Could someone list the common javascript frameworks/libraries and the pros/cons of each?

Question

So I have a lot of projects coming that could use a little dhtml pizzaz and I don't know which frame work to use for which project and any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

This is a duplicate of http://stackoverflow.com/questions/913/what-javascript-library-would-you-choose-for-a-new-project-and-why

Personally though, I've used MooTools, Prototype, Scriptaculous and jQuery extensively and I love jQuery. It really depends on your needs for the project in hand and your personal tastes. There's no "best".

Answer 2

Also: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/35050/comparison-of-javascript-libraries, which liks to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_JavaScript_frameworks

Answer 3

Really, you'll be fine with any of the major ones because they all can accomplish basically the same things and most have a lot of plugins and scripts that overlap. That said, I'd recommend either jQuery or MooTools.

jQuery - Large community. Very fast with latest update. Very easy for beginners. Lots of plugins.

MooTools - A little harder for beginners, but I really like its class-like structure and modularity. You can choose which parts of the framework you need and disregard the rest. The community isn't as good as jQuery's. Lots of plugins.

You'd also be fine with Prototype/Scriptaculous, YUI, Dojo, and a few others, though I'm not as familiar with their pros and cons.

An important thing to keep in mind, though, is not to use more than one library at a time. You can't use Mootools and Prototype together, but you shouldn't use the others together either because you're just unnecessarily adding to the page size. If you find a script you really like in one library, chances are that it exists in another.

You'll also get the best compression by gzipping your files when you serve them to the browser.

Answer 4

Prototype: pros: Very powerful, small, easy to integrate, great API cons: Limited built in widgets (see scriptaculous)

Dojo: pros: lots of widgets, decent support forums, great API cons: breaks web standards, widgets are loaded post domload

Answer 5

dhtmlx is a nice library. Pros: lots of widgets, stable, works in all main browsers, feature rich. Cons: you need a paid license to use it in non-open source projects.