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date-fns VS js-Joda

Compare date-fns VS js-Joda and see what are their differences

date-fns logo date-fns

date-fns provides the most comprehensive yet simple and consistent toolset for manipulating JavaScript dates in a browser & Node.js.

js-Joda logo js-Joda

Immutable date and time library for JavaScript
  • date-fns Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-07-30
  • js-Joda Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-11

date-fns features and specs

  • Lightweight
    date-fns is designed to be lightweight, with a modular structure that allows developers to only import the functions they need, reducing overall bundle size.
  • Modular
    The library is highly modular, which means you can include only the specific functionalities you need, leading to better optimization and faster load times for your applications.
  • Immutable
    date-fns functions operate in an immutable way, meaning they do not change the original date objects but return new date objects, avoiding potential side effects.
  • Comprehensive
    date-fns provides a comprehensive set of date-related functions, covering a wide range of use cases from simple date manipulation to complex date calculations.
  • Localization
    The library has built-in support for internationalization and localization, making it easier to format dates in various locales and languages.
  • Ease of Use
    With a consistent and straightforward API, date-fns is easy to learn and use, making it accessible to both beginners and experienced developers.
  • Well-maintained
    date-fns is actively maintained with frequent updates and a supportive community, ensuring it stays up-to-date with the latest JavaScript standards and practices.

Possible disadvantages of date-fns

  • Not as Rich as Moment.js
    Compared to Moment.js, date-fns lacks some of the more advanced date manipulation features and utilities, potentially requiring additional work for certain use cases.
  • Learning Curve
    While simpler than some alternatives, there is still a learning curve to fully understand and utilize the modular approach and various functions provided by date-fns.
  • No Time Zones Support
    Date-fns does not provide built-in support for time zones, which can be a limitation for applications that require robust time zone handling.
  • Function Overhead
    The functional approach, while flexible, can lead to a higher overhead in function calls compared to some object-oriented approaches, potentially impacting performance in heavily date-manipulation-centric applications.
  • Dependency Management
    Because of its modularity, managing imports and ensuring all necessary parts of the library are included can sometimes be cumbersome and error-prone.
  • Interoperability
    Interoperability with other date libraries is not always straightforward, and transitioning from libraries like Moment.js can require significant code changes.

js-Joda features and specs

  • Immutable Date-Time API
    js-Joda provides an immutable and consistent API similar to Java's java.time package, reducing the risk of side-effects and bugs associated with mutable date-time objects.
  • Time Zone Support
    It offers comprehensive time zone support using the `ZonedDateTime` class, which is essential for applications that need to work across different time zones reliably.
  • Precision and Accuracy
    The library supports nanosecond precision, which is crucial for applications requiring high temporal accuracy.
  • Compatibility with Java
    If you have experience with Java 8's date-time library, js-Joda will be familiar, making it easier to learn and use for those with a background in Java.
  • Comprehensive Feature Set
    js-Joda provides robust and comprehensive date-time manipulation capabilities, including arithmetic operations, comparisons, and formatting.

Possible disadvantages of js-Joda

  • Larger Bundle Size
    Compared to simpler date libraries, js-Joda can add more to your JavaScript bundle size, which might be a concern for performance-sensitive applications.
  • Learning Curve
    For developers not familiar with the JSR-310 API from Java, there might be a steeper learning curve due to the complexity and richness of the js-Joda API.
  • Lack of Mutation
    While immutability is generally beneficial, it might lead to more verbose code in scenarios where simple updates to date-time objects are needed.
  • Limited Ecosystem
    js-Joda doesn't have as extensive an ecosystem of add-ons and extensions as some other JavaScript date libraries, which might limit out-of-the-box solutions for certain use cases.
  • Inconsistent with JavaScript Date
    Switching from native JavaScript Date to js-Joda might require considerable refactoring, as it works very differently from the built-in Date object.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to date-fns and js-Joda)
Javascript UI Libraries
85 85%
15% 15
Web Frameworks
74 74%
26% 26
JS Library
82 82%
18% 18
Developer Tools
74 74%
26% 26

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, date-fns seems to be a lot more popular than js-Joda. While we know about 77 links to date-fns, we've tracked only 6 mentions of js-Joda. 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.

date-fns mentions (77)

  • Supporting RTL language layout in your web application
    You can also choose to use a library like date-fns to handle date and time localization. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Say Goodbye to JavaScript’s DST Date Confusion
    These issues can also occur in date-time libraries such as moment.js, date-fns, Day.js, and luxon. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Day 8: D-8 🎱
    Do you know how many days left till Christmas? Well this little handy library certainly does! - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Release Radar · September 2024: Major updates from the open source community
    JavaScript seems to be the flavour of the month, and here's another JavaScript project for you. date-fns provides the most comprehensive and consistent toolset for manipulating JavaScript dates in a browser & Node.js. The latest version comes ten years after the very first release. There are no breaking changes in the release, and it comes with added time zone support, meaning you can select which time zone to... - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Date Formatting: Carbon, date-fns, and Vanilla JS
    Working with dates and times is an essential part of web development. Whether you're building a blog, an e-commerce site, or a personal project, handling and formatting dates correctly can greatly enhance user experience. In this blog, we'll explore date formatting using three different methods: Carbon (PHP), date-fns (JavaScript), and Vanilla JS Date. We'll provide examples for each to help you understand how to... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
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js-Joda mentions (6)

  • Making your datepicker easier to work with
    So first, a simple example of how this works. Using our "What is your birthday" example, we can mock up this code. Note: I'm using TypeScript because it enforces the concepts at compile time, but the JsJoda library itself enforces the concepts at runtime so that we get the best of both. - Source: dev.to / about 3 years ago
  • Is It Time for the JavaScript Temporal API?
    Temporal is great, and the sooner it lands and is usable the better (AFAIK, there isn't a production-grade polyfill yet.) In the interim, JS-Joda [0] seems pretty decent, and doesn't use the wrapper approach. [0] https://js-joda.github.io/js-joda/. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • [HELP] Time elapsed since midnight breaks on days when DST changes
    Dealing with human dates is non-trivial thanks to localization. The easiest thing to do is to start with something zone agnostic (like UTC or epoch) do your date calculation, and then shift that into the locale you want. date-fns is fine for basic date math, but if you want something more robust, with a more cohesive API, I'd recommend js-joda. Source: over 3 years ago
  • You don't (may not) need Moment.js
    How come the js-joda library is never mentioned in discussions about javascript date/time libraries? Its API is perfect and it has been around forever. But instead the community seems to keep inventing more and more new datetime libraries. I don't understand why js-joda seems to be ignored https://js-joda.github.io/js-joda/. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • Temporal: Getting started with JavaScript's new date time API
    They already have that for JS! https://js-joda.github.io/js-joda/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 4 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing date-fns and js-Joda, you can also consider the following products

Moment.js - Parse, validate, manipulate, and display dates in JavaScript

Day.js - 2kB JavaScript date utility library

Luxon - Application and Data, Libraries, and Javascript Utilities & Libraries

Nuxt.js - Nuxt.js presets all the configuration needed to make your development of a Vue.js application enjoyable. It's a perfect static site generator.

ExpressJS - Sinatra inspired web development framework for node.js -- insanely fast, flexible, and simple

Next.js - A small framework for server-rendered universal JavaScript apps