Web DevelopmentTOP Technologies in Frontend Development

Software frameworks make life easier for developers by allowing them to control the development process using a single platform. Together in this article, we will try to understand how and on what to write code, and why it is worth using frameworks such as React, Vue.js, AngularTypeScript, GraphQL, Toolkit, and Svelte.

Popular frameworks

Frameworks are our everything. It sounds bold, but it is. You can't write a single project today without them. A framework is a software that simplifies the process of frontend development and assembly of various modules of a single project. 

The main task of the framework is to make life easier for the developer. Code pre-written in JS frameworks can be used in solving standard programming tasks. Websites and web applications are created based on it.

New frameworks appear once a year or more often. There are years "rich" in fresh technologies, but 2020 cannot be called that — the pandemic prevented it. In addition, unlike in the field of design, where trends arise every couple of months and immediately gain popularity among design agencies, it is not so easy to break into frontend trends.

Especially when there are three pillars of the frontend with a powerful IT community - React, Vue and Angular frameworks.

React 

React was created by Jordan Valke, a developer from Facebook. Facebook Instagram used the library for the first time in 2011, a year later — in Instagram, and in 2013, the code was opened to everyone. Today React is a leader in the field of JavaScript UI infrastructure. Such giant applications as Skype, UberEats, Airbnb are written on React.

We in Mobile Reality also write on React. Our developers have named five reasons to use it:

1. Large community

There are more than 114,000 publications with the "react" tag on GitHub. The library is used all over the world, React has a huge community of programmers behind it — including those from Facebook. For seven years, the community has accumulated an extensive knowledge base. When a developer has a question, he can ask it to a specialist from anywhere in the world.

2. Technology from Facebook

Let's not be deceitful: we trust Facebook. Firstly, because they developed React for themselves — and they don't do it badly for themselves. Secondly, because other large companies trust these technologies. During its existence, React has managed to prove its reliability.

3. Active use of TypeScript

In this article there will be a separate item about TypeScript, an add-on over JS.  We will tell you why this is a cool technology that everyone should move to. In the meantime, we want to note that the React library works well with TypeScript — this feature guarantees that React will go with us next year.

4. Convenient use

We asked our developers why they like working on React. The guys noted cross-platform, easy-to-read code, and a low entry threshold. React is supported by any platforms, and to start writing on it, you don't have to spend a lot of time studying — you can quickly move on to real projects.

5. Versioning

The advantage of React over other frameworks is versioning. The newer version of Angular or Vue is not a bit like the previous one, which means that the code written in the earlier version will not work in the new one. In React, everything is different: even the code from five years ago will run without interference in the latest version. And if the code contains an element that is not relevant for the new version, React itself will tell you that they need to be fixed. 

In 2022, React will not lose its leading position, and we will continue to create convenient and effective applications with its help.

Want an app on React? Write us

Vue.js

Another JavaScript framework that will be included in the top 3 frameworks for 2022 is Vue.

At the end of 2019, Vue 3.0 was released. The developers compared it to the grandiose release of Angular 2.0, which developers around the world have been waiting for several years. 

At the same time, the creators of Vue managed to avoid criticism regarding the upgrade of their framework, unlike their colleagues from Google. The advantage of Vue Next is that switching to a new version did not require rewriting components, but offered an extension for the existing version.

It's been a year at Vue.js percentage of TypeScript code in the repository is 98.6%. As our developers say, the code in TypeScript is more rigid and "adult", so it's cool when the project is written in this language. By the way, the creators of Vue completely rewrote the engine and improved the architecture — up to 100% is just a little bit left. 

The Vue team, led by Evan Yu, promised that the framework would be as simple and convenient to use as possible — and their words were confirmed. The developers at Purrweb note that coding on Vue is really a simple task. And here's why:

• The framework is suitable for beginners: all you need to master is JavaScript, HTML, CSS.

• Easily scaled from the library into a full-fledged framework. 

• Small — the size of the new runtime library is <10kb in gzip

• Comes with a fast virtual DOM (not a house, but a Document Object Model — "document object model") 

• Like in React, there is a cool community of professionals who are ready to help if you have a problem.

More than 36,000 applications have already been written on Vue. Among those who chose it as a development tool are Stackoverflow and PlayStation.

Angular

Who does Google trust? That's right — the powerful Angular framework. Actually, Angular is a Google product. It is used mainly for creating mobile and desktop applications. Angular is cool: it has many different interdependent functions, and the risk of making a mistake is minimal. As they say on the official website of the framework: "Focus on building awesome apps, not making your code work."

Angular is a cross—platform environment that differs from other frameworks in its performance, features (filters, two-way data binding, directives) and full support from the Google developer community. 

According to our developers, Angular is more complicated than React and Vue, but its functionality is really worth exploring this framework.

Frontend development trends

Trends in frontend application development have been forming for a long time. It takes several years for a particular technology to come into use by a developer. It is impossible to make an accurate forecast of what will happen in 2022, but we can confidently talk about technologies that will remain with us and will be widely used.

TypeScript instead of JavaScript

We all love JavaScript, but it's time to admit that it has been surpassed by the TypeScript programming language. As JavaScript grew, its code became so heavy and complex that it could not even fulfill the requirements of object-oriented programming — and this is an integral part of many modern projects. This limited the further growth of JavaScript as a server language. That's when the JS —TypeScript add-on appeared.

• Typescript is a kind of updated version of the JavaScript language, an add—on to it. Frontend developers of Purrweb identify several reasons why TS will become the main trend of the near future development:

• TypeScript provides easy code navigation, prevents errors, and maintains your code.

• Supports static typing.

• Supports interfaces, sub-interfaces, classes, subclasses, and ECMAScript 6 or ES6.

• It comes with object-oriented programming capabilities with inheritance of private members and interfaces.

• There are many IDEs available.

GraphQL

Let's start with a little story. Monolith has been a popular style of software architecture for a long time. From the name, you can guess that the system was a single module, inside of which there is interaction with different parts.

Monolith had a number of advantages: all were related to the relative ease of development, testing, deployment and scaling. But after a while, a big drawback was discovered in this approach: when applications became successful, they "grew" out of a monolithic architecture. The codebase was becoming more complicated, and it was too difficult for one developer to run a project.

The solution to the problem is microservices, with the help of which old monolithic applications are broken into parts. Now the delivery and deployment of large applications have become easier. It remained only to establish interaction between the microservices themselves.

In 2018, Facebook introduced the first version of the GraphQL project. GraphQL is a query language that describes a way to get data.

According to Purrweb developers, GraphQL will soon be used everywhere. A great solution for applications that have complex connections — like Facebook. Another advantage that turns GraphQL usage into a trend is getting data for various clients from a variety of sources. This reduces the number of requests between the user and the server and reduces the number of errors.

Toolkit from Redux

Our team leader Alexander Purtov notes that in Purrweb we use a "hodgepodge" of technologies: a set of different libraries, which to some extent are our own framework. At the same time, there is now a cool Redux Toolkit library — a lifesaver for everyone who writes in React with a bunch of built-in features for comfortable coding.

The problem was solved by the Redux developers themselves — they made the Redux Toolkit library. Toolkit is a set of solutions and methods designed to simplify application development using Redux. The tool does not solve all the problems of the developer, but simplifies the code where possible — in typical cases of using Redux.

Our guys note that Toolkit falls into the global trend of simplification and minimization — so Redux Toolkit will definitely be popular not only in 2022, but also in the next few years.

Svelte

Svelte developers are proud of their development. Here's what they write on the official website of the framework: "Svelte is a fundamentally new approach to creating user interfaces. When traditional frameworks such as React and Vue do most of their work in the browser, Svelte transfers this work to the compilation stage, which occurs when the application is built."

Developers also speak positively about this technology. Programmers say that Svelte is suitable for beginners, and an experienced specialist will notice how fast and stable the framework is.

Of course, in comparison with Vue, Angular and React, Svelte still looks like a child among adults. But the framework already has 39,000 stars on GitHub — and it is predicted to have a great future in 2022.

Instead of a conclusion

I hope we were able to convince you that frameworks are a lifesaver? And frontend trends are a controversial thing, so following them or not is a personal matter for each company. At Mobile Reality, we follow the latest developments in the IT world and constantly test new technologies in order to take only proven and cool ones into work. Working with us, you can be sure that the most suitable and modern framework is used for your project.