Why do you need Backbone.js?
Building single-page web apps or complicated user interfaces will get extremely difficult by simply using jQuery or MooTools. The problem is standard JavaScript libraries are great at what they do - and without realizing it you can build an entire application without any formal structure. You will with ease turn your application into a nested pile of jQuery callbacks, all tied to concrete DOM elements.
I shouldn't need to explain why building something without any structure is a bad idea. Of course you can always invent your own way of structuring your application but you miss out on the benefits of the open source community.
Why single page applications are the future
Backbone.js enforces that communication to the server should be done entirely through a RESTful API. The web is currently trending such that all data/content will be exposed through an API. This is because the browser is no longer the only client, we now have mobile devices, tablet devices, Google Goggles and electronic fridges etc.
So how does Backbone.js help?
Backbone is an incredibly small library for the amount of functionality and structure it gives you. It is essentially MVC for the client and allows you to make your code modular. If you read through some of the beginner tutorials the benefits will soon become self evident and due to Backbone.js light nature you can incrementally include it in any current or future projects.
Other frameworks
If you are looking for comparisons to build your single page application, try some of these resourceful links.
- A feature comparison of different frontend frameworks
- Todo MVC - Todo list implemented in the many different types of frontend frameworks
Contributors
If you questions regarding why you should choose Backbone.js as your framework, please leave a comment below