What is the best JavaScript framework/library to use

[AlexV]

Hello!

I'm looking to learn a JS framework/lib and was wondering wich one to start with? Which one is the best?

I know that the high-end ones are of very high quality and it's maybe somewhat a matter of taste that will dictate your answer but I would like to know...

I'm looking for something that:
- Respects standards
- Is well documented
- Is widely used
- Is there to stay

Pluses:
- Allow me to do some UI eye candy (special fade effects and such)
- Printed documentation available (books à la O'Reilly)


Currently I do mostly everything by myself (built a small JS lib for AJAX, DOM...) but it's starting to be painfull. XML traversal/validation and output to UI is way too long...

Thanks for your input.

[ohgod]

seems like the big ones are jquery and prototype.

however, prototype has some really strong effects extensions available, like scriptaculous and prototype window

check out the scriptaculous link... if it's good enough for nasa, apple and cnn it's gotta be decent

[rnd me]

ui stuff is easy in jquery.
i am not sure where jquery qill be in five years though; it's main streanght is in it's CSS queries, which is becoming a native feature to all the next gen browsers.

jquery is also a little less "javascripty" than prototype (it's its own thing), so prototype knowledge is probably going to be more instructive/applicable outside/after libraries.

you learn the most and have 24/7 support when you author your own libraries.
i would look into something smaller that just handles the complex dom or xml stuff, and continue to expand your own lib. as you get better in js, you will need less and less library code, getting more efficient with standard code.

javascript itself is supported better with more books than any one faddy library.

[AlexV]

jquery is also a little less "javascripty" than prototype (it's its own thing)

rnd me, what do you mean by that?

[rnd me]

Originally Posted by TheWolf1

rnd me, what do you mean by that?

i mean that jQuery code looks, well, like jQuery code.
Prototype apps look more like "un-libraried" javascript.

broadly speaking, i think Prototype knowledge will extend better into other languages and regular javascript. In that respect, it's probably better for learning programming, imho.

jQuery can do amazing things with 50 bytes of custom code, but it's not as generic as Prototype code to do the same thing.

If you have no interest in programming, you might get impressive results quicker in jQuery.

If you come from a java/c background, i bet you will feel more comfortable in Prototype.

[gkumar]

vascripts built above frameworks allowing to code more efficiently while solving cross-browser compatibility issues. However it would be nice if the plugins developers agree on a main framework that will be used whenever possible when writing plugins for Textpattern.

I’ve seen that JQuery has been added to Textpattern recently. Is this an official and definitive decision?

In the jungle of JS frameworks, here are the main choices:

* “Prototype”:http://prototype.conio.net/ is one of the first and most used frameworks. It allows you to write your scripts as classes in an OO style. It’s a big download, about 50Kb uncompressed. It lacks effects, drag&drop and other fancy stuff so it is often used with Scriptaculous (a heavy all-purpose library) or Moo.fx (a tiny effects library, the new version does not use Prototype anymore, see below).
* “JQuery”:http://jquery.com/ is a lightweight all-purpose library which is really powerful. Its main features are selectors, chained methods. It can be extended by many plugins. However, it is not designed to write classes like Prototype.
* “Mootools”:http://mootools.net/ is brand new and looks amazing. It is a mix between Prototype and JQuery that claims to use best of both worlds. It is entirely modulable and really compact (the total size when using all modules is equal to JQuery). It also allows you to create or extend classes in a really elegant way. Mootools includes the new version of Moo.Fx .