In this Hasty Treat, Scott and Wes talk about frontend frameworks — what they are, when you need one, how to organize your code for maximum efficiency, and more!
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Show Notes
3:08 - What is a frontend framework?
- JavaScript based
- Controls applications such as:
- Routing
- Rendering
- Data Fetching
- Examples:
- React
- Angular
- VueJS
- Ember
- Backbone
- Svelte
5:54 - When to use a frontend framework
- The Link between your JavaScript data and the DOM (your HTML) isn’t live
- The use of frameworks makes re-updating the DOM (after the initial variable update) easy
- You need an opinionated way to handle complexity
- Example:
- You add an item to a shopping cart, send the event to the backend, and update both the number of items in the cart and the “Add to cart” button
- Event Handlers - binding and un-binding
- Your client wants a fast, modern experience
- Seamless routing and page transitions
- Fast prototyping
- Access to battle-tested libraries
14:24 - When not to use a frontend framework
- When using CMS like WordPress and Drupal
- A medium amount of JavaScript is needed - Vanilla JS will work fine
- Modals
- Slideshows
- Form submits
- Static pages, no JS functionality
- Updating an existing project
17:20 - Why can’t I just use jQuery?
- Vanilla JS contains all of jQuery’s available DOM APIs
- Frameworks provide structure
- Organizes code for big projects
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