Introduction to JavaScript Tools

Nowadays, JavaScript is amongst the most well-known and used programming languages. This is because it is continuously progressing and growing, launching more tools than ever. These javascript tools help the developers in making programming easier and simpler, and because of this, these tools are being used extensively by everyone.

JavaScript Tools

Let us dive into the various famous JavaScript Tools available for users out there that one must know to stay on top of the field.

1. React JS

React JS is an open-source technology that was initially introduced as a JS library by Facebook engineers. It presents innovative ways to depict web pages with its many advantages including high performance and a dynamic UI. In React, we can reuse the components of the code, which helps us in saving time and effort and this feature comes especially handy when we have system updates. React components are distinct, thus they do not interfere with each other.

We have several features to React. Data binding is done in the downwards direction to empower a steady code. We have a virtual DOM which enables us to increase the speed. Continuous developments and enhancements by React JS community help in bringing it to the top.

2.Express JS

Express JS is a web framework that helps designers in building web pages and websites, by using the technology Node JS. Express JS provides us with strong tools that can be used for HTTP servers, making it stable.

Express JS can be used for routing. It includes great test coverage and has features like caching and redirection, which can help with the HTTP servers. It generally executes applications and websites pretty quickly and supports numerous engines.

We use Express JS because it is very simple to build APIs in Express, making it easy to create websites and single-page applications.

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3. Angular JS

Angular JS is a framework of JavaScript which helps us to write applications that are client-side. Angular JS supports HTML and permits the correct structuring of components that are interrelated. We do not need to code separately for UIs, databases, and links, as the framework does that for us.

Angular is a cross-platform solution, which has become popular for creating web applications, especially single-page applications. It is included in the standard and popular MEAN stack. It provides us with command-line tools and allows splitting the code, automatically. It also offers us two-way data binding, which makes our data more secure. Angular JS is continuously being upgraded and this helps it to be up-to-date on technology changes.

4. Electron

Nowadays, Electron has been gaining great attention as a proficient tool to create desktop applications that are cross-platform. Electron is established on Node JS and Chromium engine, extending support to the complete package consisting of HTML, CSS, and JS. Applications like Docker and desktop GitHub are created on Electron.

Electron is an open-source tool and is freely obtainable. It is compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac systems. Electron contains demo APIs that are pre-built for applications and has Chromium tools that help in debugging. Electron also has the capability to perform unit tests within its environment. The demerit of this tool is that as it is bundled with Chromium, the sizes of updates are very huge.

5. Gulp

Gulp is a specimen of a JavaScript tool that is task-specific. Programmers do a lot of changes when they write, compile or execute code, as well as when they compress files or images, and with every change they make, they need to run the task all over. To help overcome these mundane and frustrating tasks, we have tools specific to a single task, like Gulp.

Gulp helps us in automating the task of loading files into their build folder. Gulp is more enhanced when compared to other task-specific tools because it is quick, it has good coverage of JavaScript code and it has single-task plugins. It is said that around 40% of developers use Gulp.

6. NPM

Like Gulp, NPM is a task-specific tool and along with that, it is also a JavaScript package manager. Here we can discover a vast amount of code packages that are reusable. NPM can be very flexible and can also be utilized as a build tool.

NPM can work with default tasks i.e. tasks like simple tests and other such regular issues, and with arbitrary tasks i.e. tasks that we create. This tool is more preferable over Gulp or other such task-specific tools, because it provides many more packages and plugins, and also because it has lesser compatibility and debugging problems. NPM creates strong scripts, which are suitable for cross-platform projects.

7. Webpack

Webpack comes in great assistance when we are proceeding with several JavaScript files. This tool is a module bundler and it inserts into the browser in the right order, the modules with helpful dependencies like .css, .js and .jpg. It has a plugin system that is modular, which empowers us to perform any possible task. Webpack is one of the most common instruments out there as it enables us to package JS documents to be used in a browser as well as a second for a task runner.

Webpack has great features which include the ability to split the code into numerous pieces so that we can lessen the loading time. It also optimizes the size, by monitoring the pieces being loaded at all times. It provides us with bundling these pieces to load them either alone or along with a few parts. We can also resolve dependencies while we compile.

8. ESLint

ESLint is also a task-specific tool that is used specifically for the task of detecting errors. It supervises the code to spot our slips, like missing a closing parenthesis or adding extra parenthesis at the end of our code. The act of examining the code for possible errors is known as ‘linting’.

ESLint can be configured according to the developer’s needs. It has several plugins for the several default rules it follows. EsLint can be used with NodeJS and it offers support Windows, Linux and Mac systems. Many great companies like Microsoft, Atlassian, Netflix, and Domain have used ESLint for their application, which just shows us how much in boom ESLint is for a JavaScript tool.

9. Vue.js

Vue JS is an advanced JavaScript framework that is used to develop graphical UI. It was created from Angular JS to be a lightweight and open-source framework. Vue employs HTML syntax for binding data and offers tools for navigation, animations, etc. Nowadays, Vue is gaining popularity as it is straightforward, functions well and backs up all the major browsers.

10. jQuery

jQuery continues to be one of the most popular JavaScript tools available to date due to its correct syntax and small size. It is used to create client-side applications and websites. It has great attributes like animations and event handling, and can also be used to create plugins on top of it. Companies like Google, DailyMotion and MSN have used jQuery for building their websites.

Conclusion

We have seen several tools of JavaScript in this article. Each tool and framework can be used by a developer according to the needs of the application.