Top Javascript Frameworks and Trends in 2020

With a fast-growing MEAN stack for web and mobile applications, Javascript is becoming the first choice for developers. It is the favorite technology for most professional developers (71.5% in 2018 and 69.7% in 2019), according to the Stack Overflow survey report. Let’s now look at the emerging trends and Javascript applications that are shaping for 2020.

Javascript Trends 2020 Overview

All modern browsers support Javascript and that’s why over 10400 companies in the world use Javascript in their stacks, according to stackshare.io. Here’s an overview of rising Javascript trends for 2020.

1. Booming TypeScript: It is a superset of Javascript and existing JS programs function smoothly on TypeScript.
2. In 2018, Vue.JS surpassed React, but since 2019, React is getting back its momentum.
3. Framework independent web components are growing rapidly.
4. Developers are considering modular and reusable components.
5. Angular 7 is on the rise with new interesting features.
6. More focus on solution-driven APIs through GraphQL.

TypeScript is designed by Microsoft to expand Javascript capabilities. Developers love TypeScript because of fewer bugs, easy to read codes, and self-documentation feature. Visit Github for TypeScript resources.

Top Javascript Frameworks in 2020

Although we see growing traction for framework-agnostic components, the demand for simple and scalable frameworks is still intact. Let’s look at the top 3 frontend and backend JS Frameworks.

The Top 3 Javascript Frameworks for Frontend Development

#1 Angular 7

AngularJS is a Javascript-based, open-source frontend framework developed by Google. Since its release in 2010, there have been several releases to make AngularJS more user-friendly and effective for web development. Following are some of the exceptional features that make Angular 7 even more desirable.

1. Styling with CSS, SCSS, LESS using ng new / ng add commands.
2. Virtual scrolling is now possible with ScrollingModule.
3. Sorting and moving elements between the list has become simpler with the new DragDropModule function.
4. Using TypeScript, Angular 7 has updated and enhanced dependencies.

#2 React

Facebook introduced React in 2013 and it has been trending for the last four years. Although last year’s release did not include any major release (just minor bug fixes in React DOM and Is), it still boasts of its biggest knowledgebase, support, and community. The following are the reasons for the popularity of React among developers – 

1. Native UI: HTML 5 UI comes with several compromises in terms of intuitive user experience. React brings forth a new and highly functional approach to constructing user interfaces. In other words, the application UI is simply the function of the current application state.
2. Component-based approach: It allows building encapsulated components that can be assembled to make complex UIs.

Also read – What is React Native Framework: An In-depth Study

#3 Ionic

Ionic is a framework to build and deploy cross-platform (android, native iOS, web) apps. Developers prefer this framework especially because of its intuitive UI components. Apart from simple CLI, and impressive icons, the best features that Ionic delivers are – 

1. Deeplinking – it allows loading a specific view on the app from a web link.
2. AoT Compiling – to load apps at a lightning-fast speed.
3. Live Reload – to compile and redeploy apps at every stage of development.

The Top 3 Javascript Frameworks for Backend Development

#1 Express 

Express is one of the four components of the rapidly growing MEAN stack (MongoDB, Express, AngularJS, and Node.js). Developers prefer this framework for building APIs and web applications because of its robustness and minimalism. There have been 7 releases to upgrade the performance of the Express framework and no doubt, it retains the position of trending javascript frameworks even for 2019-20.

Express is one of the oldest active Javascript framework since 2010 and is termed as a standard server framework for Node.js.

#2 Next.js

It is a small framework particularly for developing applications in React. Next.js allows developing complex applications with minimal coding. This year, React and Next.js are going hand-in-hand. The growing popularity of React is driving developers’ inclination towards using Next.js. Its key features are – 

1. Allows building universal JS applications that are compatible with any server or device.
2. Irrespective of the data source, server rendering is easier in Next.js.
3. It has in-built styling but also works with every CSS-in-JS solution.

#3 Meteor

It is an open-source isomorphic (applications that run on both client and server) javascript framework. Meteor has grown exponentially since its release in 2012. Its key features are-

1. Compact code: It has an integrated Javascript stack that allows writing compact codes. For instance, a 1000 lines of code can be written in just 10 lines in Meteor.
2. Hot push: It allows new feature releases without app store approval or users having to download the native app again.
3. Technology integration: It allows integrating popular frameworks and tools. Thus, utilizing the best features from other tech stacks/frameworks.

Special mention: GraphQL

GraphQL is a query language for APIs and provides a runtime environment for fulfilling queries. It is developed by Facebook and is a star performer in the Github community. Also, many developers believe — GraphQL can replace REST APIs very soon. 

GraphQL addresses the following data issues-

1. It gets all the necessary data to the client via a single request to the server.
2. The client can communicate in a universal query language. Thus, the server need not specify the structure and composition of the returned data.
3. It follows a declarative approach of describing the data requirements for the interface. Here, the focus is more on “what” rather than “how” making the information retrieval process simpler.

What about Node.js?

Node.js is the most popular Javascript-based runtime environment for MEAN stack. One should not confuse it with frameworks. It allows developers to use Javascript on both front and backend. Its resourceful APIs make backend development easier. It is a great choice for developing real-time and collaborative applications to date.

Probably, you’ll be interested to know what has changed in Javascript technology over the past few years. Take a look at the past trends-

1. Javascript Trends 2019
2. Javascript Trends 2018
3. Javascript Trends 2017

Bonus – Top trending React Libraries of 2019!