Blog

Overview of popular libraries React, Angular, Vue.js and when to use them

In modern JavaScript programming, open-source libraries and frameworks have played an important role in the design and development of modern websites and web applications. Advanced JavaScript frameworks and libraries like React, Angular, and Vue.js are some of the most popular libraries and frameworks used in developing modern webpages, websites, and web apps. These libraries help web developers and JavaScript programmers create user-friendly, rich, interactive user interfaces (UI) and complex business and commercial e-commerce sites, as well as backend and frontend web applications.

So, let’s learn more about advanced libraries and frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue.js in JavaScript programming.

React JavaScript Framework Library.

The React library in JavaScript programming is a declarative, efficient, and flexible, user-friendly, ready-made, optimized, mobile-friendly, built-in JavaScript element and component library for creating web application user interfaces.  React is commercially used for designing and developing the view layer UI of a web application. The React library was developed by Meta (Facebook) for their business applications, and the React framework helps in creating single-page applications (SPAs) and mobile applications.

Key features of the React library.

• Component-based architecture – The React framework in JavaScript uses or inserts built-in, ready-made elements or components in web applications. These components are reusable and self-contained, acting as building blocks for webpages and web apps.
• Virtual DOM – The React library uses a Virtual DOM to efficiently update and render web apps as needed, using the ready-made React elements and components. When changes occur in the user interface of a web application, the React framework calculates the differences between the current and previous virtual DOM, and updates only the necessary web components in the real-time DOM, where needed.
• Declarative UI – With the React library, when designing JavaScript web applications, developers can declare how the UI should look under any given condition, and React manages the rendering logic to produce the desired output.
• Unidirectional data flow – The React framework in web development promotes unidirectional data flow, making it easier to manage, control, and debug web applications.

When to use the React framework in web app development.

• Single Page Applications (SPA) – React is an efficient framework for SPA web applications in JavaScript web development, where digital web content is dynamically modified.
• Complex user interfaces – The React JavaScript framework library provides web developers with a rich set of component elements for building complex, dynamic user interfaces, allowing for better rendering and component updates.
• Mobile development – ​​The React JavaScript framework library helps web developers develop any type of mobile app. React Native, in particular, helps create mobile applications across multiple operating systems and platforms.

Advantages of the React JavaScript Framework Library.

• The React JavaScript framework library is flexible and lightweight.
• The React JavaScript framework library has a large user community and ecosystem.
• The React JavaScript framework library supports both functional and class-based components.
• The React JavaScript framework library has strong integration with tools like Redux for state management.
• Currently, the React JavaScript framework library is widely adopted globally within the industry.

Disadvantages of the React JavaScript framework library.

• The React JavaScript framework library only manages and controls the user interface (view layer) of web applications, while for features like routing and state management, developers need to rely on other JavaScript framework libraries.
• Learning advanced concepts like hooks and state management in the React JavaScript framework library is still in its early stages.

Angular JavaScript Framework Library.

In JavaScript web development, the Angular library is a comprehensive development framework for creating modern web applications, developed, maintained, and secured by Google. The Angular library provides developers with all the necessary components and features to develop robust client-side web applications. The Angular framework is developed with TypeScript, which provides JavaScript developers with static typing and powerful tools and features for modern design and development.

Key Features of the Angular Framework Library.

• Two-way data binding – Angular provides two-way data binding for web application development, meaning any changes in the web app or webpage view automatically update the model data in real time.
• Component-based architecture – Similar to the JavaScript React framework, Angular also provides developers with a rich set of ready-made, component-based elements, which helps developers design, develop, and organize large-scale, complex user interfaces.
• Dependency injection – Angular uses dependency injection (DI) to manage services and components during the design and development phase, making it easier for developers to create and manage small, modular program source code and testable code.
• Built-in routing – Angular provides a single routing solution for navigation between views during development.
• Forms and validation – Angular has built-in support for managing forms and validating user data on web pages, making it easy to manage user input in form elements.
• CLI (Command Line Interface) – Angular provides web developers with a powerful CLI that helps in designing, developing, testing, and deploying Angular web applications.

When to use the Angular framework library.

• Large-scale applications – The specific structure and comprehensive feature set of the Angular framework library make it an ideal framework for designing and developing large, industry- and enterprise-level web applications.
• Applications with complex logic – For large commercial industry projects that require complex state management, data binding, or a robust development solution, the Angular development library or framework is a great option for developers.
• TypeScript Project – The Angular development library framework is built using the TypeScript framework. If a developer has prior experience with the TypeScript language framework, the Angular library framework provides users with advanced features and support.

Advantages of the Angular JavaScript Framework Library.

• The Angular development library framework is a comprehensive, feature-rich framework. It includes built-in features such as routing, state management, forms, and more.
• The Angular development library framework has strong integration with TypeScript.
• The Angular development library framework is an excellent scripting framework for enterprise-level application development.
• The Angular development library framework provides a rich set of tools for code testing and debugging.
• The Angular development library framework has extensive documentation and a large, supportive community.

Disadvantages of the Angular JavaScript Framework Library.

• The complexity of the Angular development library framework and its dependency on TypeScript programming makes it more complex and time-consuming to learn.
• The Angular development library framework has a larger bundle size and potentially slower initial loading times compared to lightweight development frameworks.
• The Angular development library framework is less flexible than the React framework, as it comes with a large, built-in set of system resources.

Vue.js JavaScript Framework Library.

Vue.js is another popular progressive JavaScript framework library, widely considered compatible with modern JavaScript development. The Vue.js JavaScript framework library is useful for its simplicity and ease of integration into project management, especially when developers are adding only a small amount of source code to their application. Vue.js is often considered a combination of the strong capabilities of Angular and the simplicity of the React framework.

Vue.js JavaScript Framework Library Key Features.

• Component-based architecture – Like React and Angular JavaScript frameworks, Vue uses a component-based structure to create user interfaces.
• Reactivity – The reactivity system of the Vue.js JavaScript framework makes it easy to keep the UI synchronized with the underlying data.
• Declarative rendering – The Vue.js JavaScript framework uses a template-based syntax to declaratively render dynamic data to the DOM.
• Single-file components – The Vue.js JavaScript framework allows developers to create HTML, JavaScript, and CSS code in a single file, simplifying component management.
• Vue Router and Vuex – For developing applications with complex routing and state management needs, Vue.js provides an official router (Vue Router) and a state management library (Vuex).
• Small and lightweight – Vue.js is smaller in size than frameworks like Angular, making it a good option for applications where UI performance is critical.

When to use the Vue.js framework.

• Small to medium-sized projects – Vue.js is a good choice for projects that need to start and run quickly. It is especially well-suited for web apps that don’t require all the features and components of a large JavaScript framework.
• Incremental customization – If a developer is working on a project where they want to gradually adopt a framework, Vue.js is easy to integrate into existing applications. Flexible and simple – the Vue.js JavaScript framework library offers highly robust and flexible features with strong community support, making it an ideal option for developers who prefer lightweight frameworks with powerful capabilities.

Advantages of the Vue.js JavaScript Framework Library.

• The Vue.js JavaScript framework library is easier to learn compared to the Angular library.
• Vue.js has excellent documentation and a thriving community.
• Vue.js provides flexible integration into existing applications.
• Vue.js has a small file size, resulting in fast loading and performance.
• Vue.js supports both template-based and JavaScript-based methods.

Disadvantages of the Vue.js JavaScript Framework Library.

• Vue.js has a smaller ecosystem compared to React and Angular, although it is growing rapidly.
• Vue.js is not backed by a large corporation, unlike React and Angular.
• Vue.js has fewer tools for large-scale enterprise application development compared to Angular.

Difference between React, Angular, or Vue.js Framework.

React, Angular, and Vue.js Summary in JavaScript.

• React – If a JavaScript web developer needs a flexible and powerful ecosystem, especially for developing dynamic SPAs or mobile apps with React Native, then they should use the React JavaScript framework library. It is best for web app developers who want to build applications with a component-based architecture, and it also provides other necessary tools like state management, routing, etc.
• Angular – The Angular JavaScript framework library is an ideal framework for large-scale, enterprise-level web application development, especially for developers using the TypeScript language.  It offers an all-in-one solution with built-in tools like routing, state management, and forms, making it best suited for developing complex applications with high maintainability.
• Vue.js – The Vue JavaScript framework library is an excellent development environment for smaller projects or for developers who want a user-friendly and flexible framework that also provides powerful features like state management and routing. When developers need a simple yet powerful development environment, this JavaScript framework library is a great choice.