Trying to bet on how many new JavaScript frameworks will be released each month, is, the best software engineer’s game in the past 5 years.
Something interesting since last year: The race to the “best ever ever ever framework” in JavaScript slowed down and the focus is more on tools or features around popular frameworks. It’s like a shift between “I like this from A, I don’t like this from B, so I will create C!” and “I did a good job with A, let’s improve this part by creating A+”. I really think 2018 will be the perfect time for learning one Javascript framework for good. At least before the “next big framework” 🙂
GraphQL: I believe that GraphQL could become a standard in 2018. GraphQL brings a new way to query data from server to frontend. You can think of it as a new protocol, a communication standard between client and server. Not only for websites, but also for desktop and mobile apps. This concept of “fetching only what you need” is important and should be at the core of every front and back end development. Reducing the size of every network exchange is crucial, especially for users with slow networks.
React: who doesn’t know React in 2018? React is actually not easy to learn, I see my students challenged by it everyday. But when all concepts of props, state, life cycle, actions, etc… are mastered, it is a very powerful tool. It will remain a strong Javascript framework in 2018…
Vue.js: We witnessed an interesting fight between React and Vue.js last year. Both are powerful, but Vue.js is easier to learn than React. The community around it is starting to grow rapidly and I predict that the industry will continue to adopt it in production.
React Native and Electron: While they are still not at the level of native app languages (iOS, Android and desktop), their performances are really impressive. Two frameworks that will do well for desktop and mobile apps.
Reason: The new way to write React applications; bye bye pure Javascript! It is trendy, but I believe that with the support of Facebook it could become the next standard for writing React applications. We should keep an eye on it and watch how the language evolves in the year to come.
Next and Now: React has a strong ecosystem. Next and Now are proof of it. It is easy to use and makes React projects ready for production. Deploying and distributing React applications at scale can be challenging, mainly for small teams because they are designed to make a developer’s life easier.
Lona : transform Sketch files to UI code: iOS, Android, Web and Web mobile. It’s based on a simple app that can solve a lot of communication issues between Designers and Developers. With Lona, designers can directly integrate and test their creation easily without bothering developers.
Aurelia : is a complete solution to easily creating a simple online presence: web, mobile and desktop. It’s a good tool for any new project or start-up: easy to learn, easy to put in place and good support.
By Guillaume Salva, Full-Stack Software Engineer at Holberton School
