Telerik UI controls vs client-side UI with jQuery

Question

I am trying decide on how I want to handle the UI for an external-facing web app. Because it is external, latency caused by page bloat could be an issue.

I have used jQuery some in the past, and I am evaluating the Telerik controls now. I have seen a lot of good recommendations on the Telerik controls, including some on StackOverflow. Indeed they do seem fairly full-featured. I also have no doubt that I can develop the application much more quickly using those controls than I can with jQuery. However, I am worried that they will cause too much bloat on my pages.

Do any of you have experience comparing the performance of these controls against a purely jQuery implementation? Specifically,

• Is the RadScriptManager from Telerik really any better than the MS Ajax ScriptManager?
• Are there performance issues in general with the Telerik controls?
• Is there any plug-in for jQuery that comes close to the grid functionality of RadGrid?

Any other related information would be useful as well.

Answer 1

The Telerik controls does seem a bit bloaty, but I doubt you would be able to achieve something similar in JQuery without a lot of efforts.

It really depends on how much bloat you can tolerate. If it's for an Intranet application, then it doesn't really matter, but as you specified external-facing, then this might be a problem, it really depends on the average connection speed of your users and on the speed of their computer/browser which will ultimately run the controls.

The other important question is: do you want to standardize your web application in a proprietary toolset that is used far less than JQuery? I doubt JQuery will go out of business anywhere soon.

Answer 2

Your UI requirements will have the greatest impact on this decision. I don't think the Telerik controls can be compared to jQuery in terms of functionality. If you need server-side controls to display data, evaluate Telerik against other competing controls.

Answer 3

I use the Telerik controls and also paid for the source code, so as for them going out of business, not a huge concern given the source code. I have no specific experience using the Telerik controls on a public facing website but wouldn't hesitate to at all. I have been directed at times, to use JQuery for additional functionality that the controls didn't have.

The one issue that I do have is that because you aren't coding all of this functionality yourself with the use of controls (not just Telerik's) it's really easy to drag and drop all kinds of fun stuff to your page, which is going to add processing to each and every page. That being said, keep your use of them to a minimum and I don't think they'll be any more bloated than hand-coded JQuery implementations.

Answer 4

I think that Telerik anounced that they will use JQuery for client side.

Answer 5

Telerik is just now starting to devote more time to the client-side support for their RadGrid. So far I've been disappointed with the grid. I feel bad for them, because they are having to maintain essentially 2 code-bases: one for their server controls which redraws everything in C# based on Postbacks and ViewState, and one for the client-side controls which redraws portions of the control in javascript (kind of like a port of their C# code to javascript). That's a hell of a lot of work for them and so far I feel it's incomplete.

For example the client-side support for the current version of their grid (ASP.nET AJAX 2008.3.1105.35) does not include:

1. Grouping expressions
2. Increasing page size
3. Pager styles other than NextPrev
4. Hiding/showing columns
5. AllowNaturalSort="false"
6. Pure client-side sorting (ie right in the browser)

Having said that, if you would be happy using the Telerik controls with traditional Postback/Viewstate rendering, then I would say there are no jQuery grids that can compete.

Answer 6

The RadScriptManager is different than the MS Ajax scriptmanager because it has an EnableScriptCombine="true" property that you can set that enables all the javascript files used by telerik controls to be combined into one .js file to improve performance.

Originally the rad editor ran pretty slow. But the latest version is much faster. Plus they have paid staff that is constantly working to improve their controls.

I'm not aware of anything that comes close to the RadGrid. It's pretty powerful. I'm using it right now on an intranet app, and it runs fast so far. I'm using all of its features, Group By's, Export to excel, etc.

That said, if I was creating an Internet Application for external use, I would use JQuery over telerik. That way you have more control.

Answer 7

I've used Telerik and JQuery for years. "Full featured" generally equates to tons of bloat, features you don't need and a final page that is hard (or impossible) to optimize. Drop Telerik and use a bare metal framework like JQuery. You'll find that it will allow you to build the specific functionality you need and you'll never go back. Many of the full featured UI suites like (like Telerik or ComponentArt) are very seductive but I think they encourage a lot of bad programming.

For instance.... Do you really need to have drag-and-drop-able columns on your grid? Probably not. It's probably better to have a design area where your users can layout their column preferences and then the main view where the grid is snappy and lightweight. Don't render down megabytes of added features that your users will never (or rarely) use with every page view.

Answer 8

In case it helps anyone later, I have dumped the Telerik tools and am using jQuery exclusively for now. We'll see if I run into something that I can't do. I was disappointed in the Telerik tools. I had heard so many good things about them, but they didn't work so well for me. Here is what I found when evaluating the Telerik tools.

• The Telerik Ajax tools have problems handling master/content page setups. They acknowledge this in their forums, and I guess they are working on it. Quite problematic for me though.

• I saw lots of unexpected behaviors and quirks that don't seem to have any documentation. For example, when using the Web20 skin and form decorator, the rounded corners on a fieldset go all to hell when doing Ajax.

• The Telerik tools slowed down my dev machine quite a bit and seem to cause problems with my environment. I almost never have crashes or memory violations, and I had four in two days while using these tools. It had probably been a month since my last one before that.

• So combine all that with the fact that jQuery is free and lightweight, and the choice was easy. It might take me a little longer initially, but the result will be much better in the end.

Answer 9

Hello All-

Good discussion here. Some clarifications:

• Telerik does use jQuery internally (and will be increasingly now that MS supports it) to enhance the client-side features (and reduce client-side code) for many controls
• jQuery is a client-side library that is great for JavaScript development. If you need to address accessibility, though, you are up a creek with jQuery UI implementations because they depend on JavaScript for all functionality. Telerik's unique advantage is that you can render both client-side and server-side, meaning you can support clients that do not have JavaScript enabled.
• For many Telerik controls, you can either A) eliminate extra code on the page by disabling features (due to internal load-as-needed script logic), or B) significantly reduce the impact of client-side code by using provide script combiners and compressors.

Being a long time web developer, though, I always encourage people to use the right tool for the job. If you don't need the powerful capabilities of the RadControls, or the accesiblitity support, or the extensive documentation (to help the guy that will inherit your app), don't use them for your site. If all you need is basic UI, jQuery may be just fine. What I tend to find, though, is that when a developer can offer advanced features to users (what we sometimes think of as "bloat") for doing no extra work, users are much more impressed with the end product and find it much easier to use.

And above all, remember in most cases you generate value for your company/customers by building applications- not UI components. So unless there is good reason to re-invent the wheel, you're usually best served by using something that's already been built and tested to solve the problem you're facing.

Hope that helps. -Todd

Answer 10

We use the Telerik Editor for our intranet product, and I have to say it was much nicer to work with, customize, upgrade, etc. than any of the previous editors we used.

If you need some advanced functionality and/or more complicated controls and Telerik provides this, I would say it's premature to write them off. If you just need basic UI functionality that jQuery UI can provide, then use jQuery for those specific parts.

There's no need to go with one or the other; use a mixture of tools to get the job done.

Answer 11

I have been using Telerik for controls for 3 years. I finally realized that I am in love with the idea but the controls themselves are very buggy, annoying to implement and in the end have cost me way more time that it would have to build myself. I would definitely recommend not using Telerik.

Answer 12

Regarding the "bugginess" and other challenges faced by Brian C (et al), I think some additional clarification is deserved here. As a developer advocate, I won't make any pretense that the Telerik controls are perfect- no software written by mere mortals ever is. What's important then is how those bugs are addressed.

All too often, people overlook how a company (or open source project) addresses bugs until it's too late. No matter what tools you use- jQuery, Telerik, or even Microsoft- you're going to eventually hit bugs. Where Telerik tends to excel is providing rapid fixes for those problems and very thorough support to help you be as productive as possible. If you have a problem, Telerik -will- help you solve it. With other companies, and especially with Open Source, that is not always the guarantee.

So just remember: no matter what tools you use, you're going to face bugs. Make sure you pick tools with support that can respond to your problems and fix them very quickly. And since I know my perspective is unavoidably biased, I'll let others on StackOverflow confirm or deny Telerik's support quality.