I just have to let it all out: I love mootools!

I’m not going to get in a pi**ing match with prototype, jquery, dojo and company, since they’re all truly neat little bundles of joy, but as a write-all-javascript-from-scratch kinda guy, I wasn’t inclined on having to rely on such involved libraries in the past. Especially when coupling them with huge server-side code base that I must keep in mind might actually outlive me. Call it an ever-lasting “vendor” lock-in allergy.

Choosing the best contender to be included in the McGill web platform among the countless available options in the compact JS framework sphere was one of the most difficult tech decisions I’ve had to make in years. But so far, I sure am glad we opted for mootools. Bonus: I didn’t even have to force it on anyone either, and adoption by different levels of developer has proven smoother than in tests involving other potential choices.

Great docs, tight syntax, (close to) worry free platform compatibility and a lively dev community are all among the many benefits we are so far enjoying.

But beware! I’d advise anyone going the framework way to:

• Do a lot of research before committing to anything, to really gauge what is best for you and your team(s).
• Not be afraid to write a slew of tests to be implemented in the selected top choices to right away define what has more potential in your very context.
• And most importantly, not get too comfortable and devolve into a one-lib-only coder.

On this, I’m going back to milking it for all its worth.