What is BackBone JS?

The advent of smartphones along with the constant evolution of technology has completely revolutionized the digital era. Because of this, companies must now continue to try their best to reach their audiences through multiple channels.

Most people manage their lives in the palm of their hands. As consumers turn to mobile applications to consume services at their convenience, companies are focusing their attention on building better, more attractive applications.

To stay ahead of their competitors, companies need access to advanced programming tools. JavaScript frameworks are a very popular choice due to their high efficiency, organization, and scalability.

Backbone.js is a widely used JavaScript framework for developing mobile applications. It is extremely simple to learn and efficient, which makes it a popular platform among the developer community.

What is Backbone.js?

Backbone.js is a powerful tool used to structure and develop web and mobile applications. As the name suggests, this platform works as the backbone of applications. It's a library for the project at hand, helping JavaScript developers organize their code and manage data models.

This tool provides a minimalist yet effective approach to developing rich, responsive applications through JavaScript. The final product is also usually lightweight and compatible with multiple platforms, making life easier for both developers and customers.

Backbone.js presents a lightweight library perfect for simplifying and speeding up the development process. It separates data from presentation by structuring the code and splitting it into separate JavaScript files. This tool is also powered by templates, key-value bindings, custom events, and a rich repository of API functions.

Based on a Model View Presenter design pattern, the Backbone.js platform is fully equipped with a library of RESTful JSON interfaces. It depends on Underscore.js, the only JavaScript library. This makes it much easier to assign names, perform different actions, and share device data.

Due to its flexibility and efficiency as a technology, Backbone.js remains one of the most powerful and preferred platforms in the development community.

What is Backbone.js used for? Case studies

Backbone.js has a wide range of applications and helps developers at various stages of the development process. Developers should consider using Backbone.js when:

• They are creating a simple single-page application without extensive dependencies.
• The heavy lifting of the application is done on the backend.
• They want to develop an application quickly while maintaining high functionality.

This platform is also useful in situations where developers need to minimize HTTP requests to servers, simplify complicated user interface design, and structure code to save time. Let's take a look at some examples of successful and widely popular applications that have used Backbone.js in their development.

Trello

Trello is a popular collaboration and project management app that helps team members organize their projects and communicate. The developers created this useful application from scratch with Backbone.js.

Here, the JavaScript platform works together with the HTML5 History API and a template-like language on the front-end. This allows developers to create a maintainable client that easily handles updates, server synchronizations, and efficient code reuse.

SoundCloud

SoundCloud is an audio distribution platform where people can listen and share their favorite music for free. The developers initially used Backbone.js as the front-end framework for their mobile app. However, the final product was so good that they decided to employ it on the client aspect of the desktop site as well.

Airbnb

Airbnb is a community marketplace where registered users can offer their own homes and find different types of rental accommodations virtually anywhere in the world.

Just like SoundCloud, Airbnb developers used Backbone.js to create their mobile app. Later, they employed this JavaScript platform to introduce new features across all their website applications.

The company also decided to try using the Backbone.js library in the backend of the application. This led to the creation of Rendr, its open-source server-side Backbone library written in Node.js.

Hulu

Hulu is a well-known streaming app for anyone in the US who wants uninterrupted access to their favorite TV shows and movies. The way Hulu developers have used Backbone.js translates into a faster, more seamless user experience for streamlined streaming across a variety of devices.

Development teams used it to create a fast interface with smooth transitions during navigation, and it helps save bandwidth for users by ensuring that embedded scripts and videos are not reloaded frequently. Instead of rewriting their existing Rails backend, Hulu developers used Backbone.js to convert their rendering from server-side to client-side.

The pain points of using Backbone.js

Although developers consider Backbone.js to be a great application development tool, there are also some pain points associated with its use. Development teams should definitely take a closer look at some of Backbone.js' biggest drawbacks before deciding to use the technology.

• Productivity – Backbone.js is a library. As such, it requires users to write and input most of the necessary code. The lack of features like two-way data binding makes some of its competitors a little more attractive to some developers on certain projects.
• Architecture – The architecture of Backbone.js is sometimes a little confusing. Developers often have difficulty understanding some of its features or at least require more research time to understand them.
• Memory Leak – This is a big drawback, especially for developers who are not very familiar with JavaScript. When writing new applications, inexperienced developers can inadvertently end up leaking memory.

Some other disadvantages of using Backbone.js include the need for longer development time and a greater understanding of its inner workings. The JavaScript platform is sometimes slow and debugging is difficult. However, in most cases, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of these technologies.

Advantages of using Backbone.js

Despite the mentioned disadvantages of this platform, Backbone.js is still a very popular tool due to the large number of advantages it offers. The most important advantages of using Backbone.js include:

• Lightweight – Because Backbone.js is so lightweight, many developers take advantage of it to create responsive applications with significantly reduced loading speeds.
• Lots of little libraries – One of the many features of Backbone.js is its extensibility. It comes with a wide variety of libraries that are always available. Developers will then have the ability to use them as and when they need to.
• Easy to learn – There are many guides, documentation, and other resources about Backbone.js available online. Because it is such a widespread platform, there are also many case studies available in which developers analyze their tests and results. This rather flat learning curve alone makes Backbone.js an attractive technology for new and experienced developers alike.
• Conventional Coding Style – Backbone.js has its own coding conventions. Developers who make use of this standardized code end up saving a lot of time in programming sessions.

Other key advantages of using Backbone.js include modular organization, simple backend synchronization, an open source library, automatic HTML updates, event communication, scalability, and flexibility.

Scope of services for Backbone.js projects

Many development companies provide services based on Backbone.js development. Such projects require specialized approaches and depend on the work of talented professionals. Some examples of Backbone.js-based services include web and mobile app development, consulting, API integration, support, and maintenance.

• Mobile and web application development – ​​Backbone.js experts work with JavaScript models, views, events, collections, and other functions to create richer application visualization and manipulation experiences.
• Consulting services – Companies working with Backbone.js usually have strong teams with many experts. They help use them to assist other companies by providing consultancy services. These experts help guide more inexperienced teams through any phase of their Backbone.js projects.
• Backbone.js API Integrations – API integration is very beneficial when it comes to working across different form factors and devices. Backbone.js experts provide seamless synchronization between existing APIs to increase customer flexibility.
• DOM Manipulation – Document Object Model (DOM) is a programming interface for web documents and serves as the backbone of Backbone.js. Specialized teams can manage and manipulate DOM events to help companies achieve their goals.
• HTML5 mobile development – ​​Developing web applications with HTML5 is sometimes a somewhat complicated process, especially when it comes to encountering structural and functional difficulties. Backbone.js teams easily integrate the JavaScript platform into their existing applications to help simplify and organize them.
• Support and maintenance – Even after the application is complete, companies sometimes face difficulties in the post-development and launch phases. Backbone.js experts can provide backend support and help maintain application efficiency on the frontend.

Backbone.js development companies sometimes offer other extended services, including event-driven communication services, backend synchronization, and more.

Outsourcing for Backbone.js technology projects

Many companies work with outsourcing providers to find the right JavaScript development talent to help them complete their Backbone.js projects. To understand how an outsourcing provider develops Backbone.js technology products, it's important to know how they create a development process.

Each client requires a different approach, and outsourcing providers always work to meet their clients' needs. To begin with, the outsourcing provider must understand the customer's needs and expectations.

Once the customer agrees to the terms, both parties sign a contract and the Backbone.js development phase begins. First, the outsourced team gathers and assembles the necessary data and then transforms it into models that will help guide project execution.

The next step involves structuring the MVC framework. Backbone.js' Model View Controller (MVC) framework is fundamental to support all adapters that will connect directly to different data sources.

Once the framework is operational, the main development of Backbone.js for different applications begins. At this stage, the projects imagined by the company begin to take shape.

Testing and debugging are fundamental steps in the development of any application. Here, the outsourced Backbone.js team puts the final application through several phases of testing, which will lead them to further debugging and modifications before releasing the application.

Once the experts and the company are satisfied with the product, the outsourced team guides their clients in deploying the Backbone.js software, website, or application. They are also readily available for post-launch backend support.

Common questions

Does Backbone.js work on the backend or frontend?

Backbone.js works on both the backend and frontend of a system. In fact, Backbone.js is very popular among its competitors because it allows developers to seamlessly synchronize back-end and front-end systems.

What are the main components of Backbone.js?

Backbone.js is slightly different from other MVC frameworks. It consists of six main components that include models, views, collections, events, routers, and synchronization.

Is it difficult to learn Backbone.js?

No, it is not difficult to learn Backbone.js, especially if the developer already has a good understanding of JavaScript. In this case, it is possible to start working with Backbone.js in just two or three days.