Lightweight UI Framework for JS/HTML5 Webkit-based mobile development with decent list performance

Question

My question is slightly different from Looking for a recommendation for a lightweight mobile HTML5/JavaScript framework

I'm joining a JS/HTML5 project that is targeting the ipad, currently using Backbone.js for MVC and Zepto for dom manipulation. They've experimented with jQuery mobile and found the list performance to be underwhelming.

Basically I'm looking for an alternative mobile Javascript UI framework with a non-viral OS license (Sencha seems out with gpl 3, and I'd like something focused purely on ui widgets), which provides performant dynamic lists and a general set of iOS style ui widgets. I do have experience with enyo, but I don't particularly like it, so that's out of the question as well.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Try Chocolate Chip UI - BSD Licence too.

Discussing performance - on the iPad, don't forget that if you want to have hardware accelerated CSS transforms (you want this), then you must be using webkit transforms / translates etc. Thomas Fuchs (author of Zepto/scriptaculous) wrote up a pretty good article talking about these issues, which I would suggest is essential reading, despite being from 2010.

Answer 2

I am in an almost identical situation, having used jQueryMobile for nearly a year, and finding myself completely unimpressed at this point. I have to say that I'm extremely exited for Lungo. The UI looks fantastic and is coded semantically.

In fact the whole framework has a superior construction quality and is highly optimized for mobile. It doesn't carry a huge footprint like JQM, the underlying QuoJS library is very powerful and provides nearly all the same idioms as jQuery. There is an app demo here.

There is a new interesting framework, Jo, but I haven't looked too much into it. It could be a good choice.

I'm also liking another unique library called Topcoat.io because it's only CSS based, with no assumptions. Very clean and performant.

Answer 3

This site gives all the options regarding mobile JS framework

http://sixrevisions.com/javascript/mobile%C2%A0web-development-frameworks/

But my suggestion is go for JQuery Mobile