Overview

Handlebars.js

Stacks8.3K

Followers3.2K

Votes308

RactiveJS

Stacks19

Followers26

Votes21

GitHub Stars5.9K

Forks395

Handlebars.js vs RactiveJS: What are the differences?

## Introduction
Handlebars.js and RactiveJS are both popular JavaScript templating libraries used for dynamic web content generation.

1. **Data Binding**:
Handlebars.js uses one-way data binding, where changes in data are not automatically reflected in the view. In contrast, RactiveJS employs two-way data binding, allowing changes in data to be automatically reflected in the view.

2. **Performance**:
RactiveJS is known for its fast performance due to its efficient two-way data binding mechanism. Handlebars.js, on the other hand, may suffer from performance issues when dealing with large datasets or frequent updates.

3. **Additional Features**:
RactiveJS includes built-in support for animations, transitions, and components, making it a comprehensive solution for dynamic web applications. Handlebars.js, while capable of handling templates elegantly, lacks such extensive features out of the box.

4. **Syntax**:
Handlebars.js follows a syntax similar to Mustache, with double curly braces for templating. RactiveJS, however, introduces a more expressive syntax, allowing for features like partials, decorators, and transitions.

5. **Error Handling**:
RactiveJS provides detailed error messages and fine-grained control over template parsing and rendering, making it easier to debug issues within the templates. Handlebars.js, on the other hand, may provide less detailed error information, potentially complicating the debugging process.

6. **Community and Support**:
Handlebars.js boasts a larger community and wider adoption in the industry, leading to more extensive documentation, tutorials, and third-party integrations. RactiveJS, while well-supported, may have a smaller user base and fewer resources available for troubleshooting and learning.

## Summary
In Summary, Handlebars.js and RactiveJS differ in data binding method, performance, additional features, syntax, error handling, and community support, making them suitable for different use cases in web development.

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Advice on Handlebars.js, RactiveJS

Asad

Software Engineer at Lisec Automation

Jun 15, 2020

Needs adviceon

.NET

Handlebars.js

@All: I am searching for the best template engine for .NET. I started looking into several template engines, including the Dotliquid, Handlebars.js, Scriban, and Razorlight. I found handlebar a bit difficult to use when using the loops and condition because you need to register for helper first. DotLiquid and Scriban were easy to use and in Razorlight I did not find the example for loops.

Can you please suggest which template engine is best suited for the use of conditional/list and looping and why? Or if anybody could provide me a resource or link where I can compare which is best?

Thanks In Advance

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Comments

Detailed Comparison

Handlebars.js	RactiveJS
Handlebars.js is an extension to the Mustache templating language created by Chris Wanstrath. Handlebars.js and Mustache are both logicless templating languages that keep the view and the code separated like we all know they should be.	Ractive was originally created at theguardian.com to produce news applications. Ractive takes your Mustache templates and transforms them into a lightweight representation of the DOM – then when your data changes, it intelligently updates the real DOM.
-	Ractive.js is a template-driven UI library, but unlike other tools that generate inert HTML, it transforms your templates into blueprints for apps that are interactive by default.;Two-way binding, animations, SVG support and more are provided out-of-the-box – but you can add whatever functionality you need by downloading and creating plugins.;Some tools force you to learn a new vocabulary and structure your app in a particular way. Ractive works for you, not the other way around – and it plays well with other libraries.
Statistics
GitHub Stars -	GitHub Stars 5.9K
GitHub Forks -	GitHub Forks 395
Stacks 8.3K	Stacks 19
Followers 3.2K	Followers 26
Votes 308	Votes 21
Pros & Cons
Pros 106 Simple 76 Great templating language 50 Open source 36 Logicless 20 Integrates well into any codebase	Pros 8 Lightweight 5 Virtual Dom 4 Easy one page app templating of data 2 Components 2 Data-binding
Integrations
Mustache	Mustache Node.js

What are some alternatives to Handlebars.js, RactiveJS?

TypeScript

TypeScript is a language for application-scale JavaScript development. It's a typed superset of JavaScript that compiles to plain JavaScript.

Pug

This project was formerly known as "Jade." Pug is a high performance template engine heavily influenced by Haml and implemented with JavaScript for Node.js and browsers.

Mustache

Mustache is a logic-less template syntax. It can be used for HTML, config files, source code - anything. It works by expanding tags in a template using values provided in a hash or object. We call it "logic-less" because there are no if statements, else clauses, or for loops. Instead there are only tags. Some tags are replaced with a value, some nothing, and others a series of values.

Slim Lang

Slim is a template language whose goal is to reduce the view syntax to the essential parts without becoming cryptic. It started as an exercise to see how much could be removed from a standard html template (<, >, closing tags, etc...). As more people took an interest in Slim, the functionality grew and so did the flexibility of the syntax.

EJS

It is a simple templating language that lets you generate HTML markup with plain JavaScript. No religiousness about how to organize things. No reinvention of iteration and control-flow. It's just plain JavaScript.

Jinja

It is a full featured template engine for Python. It has full unicode support, an optional integrated sandboxed execution environment, widely used and BSD licensed.

Twig

It is a modern template engine for PHP. It is flexible, fast, and secure. Its syntax originates from Jinja and Django templates.

Nunjucks

Rich Powerful language with block inheritance, autoescaping, macros, asynchronous control, and more. Heavily inspired by jinja2. It supports all modern browsers.

Hogan.js

Hogan.js is a 3.4k JS templating engine developed at Twitter. Use it as a part of your asset packager to compile templates ahead of time or include it in your browser to handle dynamic templates.