Why I Choose Popular Frameworks

I feel compelled to write this post so late in the day after clocking Tyler Renelle’s rant on github about his problems with the popularity of certain JS frameworks (in the main Backbone.js). After having written apps in a variety of JS frameworks (Backbone, Spine and Meteor), I’ve learned that the feature set of a framework is not the only thing I hold dear when making a choice between them.

Documentation, support, learning curve and most importantly community are what also guide me when building anything. If I need to make an app quickly, I’ll of course develop it in my favourite tool (Backbone), because I’ve been using it for years and therefore doesn’t hold a cost. If I have a problem, I know there’s a ton of hackers who’ve probably already worked on solutions already and mechanisms are in place for them to offer advice. There may be better documented more capable tools, but I can’t foot the expense in the short term that might come with investigating something new and run the risk of hitting problems I can’t solve. In the long term, as a framework grows in popularity and garners these other factors then I may make that jump.

The real reason these frameworks are popular right now is in part because they are already popular.