Introduction to client-side frameworks
We begin our look at frameworks with a general overview of the area, looking at a brief history of JavaScript and frameworks, why frameworks exist and what they give us, how to start thinking about choosing a framework to learn, and what alternatives there are to client-side frameworks.
When JavaScript debuted in 1996, it added occasional interactivity and excitement to a web that was, up until then, composed of static documents. The web became not just a place to read things, but to do things. JavaScript’s popularity steadily increased. Developers who worked with JavaScript wrote tools to solve the problems they faced, and packaged them into reusable packages called libraries, so they could share their solutions with others. This shared ecosystem of libraries helped shape the growth of the web.
Now, JavaScript is an essential part of the web, used on 95% of all websites, and the web is an essential part of modern life. Users write papers, manage their budgets, stream music, watch movies, and communicate with others over great distances instantaneously, with text, audio or video chat. The web allows us to do things that used to be possible only in native applications installed on our computers. These modern, complex, interactive websites are often referred to as web applications.
