JavaScript is now hugely popular in website development, and the libraries that come with it have become a powerful tool in the hands of every web developer. But how many developers know how to use plain JavaScript on its own, without one of its libraries such as jQuery?
We would never want to discourage you from using JavaScript libraries to build your websites, but here are a few points that may make you think again and give yourself the chance to learn JavaScript as it really is!
1) Less trouble when things go wrong!
Nobody who builds websites ever wants to end up trying to get something to work, having done everything right, and still not being able to find what is wrong. Libraries can help you create powerful effects and data-processing programs, but when something breaks you will still have to rely on your JavaScript knowledge to fix any incompatibilities, because libraries are themselves written in pure JavaScript!
2) Find the bugs in your code quickly!
If you use a library that supports plugins, you have surely come across one that performed badly on a client’s website, or that you just could not get to work. If you know JavaScript, you will most likely be able to modify the library, find where the problem comes from and solve it, so the website performs better. The result is a happier client, which is what we all want!
3) Do you really need a library?
We often use a library to build a website without really needing it. Instead, we could use a small piece of JavaScript code, or even better, CSS3 and HTML5!
A library usually “weighs” between 20 KB and 80 KB. That is not usually much “weight” for a desktop computer, but it is a huge “weight” for a mobile-optimised website, where we want to keep the page “weight” as low as possible.
4) Stay up to date!
JavaScript is a language that keeps developing and evolving. You can now use JavaScript on the server side of a website with Node.js. You can also use HTML5 for geolocation and CSS3 to create effects! The best approach is to know the structure of the language, so that you can modify any library you need when building a website or application. That way you stay in control of the library!
At WebMate we of course use these technologies, which is why all our websites are built for fast browsing!
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