Spry framework for Ajax?

Question

Since the release of CS3, Spry seems to be the latest buzzword on the streets. But for those of us "experienced" designers, a lot of the Spry effects look like Scriptaculous rip-offs. ( http://script.aculo.us/ ) I don't see anything in there new or innovative that Scriptaculous can't already do. (with less code in fact.) And the Ajax aspect of it, does it actually help writing Ajax script any easier? The majority of authors can't get over this hurdle.

Answer 1

All of the frameworks do the same thing. They all have the same effects and 90% of the same capabilities. What differentiates them is their architecture. That is expressed in a number of ways:

1) Weight. The overall size of the library
2) Practices. Does the library adhere to commonly accepted programming best practices? Libraries that do are easier to maintain and modify.
3) Implementation. I like the YUI (Yahoo! UI) library because it has a very formal architecture. Some people like other libraries because they allow code to be written in as few keystrokes as possible, shortening the implementation code (the $() substitute for document.getElementById() is the most popular example). YUI implementations have slightly more keystrokes, but in my personal opinion, it is better to place more emphasis on correctness of structure rather than brevity of code, as long as the difference is not enormous (since weight of code IS still a consideration for web development).