4 ms·

Ask HN: Why is mithril.js not popular?

22 points by pictur 8y ago

PaulHoule 8y ago
It's a crazy crowded space for one thing.
sergiotapia 8y ago
It's a non-starter for me because it doesn't seem to have Mobx support. I use mobx to handle my application's state at a global level.
- porsager 8y ago
  Mithril works seamlessly with Mobx, you just call m.redraw in autorun(). I actually think that just underlines the strength of Mithril. No need for a special wrapper library to support other modules.
- porsager 8y ago
  Just to show you, here's a quick sample https://flems.io/#0=N4IgZglgNgpgziAXAbVAOwIYFsZJAOgCsEAaEAYwHs0AXGWvKtOGgAmFYBMYqAnDOiVaUARnBi8AbhhGwhVLAAcArnU5CMqyr2VpWAX1YBeVllEAPANwAdNLfJQMcOKwAqlTpXa3WrCJ2NWAFkBAAt8fjRPLAAKAEobPVYaCBpYQIByDMTfSDQIOFCYAJMwDChxHNYmFh1yGm0YlLSYOO8k3xpQgvxm9JM+mFYfA1t9W1tuPgEYGPdPIWARwcRhMQlpWRgSEbyCos5V0XEpGVgxuIm0BycXecoAGQK2JaSGzxcTZABdKoBzGBsXR7QrFe4AYUouho8Xavl8vEByl4ei6PXelDg+EgUDovCaHi8RgAfKwAIQY7EQfKgzhxfCwNB-LpVcZoNmTHjaGZzQlPFiLEbA6n7MGEyHQ1YKFRqC5XGpsFjaIYmNAwADubj5z3i8uoLGS2pYADUIBrAhjjMSRrEMlAIBkdh1TDEMtSZY64fDOgBPRQwVYZchFcgAaxElHMjpG3uowYwTIDrFhJMNnipNIOgQphIzovUMfhwZ4oeKq0pIIOhf0cSd3spgxGlzs131bAxpvNJhTpNevlg7dS-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 https://flems.io/#0=N4IgZglgNgpgziAXAbVAOwIYFsZJAOgCsEAaEAYw...
  - sergiotapia 8y ago
    Thank you! I'll take a look! Edit: Seems like it's bugged? `fields are not currently supported`
    - foxdonut00 8y ago
      Seems to work fine, where are you seeing this error?
    - itronitron 8y ago
      i get the same error in Firefox
    - fuzetsu 8y ago
      Try this version out, I enabled babel. Your browser might not support class fields yet. https://flems.io/#0=N4IgZglgNgpgziAXAbVAOwIYFsZJAOgCsEAaEAYwHs0AXGWvKtOGgAmFYBMYqAnDOiVaUARnBi8AbhhGwhVLAAcArnU5CMqyr2VpWAX1YBeVllEAPANwAdNLfJQMcOKwAqlTpXa3WrCJ2NWAFkBAAt8fjRPLAAKAEobPVYaCBpYQIByDMTfSDQIOFCYAJMwDChxHNYmFh1yGm0YlLSYOO8k3xpQgvxm9JM+mFYfA1t9W1tuPgEYGPdPIWARwcRhMQlpWRgSEbyCos5V0XEpGVgxuIm0BycXecoAGQK2JaSGzxcTZABdKoBzGBsXR7QrFe4AYUouho8Xavl8vEByl4ei6PXelDg+EgUDovCaHi8RgAfKwAIQY7EQfKgzhxfCwNB-LpVcZoNmTHjaGZzQlPFiLEbA6n7MGEyHQ1YKFRqC5XGpsFjaIYmNAwADubj5z3i8uoLGS2pYADUIBrAhjjMSRrEMlAIBkdh1TDE7TIYFBHSN4S6MtSZY64T74TQAJ6KGCrDLkIrkADWIko5i9zp91BjGCZkdYsJJhs8VJpB0CFMJhdF6m9wZjPDjxVWlJBByrvn0cSdwfzlF6qXOzsuSQH9n1bAxpvNJlzpNevlgo97KtYWRGI0RNGReg4kjN6tWU9YyCrtrA2iwgZnwf1yhEWFSqxV05b8Jg+EUiMk9BoABEYGVlLjdVTeEIDAGIKQXNo1w3J9fCVRFekJLEVEKGI1U1e4mgggdO06BdMgyJ82R9fQO2DW1-VUc8YNYaQoGUbNBlIztqAomh7ytZI8JMF8aAwXgARofBaPowj2yfW0RFUBo0EDDIME4TgMmw+ExOdW1-xTTs4J4xD8CwDBFAJTx+Rocd1WU3xVJ9bT8GFIsxU8CVaFYABqJdWDsisuzgAikm+EY2Q5NAsD0qFaBiTxyGUHBaHwRNOFDIQxx3AdNAaHQ0BiELEU4fhzKuEAyGlaAJDwER3SgQqQHEWB6ggfU8AABkQABWAB2EASPQbBcEQAhyGcKqmDoBg+s674yHtNA4wQFBupwPBby6XhoCq5FKr60IaBoRQ4EQAB6fbdEUOM-nwBR9qW0IVqgAABABGfBHoANku1JrugIhSBAMMIzwOByBWxQaE6kh5t6kAzBEcw1t4DaQC2na9sO47TvOygsEuixbpa-AAE58AAFn2+0RCx6HbKwTg9OpL6qt+iGAaBkH9G+fQgA https://flems.io/#0=N4IgZglgNgpgziAXAbVAOwIYFsZJAOgCsEAaEAYw...
bengunnink 8y ago
Rephrase the question: "Why should mithril.js be popular?"
- brlewis 8y ago
  That's pretty well documented: https://mithril.js.org/framework-comparison.html#react https://mithril.js.org/framework-comparison.html#react
- muzani 8y ago
  I don't use web frameworks but it's always occurred to me that the big 4 JS ones are Angular, React, Vue, and Mithril. Angular and React are popular because they're backed by giant companies who have the resources to market and document it well. Vue and Mithril seem better built, but Vue has nicer syntax, and Mithril is more lightweight. But if I wanted lightweight I figured jQuery and JS might be better. I'm possibly wrong about this but that's the layman impression I get.
porsager 8y ago
I think most people using it are busy building stuff with it, not having time to evangelize it. I've been using it for 4 years now, for almost any type of project you could imagine. It doesn't have that shiny hype polish as the rest, but it does a perfect job for what it's supposed to, and it has the best community I've ever encountered.
- keb_ 8y ago
  Good point about the users not evangelizing it. Besides being a great tool in and of itself, the community is incredibly helpful and encourage a "use the right tool for the job" philosophy that I found refreshing.
- brlewis 8y ago
  That matches my experience.
- pictur 8y ago
  +1

22 points by pictur 8y ago

It's a crazy crowded space for one thing.

It's a non-starter for me because it doesn't seem to have Mobx support. I use mobx to handle my application's state at a global level.

porsager 8y ago
Mithril works seamlessly with Mobx, you just call m.redraw in autorun(). I actually think that just underlines the strength of Mithril. No need for a special wrapper library to support other modules.
porsager 8y ago
Just to show you, here's a quick sample https://flems.io/#0=N4IgZglgNgpgziAXAbVAOwIYFsZJAOgCsEAaEAYwHs0AXGWvKtOGgAmFYBMYqAnDOiVaUARnBi8AbhhGwhVLAAcArnU5CMqyr2VpWAX1YBeVllEAPANwAdNLfJQMcOKwAqlTpXa3WrCJ2NWAFkBAAt8fjRPLAAKAEobPVYaCBpYQIByDMTfSDQIOFCYAJMwDChxHNYmFh1yGm0YlLSYOO8k3xpQgvxm9JM+mFYfA1t9W1tuPgEYGPdPIWARwcRhMQlpWRgSEbyCos5V0XEpGVgxuIm0BycXecoAGQK2JaSGzxcTZABdKoBzGBsXR7QrFe4AYUouho8Xavl8vEByl4ei6PXelDg+EgUDovCaHi8RgAfKwAIQY7EQfKgzhxfCwNB-LpVcZoNmTHjaGZzQlPFiLEbA6n7MGEyHQ1YKFRqC5XGpsFjaIYmNAwADubj5z3i8uoLGS2pYADUIBrAhjjMSRrEMlAIBkdh1TDEMtSZY64fDOgBPRQwVYZchFcgAaxElHMjpG3uowYwTIDrFhJMNnipNIOgQphIzovUMfhwZ4oeKq0pIIOhf0cSd3spgxGlzs131bAxpvNJhTpNevlg7dS-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 https://flems.io/#0=N4IgZglgNgpgziAXAbVAOwIYFsZJAOgCsEAaEAYw...
- sergiotapia 8y ago
  Thank you! I'll take a look! Edit: Seems like it's bugged? `fields are not currently supported`
  - foxdonut00 8y ago
    Seems to work fine, where are you seeing this error?
  - itronitron 8y ago
    i get the same error in Firefox
  - fuzetsu 8y ago
    Try this version out, I enabled babel. Your browser might not support class fields yet. https://flems.io/#0=N4IgZglgNgpgziAXAbVAOwIYFsZJAOgCsEAaEAYwHs0AXGWvKtOGgAmFYBMYqAnDOiVaUARnBi8AbhhGwhVLAAcArnU5CMqyr2VpWAX1YBeVllEAPANwAdNLfJQMcOKwAqlTpXa3WrCJ2NWAFkBAAt8fjRPLAAKAEobPVYaCBpYQIByDMTfSDQIOFCYAJMwDChxHNYmFh1yGm0YlLSYOO8k3xpQgvxm9JM+mFYfA1t9W1tuPgEYGPdPIWARwcRhMQlpWRgSEbyCos5V0XEpGVgxuIm0BycXecoAGQK2JaSGzxcTZABdKoBzGBsXR7QrFe4AYUouho8Xavl8vEByl4ei6PXelDg+EgUDovCaHi8RgAfKwAIQY7EQfKgzhxfCwNB-LpVcZoNmTHjaGZzQlPFiLEbA6n7MGEyHQ1YKFRqC5XGpsFjaIYmNAwADubj5z3i8uoLGS2pYADUIBrAhjjMSRrEMlAIBkdh1TDE7TIYFBHSN4S6MtSZY64T74TQAJ6KGCrDLkIrkADWIko5i9zp91BjGCZkdYsJJhs8VJpB0CFMJhdF6m9wZjPDjxVWlJBByrvn0cSdwfzlF6qXOzsuSQH9n1bAxpvNJlzpNevlgo97KtYWRGI0RNGReg4kjN6tWU9YyCrtrA2iwgZnwf1yhEWFSqxV05b8Jg+EUiMk9BoABEYGVlLjdVTeEIDAGIKQXNo1w3J9fCVRFekJLEVEKGI1U1e4mgggdO06BdMgyJ82R9fQO2DW1-VUc8YNYaQoGUbNBlIztqAomh7ytZI8JMF8aAwXgARofBaPowj2yfW0RFUBo0EDDIME4TgMmw+ExOdW1-xTTs4J4xD8CwDBFAJTx+Rocd1WU3xVJ9bT8GFIsxU8CVaFYABqJdWDsisuzgAikm+EY2Q5NAsD0qFaBiTxyGUHBaHwRNOFDIQxx3AdNAaHQ0BiELEU4fhzKuEAyGlaAJDwER3SgQqQHEWB6ggfU8AABkQABWAB2EASPQbBcEQAhyGcKqmDoBg+s674yHtNA4wQFBupwPBby6XhoCq5FKr60IaBoRQ4EQAB6fbdEUOM-nwBR9qW0IVqgAABABGfBHoANku1JrugIhSBAMMIzwOByBWxQaE6kh5t6kAzBEcw1t4DaQC2na9sO47TvOygsEuixbpa-AAE58AAFn2+0RCx6HbKwTg9OpL6qt+iGAaBkH9G+fQgA https://flems.io/#0=N4IgZglgNgpgziAXAbVAOwIYFsZJAOgCsEAaEAYw...

bengunnink 8y ago

Rephrase the question: "Why should mithril.js be popular?"

brlewis 8y ago
That's pretty well documented: https://mithril.js.org/framework-comparison.html#react https://mithril.js.org/framework-comparison.html#react
muzani 8y ago
I don't use web frameworks but it's always occurred to me that the big 4 JS ones are Angular, React, Vue, and Mithril. Angular and React are popular because they're backed by giant companies who have the resources to market and document it well. Vue and Mithril seem better built, but Vue has nicer syntax, and Mithril is more lightweight. But if I wanted lightweight I figured jQuery and JS might be better. I'm possibly wrong about this but that's the layman impression I get.

porsager 8y ago

I think most people using it are busy building stuff with it, not having time to evangelize it. I've been using it for 4 years now, for almost any type of project you could imagine. It doesn't have that shiny hype polish as the rest, but it does a perfect job for what it's supposed to, and it has the best community I've ever encountered.

keb_ 8y ago
Good point about the users not evangelizing it. Besides being a great tool in and of itself, the community is incredibly helpful and encourage a "use the right tool for the job" philosophy that I found refreshing.
brlewis 8y ago
That matches my experience.
pictur 8y ago
+1