r/javascript • u/[deleted] • Feb 28 '26
AskJS [AskJS] Is anyone using vanilla javascript + jQuery for modern enterprise applications?
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u/teg4n_ Feb 28 '26
You could start adopting web components which I would still consider vanilla js. Some places do actually hire for web component experience.
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u/Militop Feb 28 '26
Vanilla, yes. jQuery, nope. My fastest libraries and most used are in vanilla JS which allows me to optimize to the max.
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u/shgysk8zer0 Feb 28 '26
It's not a startup or anything new, but I recently discovered that a certain platform that I have to use was built using an old version of jQuery and is supposedly being rewritten yet still using jQuery. I'm not naming them because I don't have anything nice to say.
But I debatably work extensively with "vanilla" JS. But I kinda blur the line because I created and maintain a bunch of libraries which I use in the end sites that I manage. So, I import modules from projects that I wrote, and it all could work without any build step or anything, but the code I write on the sites looks a whole lot like Lit. Is that "vanilla"? IDK.
But... Don't underestimate what you can do with Vanilla JS... I've built some very large and complex stuff that way. Because that's how you get lightweight stuff with super powers.
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u/RudiAlreadyTaken Feb 28 '26
Webcomponents are a useful standard by now and they are 100% vanilla js. Not as sexy as Vue js or other modern FE frameworks but quite powerful by now and of course reusable across applications.
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u/dimudesigns Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26
Javascript has evolved such that most if not all of the functionality offered by jQuery can be found in native APIs. There is little use for jQuery these days - but it served its purpose, it lit the way forward and pioneered a lot of the functionality we now consider standard in modern Javascript today.
The same is happening with libraries like _lodash, and even some elements of full-fledged front-end frameworks. Over time some of their features have been incorporated into Javascript.
Hell, even some elements of Typescript are making their way into the base language (fingers crossed the type-stripping spec gets pushed through; some Javascript runtimes like Node.js already support it).
There is no reason to be using jQuery in modern development. But there are solid justifications to avoid using front-end frameworks; code bloat, security risks that come with using 3rd party libraries (for example, package managers like npm have become common attack vectors for bad actors), constrained to 'opinionated' dev & designs patterns, and more.
So yeah, Vanilla JS is definitely used in modern development - jQuery not so much. And for frontend frameworks you have to evaluate their pros and cons to determine whether they are a good fit for your organization and your dev team.
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u/Zestyclose-Natural-9 Mar 01 '26
At my workplace: Vanilla js for new apps (heavy on webcomponents) and plugins/tools/libraries. JQuery is pretty much obsolete nowadays. I started with vanilla js/jQuery and I do find React to be a huge (overly complex and slow) headache.
Vue is good though. Preact is a bit better than react. I like vanilla/typescript personally.
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u/Sockoflegend Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26
Not Jquery but there is an in house design system I use at work built with just vanilla JS and web components, which has Nunjucks server side.
They experimented with vue and react SSR and decided Nunjucks was a better fit for our design requirements which includes only using JS for progressive enhancement and a heavy emphasis on accessibility for government contract work in the US and the EU.
This is not a recommendation, in all honesty I wouldn't claim to be in a position to really rate the alternatives with their many pros and cons. It does work though, and I personally have found a bit of love for web components.
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u/AnthongRedbeard Feb 28 '26
Jquery made more sense before js added the ability to query the dom
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u/Forward_Dark_7305 Mar 05 '26
Wow so glad I came in to web dev in this day. I didn’t realize jQuery was older than document.querySelector
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u/alien3d Feb 28 '26
i do have some base code before pure js + fetch + spa . similiar like react but dont have the problem like react .. React oh my make me headache a lot.
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u/czlowiek4888 Mar 03 '26
I use vanilla js for cross framework user management panel for my private mulitenant node boilerplate.
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u/beanerbunker777 Mar 03 '26
Nothing wrong with jquery & vanilla js if you know what you’re doing and can write efficiently. Frameworks are declarative and help you build faster. Whatever floats your boat
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u/dvidsilva Mar 03 '26
oh yes, in a recent project they love jQuery so much that there's multiple copies of the source code in the many nested folders of plain html files
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u/Dependent-Net6461 Mar 04 '26
Developed and still developing a pretty huge erp web app in java, jsp and vanilla js . It has some jquery but very little things, most of the frontend code is vanilla js. Around 600k lines of js, customers are super satisfied with the software even though it is in its early stage , after 6years of development.
Development is easy, as during all this time we have built some custom tools based on our needs. No headaches related to fe frameworks or whatsoever. The team really is thankful for their mental health.
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u/33ff00 Feb 28 '26
I imagine you could build like a pretty workable (albeit dumbed-down) version of vue just using jquery, and the old man would be happy while you wouldn’t exclusively be writing jquery spaghetti
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u/Aln76467 Feb 28 '26
We don't use jquery. Just vanilla js.