if really is something rotten in the core of jQuery, I don’t want to rely on it the way I actually… rely on it.
I don’t want to start yet another argument over which framework is the best… but… Which framework is the best (joke)? As a case usage, think about small to medium web and it’s administration.
I’m just trying to figure out, if stuff in some framework or pure javascript with few mine functions really makes difference.
Edit:
I actually tried to have a normal objective discusssion over pros and cons of:
- Using a framework over pure javascript and
- jQuery vs. others,
Since jQuery seems to be easiest to work with with the quickest learning curve. However, some people just don’t understand it and think that I’m starting yet another flame (what I am not). I am actually voting to reopen this question.
Also I’m really interested in:
- Does jQuery heavily rely on browser sniffing? Could that be a potential problem in the future? Why?
- I found plenty JS-selector engines, are there any AJAX and FX libraries?
- Is there any reason (besides browser sniffing and personal “hate” against John Resig) why jQuery is wrong?
jQuery actually, as most used, stands for other frameworks also.
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Answer
It’s all about performance and development speed. Of course, if you are a good programmer and design something that is really tailored to your needs, you might achieve better performance than if you had used a Javascript framework. But do you have the time to do it all by yourself?
My personal opinion is that Javascript is incredibly useful and overused, but that if you really need it, a framework is the way to go.
Now comes the choice of the framework. For what benchmarks are worth, you can find one at http://ejohn.org/files/142/ . It also depends on which plugins are available and what you intend to do with them. I started using jQuery because it seemed to be maintained and well featured, even though it wasn’t the fastest at that moment. I do not regret it but I didn’t test anything else since then.