

Choosing a JavaScript MVC Framework - cmckeachie
http://www.funnyant.com/choosing-javascript-mvc-framework/

======
lapdragon
This was just what I was looking for. We are researching various MVC
frameworks and discussing single page applications. This will give us some
good insight on weather we use Angular, Backbone, or other frameworks. Great
job!

------
nalidixic
Thanks for the comparison.

------
rsobers
Fantastically in-depth analysis. Nice work!

As a developer, deciding on a [framework|library|language] is one of my least
favorite things to do. Naturally I want to make the right long-term decision
based on my idiosyncratic needs, which results in countless hours of research,
so I really appreciate posts like these. Huge time saver.

~~~
cmckeachie
Thanks for the kind words you summarize my thoughts on why I chose to work on
a book about the subject.

------
jmcphers
This is very nice. I had to pick an MVC framework for a project early this
year, and was compelled to spend untold amounts of time to do the same
research this author just posted.

Another good resource for choosing a framework is TodoMVC
([http://todomvc.com/](http://todomvc.com/)). It doesn't give you the
philosophy and history behind each framework, but it does show you an end-to-
end example (however constrained) of what it's like to use the framework in
day-to-day work.

~~~
ericclemmons
Even though todos are simple examples, those simple examples are usually
enough to make decisions off of syntax and "flow".

------
sailfast
This was quite helpful in outlining the differences between the options as
well as the key differences in specific features. I also like the philosophy
approach.

As an aside, some have argued (see previous Angular / Ember deck posted to HN)
that Angular is something for building frameworks rather than a framework
itself. I would also say that the documentation for Angular is comprehensive
but not good (as a newbie). With the version change to 1.2 a number of issues
crop up that invalidate old solutions like $sce content escaping and other
bindings, and often times the documentation on the AngularJS site goes a bit
beyond comprehension that have yet to pass the appropriate "abstracto-cline"
of understanding.

Thanks again for the analysis - well done.

~~~
dechov
Link to the deck mentioned:
[https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1e0z1pT9JuEh8G5DOtib6...](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1e0z1pT9JuEh8G5DOtib6XFDHK0GUFtrZrU3IfxJynaA/preview)

And the talk itself (recommended):
[http://youtu.be/7ecsYtRiD5Q?t=56m36s](http://youtu.be/7ecsYtRiD5Q?t=56m36s)

------
mikelbring
A lot of people I hear say they don't choose backbone because of the amount of
stuff you have to write to get started, but they never mention
backbone+marionette, which imo fixes a lot of the boilerplate code you have to
write.

~~~
andywhite37
We've been using Backbone+Marionette at my company, and in general I like it,
and it's much cleaner than just vanilla Backbone, but I still feel like it
falls short for medium-to-large sized apps, and requires you to write a
substantial amount of additional code, or include additional Backbone plugins.
This might include things like "nested/deep" model support, two-way data-
binding, etc. The main problem with the lightweight plugin model is that a lot
of the plugins aren't necessarily compatible with others, or are not up-to-
date on the latest Backbone changes, not to mention the varying degree in
quality and maintenance of plugins, and the problem of choosing which data
binding plugin you want, out of the 10+ available.

I think maybe we have just crossed the line from small, focused
UI/interactions to large-scale single-page apps, and we would be better off
with a more substantial/fully-featured framework like AngularJS or Ember.js.

~~~
cmckeachie
Thanks for the insights. Hit me up on twitter @cmckeachie if you would be
willing to help me out by doing an interview on your experiences.

