JavaScript is a versatile language that gives you plenty of options to manage your website functionality. But one of the central questions developers have to ask themselves is, should I use a framework like React, Angular, or Vue?
There are good reasons to avoid JavaScript framework. They can often be very constricting to your creativity. You must write code within the confines of what a framework determines. If you try to go outside of those confines, you can quickly end up with a non-working application.
To further complicate things, frameworks can be limited to only what the designers intended. Future innovation of the framework is not a certainty since so many technologies come and go as developers find new ways of being productive. At any time the framework your business runs on may change their licensing, drop support, or even become abandoned.
So why use a framework at all if there are so many challenges and potential problems? Well, several reasons.
The first and primary reason is productivity. Since most of the tools to build the web application are already pre-designed, the developer does not have to make them. This has not only the benefits of quicker build time but also makes the developer less prone to error. Having these predefined components also gives a standard structure with which a team of developers will understand. It becomes a common language for them to speak while implementing a feature.
React, Angular and Vue Constraints
One other aspect that should not be overlooked is the reusability of the components which are built. Frameworks tend to motivate the developer into creating their own smaller parts which are reusable. This cuts back on the development time but also increases the thoughtfulness of the code they write.
The last thing to address is longevity. Despite the earlier warnings in this post, the three primary frameworks in use today show no signs of disappearing or losing support. React is developed and curated by Facebook. Angular is a product of a cooperative effort between Google and Microsoft. Lastly, Vue has over 50 active developers (https://vuejs.org/v2/guide/team.html) that are continually working on improvements to the product. Vue has one of the more massive followings in the industry and continues to grow.
If you aren’t using a framework like React, Angular, or Vue to develop your front end application, you are costing your business. Want to learn more about becoming a software developer? Click “Request Info” in the upper right hand part of the webpage.
