Mootools
or jQuery, for example, might be a good fit.
If you want to build a web application and need to manipulate data sets along with prototyping
a complex user interface, using Prototype along with ExtJS might be a better solution.
When looking at any library, be sure to get your hands dirty and take a look at the source.
You??™ll need to have a good understanding of how the library is put together to be able to take
advantage of its power. Plus, it??™ll make it easier to do apples-to-apples comparisons.
The Community
Do a search in your favorite search engine to see who??™s using the library and the types of
things they run into. Having a popular community behind it is a good indication of how solid
a library it is. You??™ll also find places you can visit, such as blogs and forums, if you ever run into
a problem.
The Documentation
With many libraries being built and maintained by only a small team of developers on their
own time, you can imagine that documentation falls to the bottom of the to-do list. For
example, this was an issue with the Prototype library until only recently. The library had no
documentation except for a few third-party resources. A team of individuals banded together
to ensure that the library development itself continued on and that a proper site be built in
its honor, along with documentation.
CHAPTER 4 n LIBRARIES 97
nTip When picking a library, be sure to look through the documentation.
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