When writing for expeditious JavaScript, jQuery is one of the most trusted library. In fact, number of other libraries came out around the same time such as MooTools and Prototype. However, it seems that both of them still fail in surpassing jQuery popularity. Recently, there is new library, introduced as Umbrella JS. It is strongly influenced by jQuery with many similar methods, so you will be convenient in developing with Umbrella. It also offers you with tiny and clear features.

So, can Umbrella JS become the newest JS resource for, web developers, especially frontend developers?

It’s an open source library which basically, you can find many of the same features in jQuery or MooTools. It’s licensed under the MIT License and available for free on GitHub. For example, jQuery uses $(selector) while Umbrella uses u(selector). However, there are differences with some major functions like Umbrella’s ajax method.

You can see a live demo on JSFiddle showing a log output script with UmbrellaJS.

// Just a small logger
var i = 0;
function log(msg){ u(‘pre’).prepend((++i) + ‘. ‘ + msg + ‘\n’); };

u(‘.click’).on(‘click’, function(){
log(“Thanks! There are ” + u(‘input’).nodes.length + ” inputs”);
});

u(‘[name=”name”]’).on(‘change keyup’, function(e){
log(“Hey, ” + (this.value ? this.value : “John Doe”));
});

u(‘select’).on(‘change keyup’, function(e){
log(this.value + ” looks delicious”);
});

u(‘#checkable’).on(‘change’, function(e){
log(“Am I checked? ” + u(this).is(‘:checked’));
});

Moreover, you don’t have to worry that jQuery gurus will have problem picking up this library. Give it a test run as every major function is fully documented on Umbrella’s official website. But, right now, it is still difficult to make Umbrella uproot jQuery’s place in every developer’s toolkit. This is because there is much trust and support behind jQuery.

However, Umbrella does not support the older versions of jQuery while IE8+ supports the old version. In fact, Umbrella’s GitHub page openly states that IE11+ is the most recently supported MS browser, including Edge.

So could Umbrella beat jQuery’s place in developer’s heart? Maybe for right now, it is impossible to beat jQuery. However, Umbrella is totally worth it using in a live project. Actually, this tiny and simple library is perfect for work or for play. In fact, it can fulfill the role flawlessly.