Front end Javascript frameworks have certainly put a dent in the web and application development ecosystem. Single page applications developed using these frameworks have made the internet a much faster and increasingly promising space. According to wikipedia, there are almost 24 such frameworks and thus it is not surprising that choosing the inappropriate framework might jeopardize your application.

The 3 most popular frameworks are Angular, React and Vue. While the first 2 are by far the most commonly used frameworks, Vue is relatively new but extremely promising. Identifying the best framework amongst the three is a difficult topic of debate nevertheless an important one. There is also no clear answer at this discussion as all three libraries have their own pros and cons. Based on your project objectives you can choose the ideal framework after a granular analysis of each one’s capabilities.

 Let us learn about the pros and cons all the 3 frameworks –

 Angular

AngularJS is one of the oldest frameworks, released by Google in 2010. Its type script based approach makes it an extremely popular choice for front end developers. A completely improvised version of this called Angular 2 was launched in 2016 whereas the latest one Angular 9 was recently released in February 2020.

If you are fond of TypeScript and prefer object oriented programming then this is certainly the ideal choice for you. Moreover this was the one of the first frameworks to replace server side front end technologies like Laravel and Django, so it is based on the MVC (Model-View-Controller) Architecture. It is also the preferred choice of developers at large organizations like Google, Forbes, Whatsapp, Instagram and Microsoft Etc. The Angular team at Google is quite active and regularly comes out with version updates and releases.

Advantages of Angular:

1. Angular has a lot of in-built features. It uses TypeScript and it is based on HTML rather than complex java Scripts. This makes it easier for people having experience in JavaEE or ASP.net to write code in this framework.
2.  As this framework is being maintained and continuously being improved by the Google Dev team, it is here to last and we shall not see it disappear even if something new comes up.
3. Angular allows complete flexibility in building reusable blocks of UI that can be combined with other components to build complex User interfaces. Thus it is used to build web applications that are highly interactive with minimum development times.
4. Various features like DOM sanitization, to ensure security against site scripting etc. make it  one of the most secure JS frameworks.
5. It is an end to end framework powered by a very user friendly command line interface that allows developers to easily install libraries. This enables teams to develop complex enterprise level applications that facilitate two way data binding, HTML client validation, Routing etc.

 Disadvantages of Angular –

1. There are many tools in Angular and many complex code structures that can be confusing for new developers to learn.
2. This framework is feature rich but heaviest in terms of bundle size making it slower to render. Thus the performance is relatively slow according to different benchmarks.
3. The complex nature of this application makes it unsuitable and unviable for small applications.

React

React was developed by Facebook for all its products (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp). Later in 2013 it was released as an open source framework and is still being maintained by the internet giant. Since then, it has received widespread acceptance and has proven to be the most versatile JS library capable of building SPA’s of all sizes, scales and capabilities.

After the initial success of Angular, React proved to be the most disruptive and revolutionary JS framework. All the early frameworks were highly influenced by the old MVC structures but React’s Javascript only approach earned it acceptance at a lightning pace. As per the latest download trends, it is the most downloaded front end javascript framework. It is also used by organizations like Uber, Twitter, Netflix, Walmart, and many others.

It can not only be used for contemporary web development but its React Native framework can also be used to build amazing native-rendered apps for iOS and Android. It is easier to learn in comparison to Angular. Its revolutionary Virtual DOM model (Document Object Model) optimizes memory usage and delivers great performance.

 Advantages of React :

1. While HTML is primitive, React uses Javascripts which are much more powerful. Facebook is doing a great job at maintaining the framework, at the same time its widespread acceptance has ensured that the ecosystem matures enough to facilitate easy development. Many of Facebook’s applications are made using this and so it is tested on more than 2 billion facebook users before being released.
2. With React you can pair, exchange, and integrate libraries with other tools to facilitate multiple integrations very easily.
3. It is much easier to learn in comparison to other frameworks because of its simple design, Use of HTML-like syntax called JSX for templating, and its extensive documentation.
4. React code can be used on various platforms like web, mobile, desktop and backend. The React ecosystem supports many complementary frameworks like React native for mobile apps, Electron for Desktop and Node.js for backend developments.
5. Search Engine visibility is always a major challenge with JavaScript based Single page applications. React facilitates seamless server-side rendering, making it an ideal framework for content-focused applications that require Search Engine Optimization.

Disadvantages of React :

1. As React is not an end to end framework, a detailed understanding of its large size library is required to identify the perfect bundle to build the right application.
2. Performance is slow in comparison to other frameworks because of large bundle size and relatively slow DOM rendering.

VUE

Despite being the youngest member of the group, Vue has seen tremendous popularity over the last three years. It is also known as Vue.js. It was created by former Google Employee Evan You in 2014. Though it does not have the backing of any large companies, It is preferred more because of its easy javascript and HTML.

It is used to develop advanced SPA and helps support Native Apps. It is used by frontline organizations like Alibaba, Baidu, GitLab, and many others. Vue is the best option for beginners as it has the easiest learning curve.

Vue can be used if you require the separation of concerns in your applications. It is ideal if you are a big fan of clean code. In summary, It is the cleanest of these three frameworks and aims to make web development simple.

 Plus points of Vue –

1. Vue.js has very detailed documentation that not only makes it easy for  developers to learn but also saves a lot of time while developing an app.
2. Vue.js is quite similar with Angular and Reacts in terms of design and architecture. So it makes it very easy to switch between frameworks.
3. Vue.js can be used for building single-page applications as well as more difficult web interfaces of apps. The main thing is that smaller interactive parts are often easily integrated into the prevailing infrastructure with no negative effect on the whole system.
4. In terms of speed and flexibility, it performs the best in comparison to other frameworks.

 Minus points of Vue –

1. Being the youngest in the market, it has a pretty small market share as compared to Angular & React, which also means that knowledge sharing is less.
2. Vue.js might have issues integrating into huge projects due to its over flexible structure. Till now there is no beacon of past experience that can help find a possible solution to this problem.

To conclude on the above there is no absolute choice, it all depends on your requirements. Since each framework has its plus and minus points, one can decide based on the  requirements of the project you are working on.

Still to summarize,

If you love object oriented programming and prefer TypeScript, choose Angular.

If you are keen to develop using Javascript and are looking at more flexibility, choose React.

Whereas if you want an easier learning curve and love clean code, just go with Vue.js.

Chirag Rawal

June 18, 2020