Reviewing HTMX: Animations and UI Interactions Without JavaScript
HTMX lets us use HTML for application logic without needing JavaScript. Their amazing guide provides many user interface examples, like row editing. In standard HTML, we have attributes showing how HTMX interacts with HTML and user input.
For example, the HXTargetClosestTR matches the end result provided by the HTMX library, not us. Surprisingly, they use something called hyperscript which enhances HTML with event and async features, simplifying interactive HTML writing. HTMX also takes care of certain elements like the edit button, providing the HTML directly.
It's cool that it includes a cancel and save feature too. HTMX doesn't really focus on CSS or UI design capabilities, but they do show off some smooth transitions that improve user experience. While we need some CSS for things to look pretty, HTMX does a good job providing backend communication technology for web app data manipulation without JavaScript. another library, the Class Tools extension, improves UI interactivity control with class toggling.
The experimental View Transitions API also enables impressive animated transitions between different DOM states as the DOM is manipulated. Normally to achieve such effects, additional work in class toggling and JavaScript would be necessary. HMTX makes it simpler to just use HTML for modern, interactive user experiences without needing extensive JavaScript or extra libraries.
HTMX's main strength lies in its ability to seamlessly make API calls and change UI data using advanced techniques, so I'd say the library is overall pretty powerful.
