Frameworks, Toolkits, Etc.
To start this discuss, we must first decide what is a framework vs. a toolkit vs. any other name we might use. These words are often used interchangeably when discussing JavaScript libraries and can be confusing.
Framework: A fundamental structure, as for a written work.
Toolkit: A set of software applications that aid a task.
So for the sake of this blog, we will refer to any library that provides fundamental underlying architecture that will be used across the entire site as a ‘Framework’ and a small set of tools as a ‘Toolkit’, and any collection of code can/will also be referred to as a ‘Library’. Using these guidelines, ‘moo.fx’ would be considered a toolkit, as it is a compact set of tools that may be used to extend the prototype framework, and ‘Google Web Toolkit (GWT)’ will be called a ‘Framework’, as it is a complete architecture (even though it is misnamed). And both would be considered a ‘Library’.
With that out of the way, let’s dive into the meat of todays article, popular JavaScript frameworks and toolkits. There are enough JavaScript libraries to fill volumes of books, so we won’t be able to discuss all of them. This blog will consider the following list: prototype, script.aculo.us, rico, dojo, mochikit, gwt, yui, jquery, and moofx. If you know of another library that is widely used, please leave a comment and I will consider adding it to the discussion.
Today, we begin our library discussion by: looking at what libraries there are, where you can find them, and a little history about each. This will be a growing document and will always be available at the link below:
http://mattsnider.com/?page_id=9
Additionally, I here are some other articles I have written about Frameworks:
