JQuery vs. Prototype

Question

Hi Guys,

I am about to begin a project that requires an amount of JS. I was having trouble deciding what JS library / framework would fit best. So I thought I would float the question here.

Specifically, which of your favorite features does one framework implement which the other one loses out on? Are there any conceptual reasons why you would like one over the other?

If you do not like either of these frameworks, which do you prefer and why?

Answer 1

I was working with Prototype before, and I switched to JQuery because:

• Tons of plugins.
• Much lighter (in term of download size).
• HTML parser.
• Method chaining.
• Simpler DOM manipulation.
• Much bigger momentum.

A bit old, but still the general idea: http://www.quarkruby.com/2007/11/6/why-i-moved-from-prototype-to-jquery

Answer 2

It really depends on what you seek in the library. I only have experience with jQuery so my opinion may be biased.

I really like the selectors in jQuery. You can really fast get any element you want. And the fluent interface which lets you chain several methods together. Also, jQuery is very small.

Answer 3

It depends on the project. If you were doing a Ruby on Rails project then Prototype might be a better choice since it has tighter integration with RoR. However, JQuery is lighter and has a lot of momentum behind it. Compare the number of tags on the top-right side of this post to get an idea of popularity.

Answer 4

I have experience working with both jQuery and Prototype, and in my opinion, these frameworks feel very different.

I think that Prototype's main difference from jQuery is that it extends basic Javascript objects, providing a lot of new useful functionality. Many regard this as a downside, because in some cases (in Array iteration, for example) you have to use the abstraction to avoid getting strange results.

But this extension provides many great perks, that I have really missed in jQuery. Function.curry and Function.bind come to mind first.

As for jQuery, I am absolutely amazed by its third party libraries. That is really an upside, because I was somewhat disappointed by Script.aculo.us that is used with Prototype.

Answer 5

jQuery - pure DOM manipulation, tons of libraries, chaining syntax
PrototypeJS - OO Programming in JS (Class.create, Function.bind, Array.each, etc.)

Answer 6

I've done JQuery, Prototype and Dojo. Jquery is great but I miss moore of the features which are in Dojo, like trees,menus and such. Dojo has these things in Dijit which I think are great. And you can more do OO javascript in Dojo than JQuery. But you can also do OO in plain javascript if you know how. If you just want to have some Bling on your page and make JS coding a little more convenient then go for JQuery.

Answer 7

I recommend jQuery to every web developer that I know for the main reason that it handles the DOM. I personal do not feel that JavaScript is that hard, it is just that every web browser has a few quirks when it comes to the DOM, and using jQuery to handle all of the DOM. Making client side web development faster. (The DOM is not JavaScript, it is only for JavaScript in the web browser)

Also jQuery is the most used JavaScript library so if you have any problem you can find someone else who has most likely had the same problem. Built With Trends