Backbone.js and its Advantages

Lightweight JavaScript library. Structured client-side application. Model View Collection (MVC) framework. Does it ring a bell? Well, if not then the chances are you don’t know about Backbone js. It’s basically a library that uses JQuery and JavaScript to make dynamic apps. Moreover, it also offers an MVC pattern. Now how does MVC work?

Here, the model holds the state of your data and after the updation of the model, there will be a view of the UI that the user will see and interact with. The view will then go to the controller to handle the interactions between the user and the data. Why am I telling this? Backbone.js brought this whole idea of MVC to the browser.

Apart from this, there were many unique features in backbone.js. It came with the fundamentals that you would need for any modern JS app. It had an events module which was kind of like a pub sub module. You also had a model that has ways to make backbone models.

And there was this router in backbone.js that was used to develop single-page apps (SPAs). Now, if you are not sure what SPAs are then let me tell you. SPA is an app that can fit in one single web page. The code of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is retrieved with a single page load. What are the benefits of SPA? Well, smooth UX, retrieved code, and resources available on demand. Example of SPA? Gmail, Google Maps, and PayPal, to name a few.

Okay, but the valid question is why should you use backbone.js? Well, the following are some of the benefits of backbone.js.

1. It can build apps as well as the front end easily using JavaScript functions.
2. There are different building blocks for the model, view, and controller.
3. It automatically updates the HTML code of the app.
4. You can find free and open-source libraries.
5. You can develop the client-side web or mobile app in an organized format.
6. You can even develop small web apps using JQuery.

And if you are sold on these benefits, then you still can’t use Backbonejs, right away. This is because for using backbone.js, you need JQuery because of its dynamic nature, and underscore.js to perform multiple operations.