Lately, JavaScript was revered as the most important programming languages to learn in the year 2017 by IBM. As it is used on both client and server sides and enables a developer to enrich web apps, real-time modification of web pages, design favourable interfaces with a number of features and functionality and much more. With that said, developers have a lot of choices when it comes to JavaScript web frameworks. These frameworks function as a foundation structure for the single page apps, facilitating less worry and low maintenance about the code structure or creation of complex interface elements.

Before I go further, let me share a basic problem of frameworks in general. Many developers have been hurt by the wrong selection of the frameworks in the past. The majority of the front-end developers with the experience of say 4-5 years likely to share a backstory, switching from jQuery to Angular, then ReactJS soon after. In this article, I am going to discuss the big three web frameworks Angular2, React and Aurelia. Let’s understand the advantages and disadvantages of each framework.

Aurelia Framework

Aurelia is a modern, open source UI framework for mobile and web application. It empowers a developer to create clean, modular JavaScript.  It is composed of HTML view and JavaScript view-model pairs. Aurelia focuses on leveraging simple conventions and empowering creativity. Written in next-gen EcmaScript using modern tools and technology, Aurelia offers comparatively more number of native classes, modules, decorators at their disposal. Unlike a number of monolithic frameworks, Aurelia takes a modern approach to architecture. Built using a group of collaborating libraries to form a unique, yet powerful framework for developing the SPAs (Single Page Apps). Nevertheless, in traditional websites, it can often be used individually.  

Merits

• Clean and easily extensible
• Easy to work with
• Directed towards web standards
• Two-Way Databinding
• Broad language support including ES5, ES 2015, ES 2016 and TypeScript
• Testable
• Backed by Blue Spire

Demerits

•  Little to no community support 
•  The choice of JSPM as a build tool is not properly explained
•  Not supported by any other project

Angular2 Framework

Angular2 is the new Angular version that has put to rest the many of the older version’s concepts and starts with a fresh slate. It might sound like a big disadvantage, but there are positives associated with this as well. This framework is completely free from the unnecessary complexities. The JavaScript objects for models makes AngularJS syntactic simple. Angular 2 has gain brownie points especially from the perspective of native app support, server-side rendering and performance. Angular 2 also focuses on simple test-driven and modular code development. The frameworks come with almost everything you require to create an amazing mobile app or a complicated front-end web development. Right from the powerful rendering to HTTP services, form handling to accurate data management, Angular2 has it all covered.  

Merits:

• 5X faster than previous versions
• Server-side rendering to speed up load time
• Fast page rendering
• Easy-to-test code
• Create DOM (Document Object Model) elements
• Great UI design and alteration
• Simple routing
• Facilitate HTML syntax extension
• Smart Data Modeling

Demerits:

• Complicated directive API
• Slows down with many interactive pages
• Hard to debug scopes
• Router is limited

React Framework

React is an open source front-end, JavaScript library that effectively renders the UI components. Being powered and introduced by Facebook, ReactJS is used for handling view layer for the mobile and web applications and build reusable user interface components. React implements Unidirectional data flow and Flux which makes it easy to reason about your app and helps to keep your data operating in a single direction. It is revered as one of the most popular JS frameworks that have a solid foundation and extensive community support behind its back. It is progressing at a very fast pace and making large improvements in the frameworks domains.  

Merits

• Fully component based architecture
• Uses virtual DOM to improves apps performance as JS virtual OM is faster than the regular DOM
• Used on server and client side
• Can be used with other frameworks
• Easy-to-use interface design
• Good code reuse
• Easy to learn API

Demerits:

• Many developers have strong disapproval for React’s JSX and Inline templating
• React is not a complete framework, it’s a library
• Steep learning curve
• Integrating conventional MVC framework like Rails with ReactJS requires some configurations

How did you find the article? Is there any other next-gen JS framework that rules them all? I’ll be soon sharing a detailed comparison to reveal the undisputed king among the highly popular JavaScript Web Frameworks.