Top 10 Javascript Frameworks – Which do you prefer?

by Javascript, jQuery, Web Apps

Javascript libraries have become fundamental to good web design, almost all site nowadays have some element of Javascript or Ajax present. It is probably the main element in developing the Web 2.0 movement.
There are many Frameworks, which do you prefer?

Please note that this post is fairly old and some of the information may be out dated.
Perhaps you would prefer to browse our Javascript or jQuery categories.

1. script.aculo.us (http://script.aculo.us/)

script.aculo.usURL: http://script.aculo.us/.
Blog: n/a.
Documentation: http://wiki.script.aculo.us/.
Note: script.aculo.us is not a Framework by its self but it is an addon for Prototype.

“script.aculo.us provides you with easy-to-use, cross-browser user interface JavaScript libraries to make your web sites and web applications fly.”

2. Prototype (http://www.prototypejs.org/)

PrototypeURL: http://www.prototypejs.org/.
Blog: http://www.prototypejs.org/blog.
Documentation: http://www.prototypejs.org/learn.

“Prototype is a JavaScript Framework that aims to ease development of dynamic web applications. Featuring a unique, easy-to-use toolkit for class-driven development and the nicest Ajax library around, Prototype is quickly becoming the codebase of choice for web application developers everywhere.”

3. Moo Tools (http://www.mootools.net/)

Moo ToolsURL: http://www.mootools.net/.
Blog: http://blog.mootools.net/.
Documentation: http://docs.mootools.net/.
Demos:http://demos.mootools.net/.

“MooTools is a compact, modular, Object-Oriented JavaScript framework designed for the intermediate to advanced JavaScript developer. It allows you to write powerful, flexible, and cross-browser code with its elegant, well documented, and coherent API.”

4. jQuery (http://jquery.com/)

jQueryURL: http://jquery.com/.
Blog: http://jquery.com/blog/.
Documentation: http://docs.jquery.com/.

“jQuery is a fast, concise, JavaScript Library that simplifies how you traverse HTML documents, handle events, perform animations, and add Ajax interactions to your web pages. jQuery is designed to change the way that you write JavaScript”.

5. MochiKit (http://www.mochikit.com/)

MochiKitURL: http://www.mochikit.com/.
Blog: http://www.mochikit.com/blog.html.
Documentation: http://www.mochikit.com/doc/html/MochiKit/index.html.
Demos:http://www.mochikit.com/demos.html.

“MochiKit – makes JavaScript suck a bit less”.

6. Rialto (http://rialto.improve-technologies.com/wiki/)

URL: http://rialto.improve-technologies.com/wiki/.
Blog: n/a
Documentation: http://rialto.improve-technologies.com/js/doc/.
Demos:http://rialto.improve-technologies.com/rialto/.

“Rialto (Rich Internet Application Toolkit) is ajax-based cross browser javascript widgets library”.

7. Dojo Toolkit (http://dojotoolkit.org)

URL: http://dojotoolkit.org/about.
Blog: http://dojotoolkit.org/blog.
Documentation: http://dojotoolkit.org/docs.
Demos:http://dojotoolkit.org/demos.

“Dojo is an Open Source DHTML toolkit written in JavaScript. Dojo aims to solve some long-standing historical problems with DHTML which prevented mass adoption of dynamic web application development”.

8. Spry Framework (http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/spry/)

URL: http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/spry/.
Blog: n/a.
Documentation: http://www.adobe.com/go/labs_gnav_wiki.
Demos:http://www.adobe.com/go/labs_gnav_showcase.

“The Spry framework for Ajax is a JavaScript library that provides easy-to-use yet powerful Ajax functionality that allows designers to build pages that provide a richer experience for their users. It is designed to take the complexity out of Ajax and allow designers to easily create Web 2.0 pages”.

9. ASP.NET Ajax Framework (http://asp.net/ajax/)

URL: http://asp.net/ajax/.
Blog: n/a.
Documentation: http://asp.net/ajax/documentation/.
Demos:http://asp.net/ajax/showcase/.

“ASP.NET AJAX is a free framework for quickly creating efficient and interactive Web applications that work across all popular browsers”.

10. Cean Ajax Framework (http://sourceforge.net/projects/clean-ajax/)

URL: http://sourceforge.net/projects/clean-ajax/.
Blog: n/a.
Documentation: http://sourceforge.net/docman/?group_id=145307.

“Easy to use AJAX framework that provides message queue, XSLT, XPath, encryption (SHA1, MD5), web service access (SOAP, XMLRPC), JSON-RPC, cross browser AJAX, AJAX history and cache control”.

Author: (566 Posts)

Paul Andrew is the editor and founder of Speckyboy Design Magazine. You can follow Speckyboy on Twitter, on Facebook, on Digg or you can subscribe via RSS.

  • http://jowra.com/ Jowra

    MooTools.

    jQuery is great too, but I like the style and elegance of MooTools.

  • http://siolon.com/ Chris

    After much time spent on many of these I came away a jQuery convert.

  • http://www.lavatech.com Jim Knight

    Jquery can’t be beat. Easy to use if you know CSS. Simple ajax. Chaining is great.

  • João Araújo

    Have used Prototype but since I discovered Jquery I never looked back!

  • http://javascriptmvc.com Brian Moschel

    JavaScriptMVC is another to add to the list. It stresses best practices like file and code organization, compression, error notification, and testing.

  • milus

    Definitely jQuery!

  • http://www.noth.es noth

    jquery!!!

  • http://blog.jeffhaynie.us jeff haynie

    You should also check out the Appcelerator RIA platform at http://www.appcelerator.org

  • http://www.isparkle.cn michael

    The last one Should be “clean ajax” and not “cean ajax”

  • http://zgordon.org Zac

    Another for jquery!

  • http://www.lutsr.nl flashpro

    Why is Yahoo! YUI not in the list?

  • http://www.oastler.ca JamieO

    I, like most on this list, think that jQuery is the sh*t. But regardless of your preference – before you start AJAX’ing this and animating that, you should detect if the visitor is one of those poor unfortunate souls who has turned javascript off, does not have it installed or using archaic technology.

  • mrrookie

    I am pretty new to the whole javascript thing and after doing a bit of research, i started learning jquery and i feel very very comfortable with it.

  • Iain

    I started out with prototype, but a colleague put me onto jQuery and I never looked back.

  • http://www.karlikdesign.com mel

    I’m personally all over the place…

    scriptaculous and mootools are crazy easy to implement

    I’ve just started working with the Yahoo YUI stuff and it’s a little tricky to get going at first but I like the extensive library and examples so you aaren’t left searching newsgroups for more complicated code…

    Even though I haven’t used it yet, I’ve a TUN more published about JQuery in recent monhts so I think that will actually be my next choice :)

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  • http://www.chafardet.com José Chafardet

    jQuery all the way, i find mootools very good, and have used scriptaculous a bit, but since i discovered jQuery, i fell inlove with it.

  • http://www.pagoporclicmexico.com Publicidad en Internet

    I was using mootols, but i think jquery have bigger possibilities and community to support the applications

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  • Philip Weaver

    Echo3 now supports creating webapps in Javascript. It supports object literal notation, layouts with zero HTML, a component model, and is extensively stylable/customizable using component oriented stylesheets. It is very elegant, lean, and easy to use.
    http://echo.nextapp.com/site/echo3
    (Apologies if this is reposted – entered email was incorrectly.)

  • http://www.tasmanit.com Asfahaan

    Thanks! :)

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  • dark_cybernetics

    how about extJS.com ?

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  • http://avitar.net David Smith

    You should check out the light weight JAK Framework. JAK is an Open Source Object Oriented Program built enterprises.

  • http://www.ae911truth.org Steve

    Most people know this already, but Scriptaculous requires Prototype; it is like Prototype’s GUI effects stuff. So is Rico, not listed here.
    But yeah, jQuery rocks the house!

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  • http://framework.zend.com/ Andi Gutmans

    CodeIgniter rocks!

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  • Mike V.

    Excluding Ext JS from this list is pure incompetence. Five of the ten listed should not even be on the list. Do some research next time.

  • http://elchat.troyaestrategias.com elchat

    Hello i Prefer Prototype
    elchat

  • http://www.authenticsociety.com gregsometimes

    jQuery only #4 on the list? Where is Prototype? EXT?

    What Is jQuery?

  • http://martinceronio.net Martin

    It’s difficult to compare and therefore rate these libraries/frameworks, because each delivers something different. Some focus on effects, others on controls, others emphasize DOM manipulation or AJAX etc. I guess it really depends on your need as to which you would rate the highest.

  • http://vipullimbachiya.com Vipul Limbachiya

    Have worked with prototype, now working with jQuery. Between these 2 I feel jQuery is better. Support for jQuery is ossum!!

  • http://maxiwheat.blogspot.com MaxiWheat

    I began doing some AJAX using Prototype 3 or 4 years ago, and I think I begin to master it pretty well now. But after all my reading I begin to think to switch to jQuery, it is more actively maintained (Prorotype’s last major update is more than 1 year ago) and in every performance benchmark Prototype is almost always in last place, jQuery first or second. Plus jQuery have a better plugin/widget community.

  • http://www.iconwebdesigns.net Dean

    My initial learning of Javascript was a painful experience. JQuery has eased the pain significantly. I can’t imagine scripting without it.

    I have heard that performance wise JQuery is one of the slower libraries. But I look forward to seeing how it improves with each new version.

  • jetm

    jQuery and ExtJS

  • http://www.jasonbartholme.com Jason Bartholme

    Based on the fact that I have only used jQuery on my last five projects. I’m going to have to say it’s my favorite and I don’t think I will stray anytime soon. It a vast user base with tons of plugins.

  • http://www.illicotravel.com Olivier Allouch

    If you’re an ok developer, you should definitely go for mootools. The API looks like an API. And there’s not afraid of refactoring to keep it clean.

  • http://www.twitter.com/gafitescu Gafitescu Daniel

    1) Jquery
    2) Ext Js
    3) Prototype
    4) Mootools
    5) script.aculo.us

  • http://twitter.com/aycangulez Aycan Gulez

    If you are looking for a light-weight JavaScript framework that supports CSS selectors, I’d recommend midori: http://www.midorijs.com

  • JustMe

    Please, put EXT JS on the list next time.

  • http://www.cancelbubble.com cancel bubble

    I’ve used Prototype/Scriptaculous, YUI and jQuery (the latter being my favorite). They are ALL very cool, but personally I was drawn to jQuery.

    Was surprised to not see YUI on this list and even EXT.

  • Himanshu

    Surprise YUI is not in a List?

  • DREW

    jQuery is definitely my favorite for adding effects/checking/ajax to pages, and is extremely non-obtrusive. You can usually get away with using it without any conflicts with the JS you already have when refactoring a page/site.

    ExtJS is probably better for building highly-integrated front-ends. The core is set up for trees, grids, etc. The syntax is a bit more heavy than jQuery, but that’s the tradeoff. I think that a lot of people will find the virtues of ExtJS once they reach the limits of jQuery.

  • Kio-G

    It’s all about the jQuery baby!

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  • http://www.chrisranjana.com web developer

    Is there a website that actually compares coding speed using these frameworks ?

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  • Ron
  • http://devconf.se Fredrik Wendt

    I totally agree with Drew, and I too think that you’ve made this blog post incomplete by leaving out ExtJS and YUI.
    There’s no other framework that is as complete as ExtJS when it comes to building a full application. All the other frameworks are just HTML addons.

  • loic

    Hello.
    here is a new nice list I have found by chance:
    http://www.jcargoo.org/2009/08/17-most-widely-used-javascript.html

  • Ben G

    Ext JS.

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  • http://www.clevexinfosoft.com Pukhraj Prajapat

    Ext JS is a perfect javascript framework. This is a future of JavaScript Framework and going to introduce a great competition in JavaScript framework Area.

  • ricky
  • Chris

    Definitely jQuery!

    Thanks for the Top Ten. Great idea.

    I work with JavaScript for years.
    Tried script.aculo.us, prototypejs.
    Then, I found out jQuery.
    jQuery , je suis vraiment bluffé.
    J’utilise Javascript depuis des années. J’avais vaguement essayé script.aculo.us et prototype, mais sans grande conviction.

  • http://www.777hardware.com lug nuts

    jQuery only #4 on the list

  • webdev

    Its defintely Jquery,next is YUI

  • http://www.webspeaks.in Arvind

    jQUERY IS Best OF ALL.
    yOU CAN UNleaSH ITS POWer AT Webspeaks.IN

  • Paul

    I would also suggest dhtmlx library as an option. Very rich and mature ui components.

  • Ryan

    It would also be nice to have a look at the mobile web frameworks, some of them now have really interesting features that I’d like to see running on a desktop someday (like the 3D HTML tag cloud of wink)

  • Yussel

    AND EXTJS, STUPID!!! ITS THE BEST FRAMEWORK

  • Ali

    Which javascript UI framework has a designer? I know Extjs does.

    Any other framework?

    Problem with ExtJS is its not free unless you are doing open source. Otherwise its a bit expensive

  • http://www.youngstream.net/ Сайт общения

    Obviously Jquery!!

  • http://jaytechpro jay

    you must search for “extjs”

  • http://www.gary-roberts-art.com Gary Roberts Art

    This is often a excellent blog site. I have been back more than once within the last week and want to join your rss feed making use of Google but can not figure out how to do it accurately. Do you know of any instructions?

  • http://nanat.kagayan.com nanat

    absolutely jquery.. its easy to use and lot of development going on. especially the new features of UI.. awesome

  • http://digitalfreedom.wordpress.com sunny

    i started out with adobe spry but noticed that everytime i upload it, it load really2x slow… sometimes to the point where it will only load half the page.. then i came across jquery…. i set everything aside and is currently using jquery in all of my projects :)

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  • http://www.geekreaders.com Geek Readers

    Thanks for the list.

    I work with JavaScript for 2 years but find jquery/mootools very very easy and useful.

  • coldfire421

    I like jquery its easy to use

  • Angel

    Although we use jQuery in almost 100% of our projects and will certainly continue to use it in the future, I have to admit that Extjs 4 will be the most robust framework in the following years especially if you are building strong OOP interfaces. Inspired by some if it’s great OOP features, we have adopted them in small framework http://code.google.com/p/core-framework/

  • Mauricio A.

    I really don’t like when people come saying that “that X library is better than Y”, it really depends on what you’re working on and what you want to make out of it. I’m now using Ext for web applications, and jquery/mootools for websites. Also, you must evaluate your comfort with Javascript. Jquery in its essence requires you to learn very little of Js, however mootools and Ext, are kind of intermediate Js libraries. Choose the one that suits your needs, learn it, master it. Then if you need another,well… learn it.

    Thank Paul, for this great list.

  • Cyrsbook

    If you tally the comments/opinion here more than 50% would choose Ext JS.  I guess that about answers “which do you prefer?”

  • Nancy

    jQuery is used by half of all the 10,000 busiest websites on the planet.
    That speaks for itself.

  • Developer
  • Paul

    I like http://phiscript.com/ very easy to use and has an XML to JavaScript compiler.

  • Shukla Raghav

    Common where is EXT JS…the best of all

  • euroblaze

    Paul – you should really include Extjs in your top-10 as well.  IMO it’s a better library for business-apps, Jquery being the top-dog for consumer apps.

    Thanks
    Ashant

  • someGuest

    That does NOT speak for itself – many people just use jQuery, because this framework is easy to learn…

  • http://twitter.com/WarrenLaidler Warren Laidler

    jQuery all the way!