Professional JavaScript for Web Developers, 4th Edition

CJavaScript Libraries and Frameworks

JavaScript libraries help to bridge the gap between browser differences and provide easier access to complex browser features. Libraries come in two forms: general and specialty. General JavaScript libraries provide access to common browser functionality and can be used as the basis for a website or web application. Specialty libraries do only specific things and are intended to be used for only parts of a website or web application. This appendix provides an overview of these libraries and some of their functionality, along with websites that you can use as additional resources.

FRAMEWORKS

The “framework” designation covers a spectrum of different patterns, but in some form they all provide an opinionated organizational structure within which complex applications can take shape. Using a framework allows for applications to maintain consistent code conventions while elegantly scaling in size and complexity. They offer robust mechanisms for common tasks such as component definition and reuse, controlling data flow, routing, and many others.

Increasingly, JavaScript frameworks take the form of a single page application (SPA). Single page applications use the HTML5 browser history API to offer an entire application user interface, complete with URL routing, with only a single initial page load. The framework manages the application state as well as all the user interface components during the application's execution. Most popular SPA frameworks ...