Kristen’s classification of the four eras of JavaScript frameworks feels intuitively correct. A further simplification is essentially: 1. jQuery 2. Backbone 3. React 4. Next.js. Those were the big names from the eras and the similar technologies feel like obvious siblings. It’s easy to point at shortcomings, but overall I feel similarly positive:

Overall, I think the JavaScript community is heading in the right direction. We are finally developing mature solutions that can build full apps from the ground up, solutions that are not “just a view-layer”. We’re finally starting to compete on the same playing field as SDKs for native apps, providing a full toolkit out of the box.

Nicklas Envall’s history paints a similar picture, as does Josh Justice’s Frontend Web Architectures (I enjoy Josh’s naming of the first era: “JavaScript Sprinkles”). They both beg the question: what’s next? It’s too early to know. I think we’re still pretty firmly in the meta frameworks era. We see attempts at newly-coined terms and development paradigms, like Astro with “islands” and Qwik with “resumability“, but they don’t seem to be quite worthy of declaring a new era.

Perhaps more era-worthy is all the notable work is being done on JavaScript runtimes themselves (so many!), the compilers that run on them (so many!), and the steps we see toward the server.

Nicklas asked are compilers the new frameworks? Maybe?? Personally I’m fascinated by the foundational tooling work being done. People are seriously hyped on Vite, for example. Vite isn’t a framework, it’s just a build tool. It might help power the framework you like. It’s like being stoked about your carburetor and not your car. That’s worthy of consideration.

Lower level than that, esbuild is just a bundler and people are still hyped on it. Investment is happening as well, both literally with things like Void(0) and with companies internally investing like we see with Turbopack.

As ever, you don’t need to care. I like to think we’re getting more sophisticated on choosing when we need to care. Certain holotypes of website don’t need a framework at all, and avoiding one brings a slew of advantages from performance to long term maintenance ease. There is palpable pushback as frameworks get harder to use. No build system is also possible, thanks to neat modern tools that don’t need it and platform improvements. There is a cost to (short term) convenience, they say.

Hey folks, welcome back to another edition of Chris’ Corner! Today, I’m diving into the fascinating evolution of JavaScript frameworks — a journey through the four distinct “eras” that have shaped how we build modern web applications.

If you’ve been working in web development for a while, you’ve probably noticed that JavaScript frameworks have undergone a dramatic transformation over the years. What started out as simple libraries designed to help developers manage the DOM has evolved into complex ecosystems that power some of the world’s most sophisticated web applications. Understanding this evolution is key not only for developers looking to improve their skills but also for anyone trying to understand the broader landscape of modern web development.

So, buckle up! In this post, we’re going to break down the four major eras of JavaScript frameworks, from the early days of jQuery to the powerful, component-based frameworks of today. Let’s get started!

1. The jQuery Era: 2006 – 2010

The Rise of jQuery

The first major era of JavaScript frameworks (or rather, libraries) can be attributed to jQuery, which was released in 2006. Back in the mid-2000s, web development was a lot more cumbersome. Cross-browser compatibility was a nightmare, AJAX wasn’t widely adopted, and manipulating the DOM was often verbose and error-prone. Developers needed a way to streamline these tasks.

Enter jQuery: a lightweight, feature-rich library designed to simplify JavaScript programming by abstracting away browser inconsistencies. It quickly became the go-to tool for handling DOM manipulation, event handling, animation, and AJAX calls with less code and better reliability.

Key Features of jQuery:

• Cross-browser compatibility: jQuery made it easy to write JavaScript that worked across all browsers, including the notoriously difficult Internet Explorer.
• DOM manipulation: The library allowed developers to interact with HTML elements in a more intuitive way than native JavaScript.
• Event handling: jQuery made it simple to attach events like clicks, hover effects, and keyboard input to elements.
• AJAX: Simplified asynchronous communication between the browser and server, paving the way for more dynamic user experiences.

The Impact

jQuery was a game-changer and filled a significant gap in web development. It enabled developers to focus on building functionality rather than worrying about browser quirks. While it wasn’t a full-fledged framework, its rise marked the beginning of the shift from traditional server-side rendered pages to more dynamic, client-side web applications.

2. The MVC Era: 2010 – 2015 (Angular, Backbone, and Ember)

The Need for Structure

As web applications grew in complexity, developers began to realize that handling everything with jQuery was no longer sufficient. The lack of a standardized way to structure web applications led to the creation of full-fledged JavaScript frameworks that could provide architecture and conventions to manage large-scale applications more efficiently.

During this era, the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture became the dominant pattern. JavaScript frameworks that followed this paradigm allowed developers to organize their code in a more maintainable way. The major players in this era were AngularJS, Backbone.js, and Ember.js.

Key Features of MVC Frameworks:

• Separation of concerns: MVC frameworks encouraged developers to separate the application’s data (model), user interface (view), and the logic that ties everything together (controller). This made applications easier to scale and maintain.
• Two-way data binding: Frameworks like AngularJS introduced automatic synchronization between the model and view, making it much easier to build dynamic UIs where changes in the data were instantly reflected in the view.
• Routing: Frameworks included built-in routing features, allowing developers to create single-page applications (SPAs) where content was loaded dynamically without refreshing the page.

The Impact

AngularJS (from Google) was probably the most influential in this era. It introduced the concept of two-way data binding, which automatically kept the view in sync with the model. While Backbone.js was lighter weight and more flexible, Ember.js offered strong conventions to help developers get started quickly.

These MVC frameworks brought structure and organization to JavaScript development, making it easier to scale complex web applications. But they were also quite opinionated, meaning developers had to adopt the framework’s conventions — which wasn’t always ideal for more flexible or specialized use cases.

3. The Component Era: 2015 – 2020 (React, Vue, and Angular 2+)

The Shift to Components

In the mid-2010s, we saw a significant shift in how JavaScript frameworks approached UI development. While MVC frameworks provided structure, they were often too rigid and sometimes bloated for modern web applications. The rise of component-based development marked a major shift towards a more modular, reusable approach to building UIs.

React, Vue, and Angular 2+ ushered in this new era of JavaScript frameworks. Instead of building monolithic applications with rigid MVC patterns, developers began breaking their UIs into small, reusable components that could be composed to create more dynamic and efficient applications.

Key Features of Component-Based Frameworks:

• Componentization: UIs were divided into small, independent components, each responsible for its own state and rendering logic. This made applications more modular and easier to manage.
• Declarative syntax: Frameworks like React introduced a declarative way of building UIs, where you simply describe what you want the UI to look like, and the framework takes care of the rest.
• Virtual DOM: React’s Virtual DOM allowed for efficient re-renders of the user interface by only updating parts of the DOM that had changed.
• Reactive programming: Frameworks like Vue and React embraced reactive programming, where the UI automatically updates based on changes in application state.

The Impact

React, created by Facebook, became the leader of the pack during this era due to its simplicity and flexibility. Vue.js, developed by Evan You, offered a similar component-based architecture but with a more approachable learning curve, making it popular with developers looking for a lighter-weight alternative. Angular 2+ was a complete rewrite of AngularJS, moving away from MVC and fully embracing components, TypeScript, and reactive programming.

This era introduced the concept of Single-Page Applications (SPAs) in a more streamlined, efficient way. Component-based development encouraged reusability and maintainability, and it quickly became the standard for building dynamic, interactive web applications.

4. The Modern Era: 2020 – Present (Svelte, Solid.js, and More)

The Rise of “Next-Generation” Frameworks

As we moved into the 2020s, JavaScript frameworks began to evolve in even more exciting ways. Developers were no longer just looking for reusable components or better ways to manage state — they were also thinking about performance and simplicity. That’s where Svelte, Solid.js, and other emerging frameworks come into play.

Unlike frameworks like React and Vue, which rely on a virtual DOM and require bundlers like Webpack or Vite to compile, Svelte takes a radically different approach by compiling components into highly optimized imperative code during build time. This results in incredibly fast performance and smaller bundle sizes.

Key Features of Modern Frameworks:

• Compiler-driven UI: Frameworks like Svelte and Solid.js shift the responsibility of UI updates away from the browser’s JavaScript engine and move it to the build step. This results in a more performant experience for the user and less JavaScript to process at runtime.
• Fine-grained reactivity: Solid.js introduces fine-grained reactivity at the core of its design, offering more granular control over which parts of the application need to re-render.
• Simplification: Many modern frameworks focus on reducing the amount of boilerplate and complexity needed to build applications. Svelte, for example, requires almost no configuration or external dependencies to get started.
• Server-side rendering (SSR) and static site generation (SSG): Next.js (based on React) and SvelteKit have made SSR and SSG easier than ever before, providing developers with the ability to build SEO-friendly, lightning-fast applications with minimal setup.

The Impact

This era is all about performance, simplicity, and developer experience. The growing popularity of Svelte and Solid.js signals a shift toward frameworks that focus on reducing the runtime cost of JavaScript in favor of highly optimized, compiled code.

Developers are also increasingly looking for ways to streamline the development process and minimize the overhead associated with traditional frameworks. The “next-gen” frameworks aim to make it easier to build fast, scalable applications without sacrificing ease of use.

State management libraries are key tools for managing the application state and making data sharing between its components easier. Libraries like Redux and Vuex offer predictable state transitions and facilitate easier debugging and testing. This predictability is vital in web development because it simplifies the tracking of changes in the state and thus maintains consistency in the user experience.

Emerging Trends and Future Directions

The development of JavaScript frameworks today is dominated by innovative technologies, including server-side rendering (SSR), static site generation (SSG), component-based architecture, web components, and typescript adoption.

Server-side rendering (SSR) and static site generation (SSG) are two novel methods to render pages on the server before they reach the client. This approach significantly improves load times and gives SEO benefits by providing fully rendered HTML to search engines.

Component-based architecture, as mentioned earlier, is based on building applications using isolated modular units that are easy to manage and maintain.

Web components offer a standard method for building reusable HTML components that are compatible with various JavaScript frameworks. Due to its flexibility and compatibility, this method is taking the web development sector by storm.

TypeScript is becoming prevalent in frameworks like Angular and React, where it is used to improve code quality and maintainability. TypeScript helps developers catch errors early in the development process. It also offers a comprehensive toolset that boosts productivity.

Challenges

The fast-paced JavaScript development environment brings about a set of challenges that every developer has to be aware of in order to tackle them properly.

First of all, frameworks and libraries do not stop their development; that’s why every developer dealing with them has to learn consistently and adapt to all the changes. This can be hard, as it requires time and effort invested in just staying aligned with industry developments.

Second, developers face the challenge of optimizing the performance of increasingly complex applications. They have to walk a thin line between functionality and optimal performance.

Third, development tools become more complicated, which adds complexity to the development process. Developers can be easily overwhelmed by the number of functionalities of modern tools and struggle to use them effectively.

The Future of JavaScript Frameworks

Considering the current trends in the development of JavaScript frameworks, it’s safe to say that in the future, efforts to improve their performance and decrease bundle sizes will persist. I also expect a push toward improving the developer experience with more accessible and usable tools. At last, I forecast that all the cutting-edge technologies will be integrated into JavaScript frameworks. Out of the obvious examples, I can name Web Assembly, Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), and artificial intelligence.

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