State of JS 2020: Trends and Satisfaction of JavaScript Libraries and Frameworks

Data source: State of JS 2020 .

1. Technology Trends

Some emerging JavaScript libraries enjoy high developer satisfaction but have low adoption, making technology selection difficult. The following charts help illustrate these trends.

Figure 1‑1 shows the time‑based trend of each library, with the vertical axis representing usage (low to high) and the horizontal axis representing satisfaction (bad to good). Lines moving toward the upper‑right (red) indicate growing popularity, while those moving toward the lower‑left (green or gray) indicate declining interest.

Figure 1‑2 compares satisfaction versus user count for each library, using the same quadrant layout.

Simple Analysis

Front‑end UI frameworks: React scores high on both usage and satisfaction; Vue.js has good satisfaction and rising usage; Angular’s usage is decent but satisfaction is decreasing.

Node.js server frameworks: Express shows increasing usage and satisfaction; Koa has low usage and mediocre satisfaction.

Bundlers: webpack remains dominant in usage, though its satisfaction is slipping; Rollup’s usage and satisfaction are both rising, but it still lags behind webpack in scale.

TypeScript and Jest are soaring in both adoption and satisfaction.

Other tools such as Electron, Puppeteer and esbuild have low usage but very high satisfaction.

2. JavaScript Flavors

Languages that compile to JavaScript are also evaluated. The following charts show developer satisfaction for each language.

TypeScript clearly outperforms other languages in both usage and satisfaction.

3. Front‑end Frameworks

The following charts display satisfaction for various front‑end frameworks.

React and Vue.js remain the most popular front‑end frameworks; Svelte shows a rapid rise in satisfaction, while Angular’s popularity continues to decline.

4. Data Management Layer

Libraries for loading and managing data in web applications are examined.

GraphQL and Apollo Client enjoy high satisfaction, Vuex is also well‑liked, while Redux’s satisfaction is declining.

5. Back‑end Frameworks

Server‑side JavaScript frameworks are evaluated.

Express and Next.js are the most popular back‑end frameworks; Koa’s satisfaction is decreasing.

6. Testing Tools

Developer satisfaction for testing tools is shown below.

Jest remains the most popular testing tool, while the newer Testing Library has quickly gained favor in 2020.

7. Bundlers

Although webpack still dominates, newer tools such as Snowpack and esbuild demonstrate impressive performance and satisfaction.

Personal testing shows esbuild can reduce build time by over 100% compared with webpack.

8. Cross‑Platform Frameworks

Cross‑platform frameworks are evaluated for developer satisfaction.

Electron remains popular, but cross‑platform frameworks still lag behind native apps in performance, limiting their growth.

9. Other Tools

User counts for miscellaneous utility libraries are shown.

Axios (HTTP client), Lodash (utility functions) and Moment (date handling) continue to be widely used.

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