Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Babel VS ReactiveX

Compare Babel VS ReactiveX and see what are their differences

Babel logo Babel

Babel is a compiler for writing next generation JavaScript.

ReactiveX logo ReactiveX

ReactiveX is a library for composing asynchronous and event-based programs by using observable sequences.
  • Babel Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-02
  • ReactiveX Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-05-05

Babel features and specs

  • JavaScript Version Compatibility
    Babel allows developers to write code using the latest JavaScript features and syntax, and transpile it into a version of JavaScript that can run on older browsers. This ensures greater compatibility across different environments.
  • Future-Proof Code
    With Babel, developers can start using upcoming JavaScript features today. This means that codebases can stay modern and developers can take advantage of new functionalities without waiting for full browser support.
  • Ecosystem and Plugins
    Babel has a rich ecosystem of plugins and presets that can extend its capabilities, making it highly adaptable to different project needs. This modularity allows for customization and enhancement of the build process.
  • Integration with Modern Development Tools
    Babel integrates well with various development tools such as Webpack, making it easier to include in existing build processes and workflows. This helps streamline development and maintain efficient workflows.
  • Community and Support
    Babel has a large and active community, which means extensive documentation, tutorials, and support forums. This can be particularly useful for troubleshooting and staying updated with best practices.

Possible disadvantages of Babel

  • Performance Overhead
    Transpiling code with Babel introduces a performance overhead during the build process. This can slow down development workflows, especially for large codebases with many files.
  • Configuration Complexity
    Setting up Babel can be complex, particularly for beginners. The numerous options and plugins available can sometimes be overwhelming and require significant time to configure correctly.
  • Source Map Issues
    Generating accurate source maps can sometimes be tricky with Babel, leading to difficulties in debugging. Misconfigured source maps can make it harder to track down issues within the original source code.
  • Dependency Bloat
    Including Babel in a project can add a significant number of dependencies. This dependency bloat can increase the size of the project and potentially introduce maintenance challenges or security vulnerabilities.
  • Learning Curve
    There is a learning curve associated with Babel, especially for developers who are new to modern JavaScript tooling. Understanding how Babel works and how to effectively use its features can take time and effort.

ReactiveX features and specs

  • Asynchronous Programming
    ReactiveX simplifies asynchronous programming by providing a consistent API for handling sequences of events or data streams. This can lead to cleaner and more maintainable code.
  • Composability
    With ReactiveX, you can easily compose multiple operations on streams using operators, leading to expressive and declarative code. This helps in building complex data pipelines with ease.
  • Error Handling
    ReactiveX provides robust mechanisms for error handling in asynchronous flows, making it easier to build resilient applications that can gracefully handle failures.
  • Backpressure Handling
    ReactiveX offers built-in support for backpressure, enabling systems to handle varying rates of data production and consumption efficiently.
  • Language Support
    ReactiveX is available across multiple programming languages, including Java, JavaScript, Python, Swift, and more, making it a versatile choice for developers working in different ecosystems.
  • Community and Documentation
    ReactiveX has a strong community and extensive documentation, providing ample resources for learning and troubleshooting.

Possible disadvantages of ReactiveX

  • Learning Curve
    ReactiveX introduces a new paradigm for those unfamiliar with reactive programming, and the extensive set of operators can be overwhelming for beginners.
  • Performance Overhead
    The abstraction provided by ReactiveX can introduce performance overhead compared to lower-level approaches, which may be a concern for performance-critical applications.
  • Complexity in Debugging
    Debugging reactive streams can be challenging because of the asynchronous and declarative nature of the code, making it harder to trace issues.
  • Overuse
    There is a risk of overusing ReactiveX for scenarios where it might not be the best fit, leading to unnecessary complexity in simpler contexts.
  • Integration with Legacy Code
    Integrating ReactiveX with legacy codebases that are not designed around reactive principles can be cumbersome and may require significant refactoring.

Analysis of Babel

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Babel is widely considered a good tool for modern JavaScript development. It eases the use of cutting-edge JavaScript features and ensures broader compatibility, which is crucial for many projects. Its active community and continuous updates reflect its standing as a reliable and well-supported choice.

Why this product is good

  • Babel is a popular JavaScript compiler that allows developers to use the latest JavaScript features while maintaining compatibility with older environments that may not support these features natively. It transforms modern JavaScript code into a version that can run in current and older browsers or environments. Babel is highly configurable and has a rich ecosystem of plugins and presets that enable developers to tailor it to their specific needs, making development smoother and more efficient.

Recommended for

    Babel is recommended for web developers who want to write modern JavaScript but need to ensure that their code remains functional across different environments and older browsers. It is also valuable for projects where developers aspire to use the latest ECMAScript features without waiting for broad native support.

Analysis of ReactiveX

Overall verdict

  • ReactiveX is widely regarded as a valuable tool for developers looking to leverage reactive programming. Its robust library of operators and ability to integrate with various programming languages make it versatile and adaptable to many project needs. However, it might have a steep learning curve for those not familiar with functional or reactive programming concepts.

Why this product is good

  • ReactiveX is considered good because it provides a powerful, flexible way to handle asynchronous and event-based programming challenges. Its use of observables allows for cleaner, more manageable code that can easily manage complex data streams and handle operations concurrently. This makes it a preferred choice for applications that require high-performance data processing or that need to react promptly to real-time data changes.

Recommended for

    ReactiveX is best suited for developers working on applications that require real-time updates, such as UI frameworks, data-heavy applications, or systems that need to process a significant amount of asynchronous data. It is also ideal for those who are comfortable with, or willing to learn, reactive programming paradigms and want to write more efficient, responsive code.

Babel videos

Babel - Movie Review

More videos:

  • Review - Day 16 | Babel Review | 365 Films
  • Review - Worth The Hype? - BABEL Review
  • Review - Book CommuniTEA: Is BABEL a rac1st mani!fest0? [you should know the answer]
  • Review - Babel is a Masterpiece, And Here's Why

ReactiveX videos

No ReactiveX videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Babel and ReactiveX)
Development Tools
71 71%
29% 29
Javascript UI Libraries
70 70%
30% 30
Libraries And Widgets
66 66%
34% 34
JavaScript Framework
82 82%
18% 18

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Babel should be more popular than ReactiveX. It has been mentiond 147 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Babel mentions (147)

  • Valentine’s Day Breakup: React Dumps Create React App
    Create React App (CRA) is a command-line interface tool that allows developers to set up a React project easily. It primarily serves as a project scaffolding tool, allowing you to create a new project with a single command: npx create-react-app . CRA comes with tools like Webpack and Babel, which handle the bundling and transpiling of code. The tools are pre-configured. It comes with a development server that... - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • #wecode Landing Page - WeCoded Challenge March 2025
    @vitejs/plugin-react uses Babel for Fast Refresh. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • You Don’t Know JS Yet: My Weekly Journey Through JavaScript Mastery
    For new and incompatible syntax, the solution is transpiling—converting newer JS syntax to older syntax that can run on older engines. The most popular transpiler? Babel. This process ensures modern JS code can still reach a wide audience, even on legacy systems. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Desktop apps for Windows XP in 2025
    Fortunately we have tools like PostCSS and Babel, that let you target your specific Browser version, and they'll do their best to transpile and polyfill your code to work with that version. This alone will do a lot of the heavy lifting for you if you are working with a lot of code. However, if you are just writing out a few HTML, CSS, and JS files, then that would be overkill and you can just figure out what code... - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • The Tools and APIs That Made My GeoGuessr 🌍 Project Possible
    Cross-Browser Compatibility: Some features worked differently across browsers. I used Babel to transpile my JavaScript code, ensuring it worked consistently everywhere. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
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ReactiveX mentions (41)

  • Kapper 1.3 supports flows - more Kotlin goodness
    Flows are a Kotlin API for asynchronous streams of data. They are similar to Rx Observables, but are simpler and more idiomatic to Kotlin. They are a great fit for asynchronous data processing, particularly for database operations where results may be large or processing needs to happen incrementally. This makes them a perfect addition to Kapper's existing coroutine support. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Hydro: Distributed Programming Framework for Rust
    It looks like a mixture between Akka (https://getakka.net/ less enterprisy than the Java version), which is based on the actor model and has a focus on distributed systems, and reactive libraries like rx (https://reactivex.io/). So maybe https://doc.akka.io/libraries/akka-core/current/stream/index.html is the best fit. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Haskell: A Great Procedural Language
    > Is there any parallel there Of course. Promise is a monad, .then is more or less equivalent to the >>= operator and await makes it look more imperative-ish just like <- in Haskell. Note that in JS you'll need to be inside an async function to use await, just like in Haskell you'll need to be inside the do notation to use <-. Otherwise, you'll need to play with .then just like you would need to play with >>= in... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Understanding DynamicData in .NET: Reactive Data Management Made Easy
    DynamicData is a .NET library that brings the power of reactive programming to collections. It is built upon the principles of Reactive Extensions (Rx), extending these concepts to handle collections like lists and observables more efficiently and flexibly. DynamicData provides a set of tools and extensions that enable developers to manage collections reactively, meaning any changes in the data are automatically... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • What is your preferred asynchronous programming library?
    Another option is to use the RxJava library in Java. This library uses reactive programming principles to make it easy to write asynchronous and event-driven code. It's particularly well-suited for handling streams of data and allows you to write code that is both efficient and easy to read. Source: about 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Babel and ReactiveX, you can also consider the following products

jQuery - The Write Less, Do More, JavaScript Library.

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

Composer - Composer is a tool for dependency management in PHP.

OpenSSL - OpenSSL is a free and open source software cryptography library that implements both the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols, which are primarily used to provide secure communications between web browsers and …

Raven.js - Raven.js is a standalone JavaScript client for Sentry.

Symfony - A PHP full-stack web framework