Question

There are a lot of Javascript MVC frameworks available these days (Backbone.js, Cappuccino, Ember.js, GWT, etc), each having their own positives and negatives.
My questions are ;

1. What are the actual benefits that the MVC framework provides over normal Javascript ?
2. Are all the frameworks mostly based on jQuery ?
3. How does one decide which framework to go for? What are the questions that one needs to ask before pinpointing on some framework?
4. One specific question that I have regarding MVC is there are some frameworks which update the view as soon as the model/data changes… So is that possible through AJAX?

Please let me know in very basic practical terms..

Answer 1

1. Benefits:

   • Reusable code
   • Separation of view logic from business logic
   • Easier to maintain / document

2. No. For example, ExtJS’s origins come from GWT (if I remember right)

3. You look at the complexity and scale of what you’re trying to do and weigh the pros and cons of the frameworks learning curve / expense (both time and monetary) against the features you need. For example, if you need powerful data grids and advanced widgets, extJS may be the way to go. However, if you need something lighter, Django may be a better option (just an example)
4. Yes, all of that is done via AJAX. In ExtJS 4, when you add a record to a store attached to a grid, the grid automatically updates.

I hope this helps.