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Babel VS WinJS

Compare Babel VS WinJS and see what are their differences

Babel logo Babel

Babel is a compiler for writing next generation JavaScript.

WinJS logo WinJS

WinJS is an open-source JavaScript library that assist in building web apps.
  • Babel Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-02
  • WinJS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-03-12

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.

WinJS features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

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

WinJS videos

Let's code a Windows Store app with WinJS 01: Setting up the project

More videos:

  • Review - Custom MessageDialog buttons in WinJS (György Balássy)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Babel and WinJS)
Development Tools
98 98%
2% 2
Javascript UI Libraries
Libraries And Widgets
100 100%
0% 0
Front-End Frameworks
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Babel and WinJS

Babel Reviews

We have no reviews of Babel yet.
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WinJS Reviews

Best Javascript libraries to use in 2021
WinJS is a Javascript library developed by Microsoft Corporations that helps in the safe development of Windows apps for Windows 8 and 10. It has a broad set of APIs that help in performing simply as well as complex tasks, some of them have a standard implementation (not specific to Windows). It’s a high-performance library with lots of features and controls to master.
Source: codersera.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Babel seems to be more popular. 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 / about 1 month ago
  • #wecode Landing Page - WeCoded Challenge March 2025
    @vitejs/plugin-react uses Babel for Fast Refresh. - Source: dev.to / 2 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 / 2 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 / 3 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 / 3 months ago
View more

WinJS mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of WinJS yet. Tracking of WinJS recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Babel and WinJS, 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

React - A JavaScript library for building user interfaces

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

Vue.js - Reactive Components for Modern Web Interfaces

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 …