What is the best JavaScript framework for 2021?
What do you expect from the results of JavaScript Trends 2021? the State of JS?
The annual State of JavaScript 2020 report was released, and there were some negative, eyebrow-raising results. So I asked a colleague to pull out his crystal ball and predict what the JavaScript ecosystem will look like in 2021.
JavaScript’s popularity will crush by TypeScript.
What can I say? TypeScript has moved on from JavaScript’s significant trending phase and is now the standard. And for most software development projects, it’s the obvious choice: TypeScript’s popularity has been growing steadily for the past four years. With a 78% usage rate among professional developers, it’s 100% sure to be the most anticipated language of 2021.
Frontend frameworks The king will fall in 2021?
If you’re wondering which JavaScript framework you should learn in 2021, you’ll find the answer in this section. We asked Marcin Gajda, a leading frontend developer, to comment on the most popular JavaScript frameworks.
Marcin Gajda: As for the most used JS frameworks, this report clearly shows that these tools’ market is heading towards a specific stabilization. This category’s podium has remained unchanged for four years and is dominates by three well-known kings: React, Angular and Vue.js.
Outside the top three, Svelte has made some exciting strides, almost doubling its usage. This fourth place for open source software is not a surprise to me at all. It’s a wind of fresh air in the approach to building frontend web applications and will get more and more attention in 2021.
It illustrates by Svelte’s interest ranking, which for the second year running is over 65%. With so many frontend developers turning their attention to Svelte, it’s only a matter of time before it joins the ranks of the most widely used JavaScript frameworks.
Our developers had the opportunity to play with Svelte in 2019 and created a simple online game called Hyperunner.js. The experience of working with Svelte has been quite positive, and we are keeping an eye on its continued growth.
Svelte — Tried and tested case studies for writing TypeRunner.js applications.
Also, it’s interesting to note that Angular is at the top of the list. Even though more than half of developers use it, few are willing to learn this JavaScript framework. The common opinion of developers is that Angular has a high limit and works mainly for large and complex projects. Developers in 2021 will need a lightweight, easy-to-use framework. We predict that in 2021 developers will be attracted to small frameworks and microframeworks that are lightweight, easy to use, and offer a lot of satisfaction.
For the latter, we look at satisfaction with using JavaScript frameworks in our new State of JS report. Surprisingly, Svelte outperformed Reaction in this regard, taking the coveted number one position. Thanks to this and Svelte’s continued development, more and more people (and applications) will be turning to the “orange framework.
On the other hand, React still has a solid position in the frontend community, which will not change in 2021. The continuous development of this tool combined with pioneering work in the frontend world makes it the future-proof solution that many developers and customers are developing web applications. Features such as hooks in the past and concurrency model and component-based servers in the future ensure that React is convenient to use and broadly and adequately optimized for the web development landscape in 2021.
No surprises in data layer management
Almost nothing but silence on the React front, and Redux is still the top choice for complex solutions, but the decline in user satisfaction is noticeable. However, this gives GraphQL and Apollo-based solutions a chance. That chance as both technologies are slowly but effectively gaining satisfaction, usage, and awareness among React developers. More on JavaScript data layer trends in 2021 from Andrzej Wysoczanski, head of our Frontend team.
Andrzej Wysoczanski: The use of custom solutions shows that beating Redux will not be so easy. Despite the declining interest in and satisfaction with this tool favoring Context API in React, it is still irreplaceable for large applications. Perhaps the debut of Vue 3 will increase Vuex’s popularity in 2021. Or maybe in 2021, we will get something new from the state, the other new top player in the ranking?
GraphQL is currently extremely popular and ranks number one in terms of satisfaction, interest, and familiarity. Ease of use and promising cooperation in the backend seems to be the key to success and satisfied developers.
The developers rated their overall satisfaction as 3.3 on a scale of 0–5, which has remained relatively stable in recent years. It seems to me that the “State of JavaScript” report has not brought any big surprises in this respect, as it clearly shows that developers do not want to go crazy and take risks with alternatives. In 2021, this layer of our applications’ stability will become increasingly important and will force us to stick to tried and tested data layer technologies.
Backend frameworks and the entire Express.js domain
The results in this category are a mix of server-side rendering frameworks (Next.js, Nuxt.js), backend frameworks (Express.js, Nest.js), and static page generators (Gatsby, Headless CMS Strapi). Unfortunately, Remix — the first commercial framework in the React ecosystem — didn’t make a list, despite being mentioned by Kent C. as a better choice. Dodds.
Unfortunately, we haven’t had a chance to play with Remix yet, but it’s worth following as it has a lot of support from experts in the JavaScript and Reacts worlds.
Here’s a look at how the popularity of backend frameworks will affect JavaScript trends in 2021 — Adam Polak, our head of Node.js developers.
Tama Polak: JavaScript backend trends show that there is only one solution to master them all — Express.js. Furthermore, if we glance at it through the lens of frameworks on the top list that uses Express.js as their foundation (Next.js, Nest.js, Nuxt .js), this victory is downright scary.
Another exciting aspect is that Fastify is in third place in the “interest” group, which may be a harbinger of the need to build even more efficient systems by 2021, which can handle even more searches at a lower cost. Interestingly, it appeared when COVID-19 forced us all online, causing a significant strain on the global network.
Jest not around and wins in the testing category
Honestly, I couldn’t be more surprised. I also couldn’t be happier that the tools and libraries of most significant interest to respondents were Jest, Testing Library, Cypress, and Storybook — exactly the solutions we use every day in almost all of The Software House’s projects.
Now, with more insights into 2021 JavaScript trends in testing — Rafał Kucharski, Lead Frontend Developer.
Rafał Kucharski: There are hardly any surprises when it comes to unit testing libraries. Jest continues its reign, which expects since React the most popular framework, and Jest is part of the bootstrapping tool that everyone uses.
JavaScript testing tools in everyday use
Jasmine, the default testing tool for Angular projects, continues to decline, which is related to the decline of Angular itself.
Mocha is still a viable alternative, but it seems that for most users, the effort it takes to set it up correctly is not worth the few seconds it can save on the time it takes to complete their tests.
With its more humane and user-centric testing approach, Testing Library has become a go-to solution for testing React components.
Much more interesting is that we see a growing interest in integration and end-to-end testing frameworks. That’s one of the testing trends for JavaScript in 2021 that I would keep a close eye on.
Leading Frontend Developer
It’s hard to say for sure what causes this. It could be that the community has become more mature or that good tools have finally become available that bring new ideas. I’d like to believe it has something to do with Typescript gaining popularity. Now that static checks are available, the community can finally move away from the old test pyramid and embrace a more modern test trophy approach, which recognizes that static checks can significantly reduce the number of unit tests that developers have to write. Can use the time saved in this way can be used to write integration and end-to-end tests. If done correctly, this can provide much more value.
That said, Cypress is an excellent open-source framework, and it would be unfair not to acknowledge that without its existence, the buzz around non-unit testing would not even be as big as it is today in the frontend world. I haven’t had the chance to play with Playwright myself yet, but it looks like a complementary solution to Cypress, and I’m not surprised that many developers are looking forward to what 2021 will bring for them. I consider myself part of that group.
Two in one — React Native takes on mobile
I’m moderately satisfied with the results of the “Mobile & Desktop” category. At The Software House, we’ve decided to switch to this JavaScript framework completely. Now it is our first choice for mobile solutions.
More on the latest JavaScript technologies for mobile from Aleksander Patschek, Senior Frontend Developer and specialist in React Native.
Aleksander Patschek: In 2020, React Native completely dominated the competition in mobile development. It won with Native Apps in every category. In my opinion, this is due to the unstoppable popularity of React framework worldwide, which will not end soon.
React and React Native’s similarities make it easy for frontend developers to create a mobile app. And for companies, it’s easier and cheaper to find frontend developers who can build web and mobile at the same time, rather than setting up a separate mobile team.
Senior Frontend Developer
The latest JavaScript technologies in mobile development
I should also mention Expo, which gained popularity in 2020. It is built on React Native, putting this JavaScript framework on the radar and increasingly becoming the choice for creating mobile apps.
For these reasons, I predict that developers will see an even further market takeover by React Native in 2021. And with React Native for Windows and macOS, it could overtake Electron by 100%.. If you are looking for a reliable company you can react to top Java development companies in India.
