Top Javascript Framework and Libraries for 2020

Programming is the main trend for several years ahead, therefore every year more and more beginners come to this sphere. But the question is: where do they start their studies? And professionals too should also be aware of where to develop their skills. Demand for their work depends on this since large companies prefer a limited set of products. Check out the list of most popular programming languages to learn in 2021 and also you can read about programming languages for 2022.

What are Top Javascript Frameworks and Libraries for 2020? Here is the list of the Javascript Frameworks and Libraries for 2020 to use are:

1. Angular.js
2. React.js
3. Vue.js
4. Node.js
5. Express.js
6. Redux
7. GraphQL
8. Svelte

Rating the speed of work or file sizes is ineffective since all frameworks or libraries are good in their own way. Therefore, under the gun the most popular and sought after software. The main question is: what is being used today on a global scale?

The top of the rankings

The last couple of years, the first lines of front-end frameworks occupy Angular and React. In 2018-2019 Vue was added to this list. Therefore, we first consider the prospects of these three products.

Angular in 2020

This is a full-featured framework that is used by huge corporations. Developers love it for high-quality documentation and no need to learn additional libraries.

Benefits:

• large ecosystem;
• full set of tools;
• high-quality code generation;
• elegant programming style.

Disadvantages:

• uses a lot of energy;
• large learning curve;
• poor optimization of solving problems with low productivity.

Every front-end developer should know design trends in motion-animation trends. Check out the following video to be aware:

Today, the position of this development environment has decreased significantly. Many developers began to complain about it much more often, and the community of The State of Javascript published the results of polls, according to which Angular is today considered a “dying” framework. However, there is still a lot of demand for specialists who know this product, which by 2020 will not die.

React in 2020

The network used to call it a framework. In fact, React is a very good Javascript library developed and maintained by Facebook. According to the latest data on various resources, this product is considered the highest quality. So, in 2018, it surpassed Angular in almost all indicators, both numerical and user-estimated.

Benefits:

• flexible;
• small file sizes;
• simple updates that do not violate stability;
• it is perfectly combined with other libraries if necessary.

Disadvantages:

• as a rule, knowledge of additional tools is required for full coding;
• the learning curve depends a lot on which background solution the user chooses;
• not optimized documentation.

At the moment, React is the most requested set of solutions. It is important that the complaints in his direction are significantly less in comparison with Angular. It is used by corporations like Airbnb and Twitter, because Facebook maintains its functionality and stability at a high level. It is obvious that by 2020 React will again occupy the first lines of the ratings.

Vue in 2020

Released in 2014, but received a worldwide vocation recently. First of all, he gained popularity due to the simplicity and very low file size. Recent updates have helped bypass React and Angular significantly in many ways. But, objectively, this framework has not yet reached the level of the previous two.

Benefits:

• small learning curve;
• easy setup;
• easy integration with elements of other programming languages.

Disadvantages:

• limited set of tools;
• still a small user community;
• evolves rapidly (plus and minus at the same time: due to rapid development, many examples of development may be outdated).

A year ago, I would say "let's wait for the reaction of the majority." Now the majority of Asian companies (for example, Xiaomi and Alibaba) have switched to this framework. Polls have shown that:

• 90% of those who used Vue will be happy to work with it in the future;
• 70% of those who heard about Vue are interested in studying it.

That’s why now I can say with confidence that by 2020 Vue will be one of the key Javascript trends.

More detailed comparative characteristics of these three products you can study in our previous article.

Node.js in 2020

Today is rated by developers as one of the best back-end frameworks. This is cross-platform software that allows you to create high-performance and lightweight applications becasue of new mobile appp trends. From year to year it remains one of the most downloadable open source frameworks.

Benefits:

• simple application scalability in both horizontal and vertical positions;
• easy to learn;
• can be used as a single software for programming, which facilitates the development of web applications, since it does not need to refer to additional tools;
• it is considered full-stack software, thanks to which it gives the opportunity to work on both client and server applications;
• high performance thanks to the Google V8 engine;
• a huge community, thanks to which there are already answers to most of the problematic issues;
• lack of well-established recommendations: complete freedom for developers.

Disadvantages:

• unstable API: during updates, changes that are often incompatible with the previous version often appear, because of which changes in the application code often have to be made;
• has a very limited set of libraries in comparison with other frameworks;
• an asynchronous programming model, which, according to most developers, is much more complicated blocking I/O.

Express.js in 2020

As a rule, during discussions, it is simply combined with Node.js. Although Express.js is a framework for Node, it has a lot of features that should not be missed. According to surveys on The State of Javascript, the majority of respondents who used this framework would work with it again.

Developers appreciate Express.js for its flexibility, simplicity, extensibility, and high performance. For these reasons, it is part of the well-known MEAN stack in the IT environment, which, unlike the others, fully supports Javascript.

Benefits:

• one person can control both external behavior and data access levels, making the development process much faster and easier;
• allows you to use the same language to configure the server and develop applications, which reduces the cost of hiring a development team;
• simple integration of third-party solution sets;
• easy to learn.

Disadvantages:

• built on the philosophy of middleware plug-ins, without understanding the essence of which it is impossible to work with the framework;
• template code (if attempts are made to change the approach during development, the code structure will be violated, which will require additional corrections).

Express.js is a framework that provides the necessary functions for developing "off-frame". It also allows you to extend the functionality by adding middleware. It is easy to start with this product, since the documentation is well-written for it. In conjunction with Node.js, they will be the main trends in back-end development both among specialists and beginners.

Redux in 2020

This library is today considered the best software for managing the state of the application. The main task is to update the indicators and maintain relevance. Key elements for which Redux is responsible:

• pressing buttons, time-out, form input (and any other similar actions);
• control over the execution of the action and return the page to a general view;
• constant updating of visual information for the user.

As can be seen in the graphs, only a small percentage of developers who have dealt with Redux would not like to encounter it again. Also, the majority of users who heard about it are interested in learning.

It is worth noting that, as a rule, Redux is used with React, which, as already mentioned, is at the forefront. Their compatibility indicates the high quality of this library.

Another indicator is the rapidly growing downloads of this software. Up to today (with the exception of small jumps due to marketing), the statistics are positive. This leads to the conclusion that Redux will be one of the key trends 2020.

Dark horses

GraphQL in 2020

The release of this library occurred in 2015, which is quite a long time in the context of the development of modern technologies. Nevertheless, this software can be considered quite young. And over the past year, it has attracted more and more attention from developers.

GraphQL is a set of solutions that is used to download information from the server. It allows you to determine which data is needed and makes it easy to combine data from different sources.

Turning once again to this survey, it is clear that there are not so many respondents using GraphQL, but almost every one of them wants to continue working with it. What is more interesting, 62% of respondents heard about this library and are interested in studying it.

Now, not much is heard about it, but experts assure that GraphQL has grown significantly compared to previous years. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to it. Perhaps soon the demand for relevant specialists will be higher.

Svelte in 2020

A little-known, but very promising framework. The main developer is Richard Harris, better known as the author of the previously popular RactiveJS. A key feature of Svelte is the very small file size due to the shorter code.

If you write, for example, on React, as a result, you get the code for the application and the framework. Without the latter, the application will not work. In other words, the framework is the code that provides the application.
The idea of Svelte is that it is only a tool for creating code. After creating the application, it can exist separately from Svelte. The framework will only be applied if edits are made.

Due to this, the final file size is much smaller. At the same time, the speed of the software increases, since it needs to process less information.

A noticeable disadvantage of this framework is its limited set of features, even in comparison with RactiveJS, not to mention the current tops. Svelte has a small learning curve. But the community of this framework is very small due to its low popularity. Therefore, there may be difficulties in case of problem situations.

Nevertheless, thanks to its unique approach to developing applications, Svelte has every chance of reaching the top of the ratings by 2020. You can stay with React, but experts recommend starting the study of Svelte, to become one of the first qualified specialists on occasion.

Conclusion

Many will ask: which software is better to use? I can say that there is no exact answer. First of all, it depends on the desired result. It is also important to consider what additional tools you plan to use. After all, some frameworks better cope with integration, others have a full set of their own components and are less suitable for using secondary solution sets.

But keep in mind that the "new" is better to learn at the dawn of the project. As a rule, many people understand the "mainstream" frameworks. The demand for them is high, but at the same time, most of the vacancies are occupied. Therefore, it will definitely not be superfluous to study the mentioned "dark horses".

You should definitely read an article about the best Javascript framework and libraries to learn in 2022.