There are many JavaScript frameworks that a web developer can chose to implement a website or a Rich Internet Application. The most famous are without doubt jQuery, Scriptaculous and MooTools. I’ve started programming some years ago using Scriptaculous, than I switched to MooTools and definitively to jQuery in the last two years. I like jQuery for its simplicity and potentials and it’s now my favorite framework to implement JavaScript interactions on my web pages. And you, which framework do you prefer? Why?
jQuery, Scriptaculous or MooTools: Which JS Framework Do You Prefer?
- 84
- October 22, 2009
- Tweet
Become a Contributor
We are looking for enthusiastic people, lovers of technology and internet for our editorial staff.Read more...
In spotlight
84
Comments Leave a Reply
RSS Feeds
Sign-up
Receive our news via e-mail
Receive our news via e-mail
Cover Stories
Sponsored Links





jQuery by far, I’m a web designer and the way I can use css sintax, just got me in.
I’m a jQuery fan, but I can’t lie – it’s the only framework I’ve used. When I finally started writing javascript 6 or 8 months ago, it was the simple choice because it was already included in the WordPress core, which I use with most of my work. Once I got comfortable with jQuery, I could never find a reason to switch.
I prefer MooTools. MooTools in my opinion is better with Object Oriented programming!
I evaluated a bunch of frameworks when I first started and concluded with jQuery. I started off with Prototype/Scriptaculous however trying to maintain projects that are used by huge number of users and environments became increasingly difficult. jQuery turned out to be easy to learn, and also provides the extensions to javascript that are nice and lovely, you get a great grasp of the language and can create great things in no time. I also use mootools here and there, but usually end up porting the things I need to jQuery anyway.
jQuery fan here! =)
I prefer JQuery of course!! it’s more easy for me
jQuery, easy to learn.
jQuery main reasons are; easy to learn, lots of plugins, great community :)
JQuery, easy and powerful
I started with MooTools but then I felt like it was getting behind the others so I switched to jQuery. It’s really easy to start with and given the big community it has, there’s a lot of material to learn and use.
IMO, Prototype is better for big projects and when you have to write a lot of custom js code, and jQuery is easier to use – and have all those great plugins. And Mootoos I’ve never used too much to have an good point of view.
jQuery is easy to learn and implement for me. MooTools seems a bit too complicated for me. But once you learn a library and you get the hold of it, everything is easy!
jQuery FTW! its easy to learn and less coding to achieve results :)
jQuery
jQuery the master of js frameworks!
+1 for jQuery. It’s one of the few that embraces JavaScript for what it is, instead of trying to make it into something else. And as to the comment up a little ways, JavaScript is already object-oriented, with or without MooTools or anything else. It’s just prototype based, so it may be a little different than you might be used to.
i Like jquery too, its simply , easy and fast , thats what we need,
But i hate moo tools too because you can not use moo tools with jquery in a webpage they both stop working :(
@Yash:
To get Mootools and jQuery work together see this two links:
- http://mootools.net/blog/2009/06/22/the-dollar-safe-mode/
- http://michaelshadle.com/2007/07/03/jquerys-no-conflict-mode-yet-another-reason-why-its-the-best/
That should help to let them work together, but just a question to think about: Is it really useful to have two JS-frameworks in one page, when both offer very similar features?
Mootools :roll:
jQuery of course!
I have the same routine with Antonio, first I started to use protoype-script.aculo.us then switched to MooTools and at last I am using jQuery now about 2 years or more. But in some works I still use MooTools.
Mootools, the animations are smoother than any other framework and if you know javascript by heart it doesn’t hold you back with simple stuff.
Mootools!
It’s simple when I need it simple and offers enough functionality to implement javascript-heavy object-oriented UIs.
I think JQuery is very powerfull and i use it in my web applications, but i prefer Adobe SPRY. It is great too.Try it
Without hesitation, I prefer MooTools.
The syntax and the management of elements is more logical than JQuery.
jQuery rocks!
I love jQueryUI for the GUI, with datepicker, accordion… and all plugins that use it, for example I’ve found this: http://jquery-ui.googlecode.com/svn/branches/dev/tests/visual/tooltip/default.html
…and themeroller has no equals!
Hi Antonio, some months ago I asked the same and more than 350 reader of my Blog took part on my poll “jQuery is dominating”. If you can see on the results 64% prefer jQuery, 8% Mootools, etc…
Therefore my answer to your question is – surprise, surprise – jQuery!
To me, Mootools is just greater than everything else, but on some points it’s easier to use jQuery instead.
I guess it’s better, when you’re a novice, to learn with jQuery. Indeed, there’s lot of more plugins, easier to implement or to add to a website but Mootools is more flexible and more functionally i think.
So I would say : Mootools FTW ! :)
I do use jQuery myself but I’ve heard a lot of good things about Dojo, anyone using it?
I use Dojo most of the time (playing with jQuery and liking it, but need more time in the cockpit). Dojo works very well, but is set up very differently. It (as a complete set of Dojo, Dijit, and DojoX) is more of a JavaScript application framework than merely a library, so uses will be different. Most of the development that I do at work has been writing custom application frameworks and engineering my own widgets (often from scratch). Once you get the swing of things, it is very nice. Recommendation though, if you are doing a lot with Dojo (in terms of creating your own widget classes) do read up on compressing and optimizing things. Performance is brilliant if you do compress and make custom build sets, but rather terrible if you don’t and have several custom interface pieces on the same page (like a portal or application dashboard).
jQuery
Mootools.
I use protoype first and after Mootools.
A good comparaison article.
http://jqueryvsmootools.com/
Scriptaculous.
because i use prototype, than i use Scriptaculous Dnd function.
http://aymanh.com/files/portal/ Dnd is better for me, i found JQuery Dnd function is too simple.
jQuery, powerful and easy to learn (thanx to CSS syntax)
Mootools FTW!
Absolutely Mootools.
What I like about it is that the basic stuff is pretty easy, and as you learn more and more you can understand the more Pro stuff a lot more clearly and in the end you aren’t limited to just the “easy stuff” like with jQuery. As some comparison site said, jQuery makes DOM lot more fun, MooTools makes whole javascript a lot more fun. And I completly agree.
Also the syntax (and the entire approach) seems more logical than the other frameworks.
MOOTOOLS!
jquery
Mootools. I often think I should switch to jQuery when I see the number of plugins published, but I’m just to used to code with Mootools… And I can achieve pretty much the same thing.
+1 for jQuery. Easy to learn, easy to use and a lot of plugins!
I use prototype and am happy to do so. But if I could start over I would have chosen JQuery.
jQuery for the community, ExtJs for the components and support. Wonder Twin powers, activate!
JQUERY , no others
jQuery!!
JQuery! Easy and great to use!
jQuery, it is simple, but powerful.
I have used Scriptaculous, Mootools and JQuery. Nowadays I use JQuery most often. Mootools is great, but just doesn’t seem as well supported as JQuery. I really like JQuery UI and am using it more and more.
I do a lot of work with ASP.NET codebase and I have intellisense for JQuery installed in Visual Studio. I also work with a CMS called Kentico which has Mootools as its native javascript so I use mootools sometimes to avoid ‘collissions.
Although it is not a framwork another good source for scripts that I use occasionally is dynamic drive – http://www.dynamicdrive.com/
Jquery fan here, as well!
JQuery ;)
Dojo & JQuery – depends on the project.
JQUERY!!
No doubt… jQuery all the way.
Jquery of course!
I prefer to use JQuery for light sites with some animations and other effects. It’s small and very fast. But for large portals with a lot of data manipulations and for web applications I prefer to use ExtJS. It provides a lot of very useful controls and makes development more easy. And also sometimes I use ExtJS Core, it’s as fast as JQuery and has some interesting and usable features for me.
jQuery + jQuery UI and sometimes ExtJs for applications that requier more robust functionality
JQuery.
Moo Tools is quite difficult and Scriptaculous is fancy but not very useful.
Mootools is awesome!
jQuery FTW =)
Prototype , but jQuery also not bad
MooToll .. yeah i like..!!
I’m not that experiences with ANY of them, but I’ll say this much:
In general, I tend to side with the “less popular” choice in ANY shootout. Just ’cause I’m that way. But when it comes to web development I have decided to throw my hat in with the world’s clear favourite, jQuery. With more and more plugins and articles and ideas coming all the time in the jQuery world, it doesn’t make sense to stick with something that might require more time doing personal experimentation and investigation to accomplish an end goal.
They’re all tools. They can all do similar jobs. But when I can find sample code that helps me solve a problem in 10 minutes instead of trial-and-error or waiting for a community that might take 2 days, there can be only one choice. I just don’t have enough time for any other framework.
For true dyed-in-the-wool developers who just need the syntax down for a given language, it’s probably less important. But for a “hack” like me, I need all the examples and support I can get.
jQuery ftw!
Greg
Totally saw the jQuery fans coming, and I don’t blame them. Easy to learn, easy to use, easy to expand.
J Q U E R Y !!!
I prefer Jquery… Its Awesome
jQuery!
Mootools – simple, but not too simple.
Easy to learn, easy to code, jquery makes javascript easy-peasy.
But I know somebody that could swear by YUI.
By the way any of you js geeks going to the Full Frontal conference in Brighton?
JQuery
First for me Mootools , Prototype with Scriptaculous and now Jquery my favourite.
I tried several JavaScript libs but in my opinion jQuery is the best of all. It’s fast, easy to use and very powerful. I won’t work with another. It kicks ass …
Definitely jQuery!
Jquery… easy to learn, fun to work
jQuery all the way.
jquery. super smooth, super easy
I’ve used all of them and I have to say Mootools suits me best.
I’m not much of a programmer, and seeing the simplicity of jQuery I prefer it to any others.
I am a js novice. I first started with Mootools, but the OOPS functionality and similar things in mootools made it hard for me to learn it. So I switched to JQuery which is very easy to learn and powerful too.
In short, I prefer JQuery but I also know that Mootools is also good.
But I just dont like Prototype and script.aculo.us. As a RoR developer, I think that it is a burden for it.
:)
I am a jQurey fan too. I love the simple but powerful syntax and the CSS-style selectors.
jQuery – the best!
I Always used JQUERY.., Its easy to use and easy to learn
It’s hard to argue with the wide adoption of jQuery, but I think MooTools is the better framework. The animations in MooTools is smoother, and if you are doing any kind of advanced UI, it ends up being smaller than serving jQuery + jQuery UI. MooTools object oriented nature allows code to be reused and streamlines the way I write javascript.
There are also some minor annoyances with jQuery such as the fact that you can’t guarantee the quality of a plugin unless you understand enough JS to analyze the code, and that $(‘#someId’) will always return a truthy value, even if that element doesn’t exist on the page. MooTools, on the other hand will return null if the id does not exist, which is more intuitive if you know how document.getElementById() works in plain old JS.
MooTools
jQuery, no doubt!!
Here’s a better question:
Let’s say there is a skill that you want to learn, but there are 2 ways to learn it.
One way is quicker and easier, but its kind of limited, in that it doesn’t provide a broader toolset which is needed to move on to bigger and better things. The advantage is you learn fast, the negative is the room for growth is limited.
Another way is harder at first. There isn’t as much help to get you there, but if you do the hard yards, the rewards are greater. You will not only have the skills that you would have achieved using the other method, but you will also have the tools to expand to bigger projects in the future. The advantage is a greater potential for growth, the disadvantage is that its slightly more challenging than other paths and may take longer to learn.
Which would you choose (answers below)?
If you choose the first path, the answer is jQuery.
If you choose the second path, the answer is Mootools.
I chose the second path.
I started on jQuery and used extensively. Then I got a job with a firm that uses MooTools. I’m currently learning the MooTools way and I have to say it is a bit more difficult that jQuery. It is true that the documentation and tutorial for MooTools are far less that jQuery, but I feel that I will be a much better front end developer after I have a handel on MooTools.
So for me, MooTools it is.