AlpineJS - the new kid on the block

AlpineJS - the new kid on the block

Written by Cody Jenson on Nov 1st, 2022 ・ Views ・ Report Post

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Alpine is one of the newest frameworks to hit the block, and in this article, I want to explain why I think this excellent javascript library has some serious potential 💪

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But First!

What is different about this framework?

AlpineJS allows you to add functionality to your web application without worrying about build steps and configurations. It has a simple syntax for adding javascript inline with your elements. Take a look at the example below:

<div x-data="{ visible: false }" class="bg-blue-500 w-5 h-5">
    <p x-show="visible">I am a paragraph</p>
    <button @click="visible=true">Toggle the paragraph visibility</button>
</div>

As you can see 👆 we add our data inside the x-data attribute. We have a variable called visible, and when that is set to true, the paragraph is visible; otherwise, it's not visible. This type of simplicity provides the ultimate developer experience.

Simplicity

AlpineJS puts the simplicity back into javascript with its simple inline syntax. Simplicity is going to be super helpful for all the new-combers. Many developers will find Alpine easy to get started. An excellent onboarding experience is a surefire way to guarantee success.

This is the way that most javascript libraries/frameworks have started. Many famous frameworks like React or Vue used to be simple to get started, but over the years, it has become more complicated.

I hope that Alpine continues to be easy to strap on and get running. It should be as simple as adding a CND link to your website, and you're off to the races. Of course, you may also add Alpine in your build steps to take advantage of all their plug-ins.

Community

The Alpine community is still relatively small compared to some of the other javascript frameworks; however, now is the perfect time to start building tools/plug-ins for this library and get help from the tight-knit group of Alpine developers.

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The Alpine community also crosses paths with the Laravel community because the creator also built Livewire, a tool that makes building apps in Laravel easy. That brings us to the final reason 👇

Laravel Livewire

Laravel Livewire is a tool that makes building web applications so much fun. Livewire and Alpine work hand-in-hand to give the developer a fantastic experience building apps.

When you work with Alpine and Livewire in a Laravel application, your front-end and back-end are joined together at the hip. Making ajax requests to your application as simple as adding an attribute to your HTML elements. It's the bee's knees, the cat's pajamas, fun and dandy like cotton candy. 👀

The fact that Alpine has Livewire as it's wingman will guarantee the growth and success of this excellent javascript framework.

If you still haven't checked out AlpineJS, head over to their official website at https://alpinejs.dev and learn more.

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