laravel-mongodb-tutorial VS Alpine.js

You can find the code for this tutorial on this GitHub Repository.

Alpine.js alpinejs.dev Minimal framework for declarative DOM interactions.

As usual, there are a few possibilities here; one is to render both the with the title, and a form with for each row, and use plain Javascript (or AlpineJS) to toggle edit mode.

That's why I grew fond of libraries such as Alpine.js and htmx, which require no setup and are easy to use. However, I felt these had some limitations. Since they were mostly designed for client-side usage, it wasn't really possible to use them in server-side rendering contexts (including static generation).

In fact, it is really good as an alternative to modules like htmx and alpine.js, because it allows you to create dynamic interfaces with a minimum set of configurable parameters, as well as the size of the output files. This is achieved by working with the server, when we prepare the UI there, and we only transfer it to the client via API.

It is created by Caleb Porzio (the guy behind Livewire and AlpineJS), Sushi simplifies your data when a full database table is unnecessary.

Here's a step-by-step example of creating a simple carousel using Alpine.js. Alpine.js is a lightweight JavaScript framework that provides reactivity and can be used to build interactive components without a lot of JavaScript.

The web app was made using AlpineJS for interactivity, TailwindCSS for styling, Clerk for user authentication, and Vercel for deployments. This stack allowed me to quickly build and deploy an MVP within 24 hours.

Alpine.js is another lightweight JavaScript framework used to add interactivity. It plays nicely with Django’s template structure and provides quick, declarative behavior for things like modals, dropdowns, or toggles. In combination with HTMX, Alpine can give you just enough JavaScript to enhance the UX without having to deal with something like React or Vue. For instance, you can use Alpine to manage state in the frontend, like opening and closing modals or handling client-side validation.

That’s a mostly solved problem. If you’re in the Laravel ecosystem:

https://livewire.laravel.com/

https://alpinejs.dev/

AlpineJS is for your menus and simple client-side interactivity. Livewire lets you render templates server-side while handling routing, interactivity, updates, morphing, everything you need all in one.

Combine the two, you’ll be counting the lines of JavaScript you right in the dozens, on one hand.

This post is part of a series comparing different ways to implement asynchronous requests on the client, which is colloquially known as AJAX. I dedicated the previous post to Vue.js; I'll dedicate this one to Alpine.js - not to be confused with Alpine Linux.