What is the easiest Javascript framework for a newbie web developer?

Question

Put your foot inside the boots of an expert developer that is new to web development. Certainly he will must deal with JavaScript and probably he will encounter a bit of difficulties with choosing a framework for its job.

For general purpose: which one do you suggest if the an easy usage is the first requirements?

Answer 1

See here for a comparison by feature.

In the past three years, I've used Prototype/script.aculo.us and jQuery. From the two, I prefer jQuery.

Answer 2

I would also put a vote in for jQuery. I have found it to be simple to use, easy to learn, powerful, well documented, feature rich, extensible and backed by a great community of plugin developers.

Answer 3

Generally, everyone uses jQuery these days. I like it pretty well.

You might also check out MooTools. Depending on your past experience, you may find it fits your style better.

Answer 4

I've worked with jQuery, script.aculo.us, and mootools, and I would highly recommend jQuery, which seems to trump a lot of the other frameworks in its ease of use.

For someone who is familiar with HTML and CSS, jQuery fits the paradigm really well, and makes the transition into Javascript very simple.

For example, with html such as this:

<div id="content">
    <h2>Heading</h2>
    <p class="featured">This content</p>
</div>

You might have CSS selectors that looked like this:

#content {
    margin: 0 auto;
    width: 760px;
}

#content h2 {
    font-size: 110%;
}

#content p.featured {
    font-weight: bold;
}

In jQuery, you can manipulate those elements using the same selectors:

$('#content').hide();
$('#content h2').html('New Heading');
$('#content p.featured').css('border', '#cccccc 1px solid');

jQuery also has excellent documentation that can really help a beginner jump right in.

Answer 5

I'd personally go with jQuery too. That's what I use these days when I need that sort of thing.

Well documented and a plethora of plugins already available.

Answer 6

From a newbie: I have been using jQuery and it creates big results with only a little skill. The more skill you build with jQuery, the cooler and easier things get.

jQuery supports a lot of selectors, It’s easy to add/remove attributes to any HTML element, makes ajax and json easy to use and has a big helpful community.