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13 Python Frameworks for Frontend Development: JavaScript Alternatives

JavaScript has monopolised the field of front web development and has become what one will call the official language of the web. This is because it was built for that purpose.

But not everyone knows JavaScript, does this mean that you can’t build a fully functional site? No.

As someone who started with Python programming, I wanted to build applications that users could interact with and see the visualization I have created. Thanks to these frameworks I was able to achieve this.

In this article, you will learn the frameworks to use when you want to build your cool application idea by just writing Python Code.

For those who are not open to a whole new learning curve of front-end development, this article is for you.

👉 Enhance your Python logging capabilities with multi-module logging techniques

Reflex

Reflex formerly Pynecone is an open-source framework that is batteries included, which means you can build an application frontend, backend and deploy all with Reflex.

The Reflex official documentation was built and deployed with Reflex. It’s easy to learn and you don’t require web development knowledge to build apps in Reflex.

With Reflex inbuilt ORM, you can connect to any SQL database of your choice and build components that wrap around React, a popular JavaScript framework.

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Flet

Ever heard of Flutter? The popular framework developed by Google. Flet is based on Flutter, it allows you to build interactive web, desktop and mobile applications using Python programming.

Flet flexibility allows you to add animations, and authorization and even build cross-platform applications.

Flet supports routing and with Flet controls, you can build basic to complex user interfaces.

It’s easy to learn and get started just like its parent framework Flutter.

Check out the Flet gallery and see the awesome applications built with Flet.

Solara

Unlike Reflex, Solara is a library that allows you to build UI components for your application. You can have an application with a FastAPI, Django or Flask backend and build the user interface with Solara.

Another interesting feature of Solara is the ability to use it inside the Jupyter Notebook. Solara can handle state management, routing, and building simple to complex UI components and hooks without leaving your comfort zone — Python.

However, Solara is a suitable choice if you are focused on building data applications.

Taipy

Does CSS scare you? I also, Taipy allows you to build production-ready applications using Python, with no knowledge of web development. You can use Taipy either as Python Scripts or within Jupyter Notebooks.

Frontend, Backend and Deployment are all at your fingertips. Imagine you want to build a web app with user authentication, session, and caching, and all you need is just.

$ pip install taipy

Anvil

If you are more of a logical person and find building user interfaces daunting, you need to try out Anvil.

Avil allows you to build your application UI using a drag-and-drop designer, allowing you to handle the client and server-side interactivity with Python code.

This means you don’t need to worry about HTML or CSS, Anvil handles all that for you. It also comes with a built-in database on top of PostgreSQL to store your application information.

That’s not it, Anvil also supports hosting and deployment, version control with git, sending and receiving of email, API consumption and integration with third-party applications.

Congrats, you just got yourself a full-stack framework!

Trame

If you are in a situation to create a dashboard, heavily based on data. I will suggest Trame as a goto option, it allows you to focus on your analysis while abstracting the complications of web development. Trame is built on Vuetify, which is a UI component framework built on Vue.

Gradio

If you are a machine learning engineer who wants to demo your model, Gradio is your best bet. Without any design skills, you can build a working application and interact with your model in real-time.

Not everyone is technical or will understand your model metrics, but with Gradio they get to see the beautiful stuff you have built for humanity.

Shiny

This is my favourite because R programming was the first programming language I ever took seriously even though I learnt FORTRAN while I was an undergrad and BASIC during my secondary school days.

I am talking of R because Shiny was originally built in R, and it was recently that the Shiny framework for Python was also developed.

Shiny focuses on the principle of reactivity, by structuring the user interface and interactivity separately, and allowing dynamic changes in the user interface either by the client or at the server side.

Shiny also supports routing and is a suitable choice for building data applications. You can check out this web app I built with Shiny.

Unicorn

If you are a Django developer, there are various ways of handling interactivity in your application.

Some of these methods require leaving your comfort zone, you have to learn one JavaScript framework or the other.

With Unicorn, you can add interactions to your template and dynamically update your HTML DOM all behind the scenes, you don’t need to call your backend API endpoints in applications like React, Angular or Vue.

PyScript

PyScript is a framework that allows you to build web apps directly in your browser. It manipulates your DOM, like JavaScript and can run many popular Python packages.

With PyScript, you can create various UI components such as buttons. Pyscript also integrates well with popular Python libraries such as Pandas, Numpy, etc.

ReactPy

I find it difficult for you to say you haven’t heard of React. It is so popular some people think it's a programming language — Just Kidding.

ReactPy is a Python library that allows you to build user interfaces without having any knowledge of JavaScript while enjoying the benefits of React.

With this library, you wield the same power as React developers who think they are the best thing to have happened since Slice Bread.

Dash

If you are someone who wants to build data apps, especially on an enterprise level, then this framework is for you.

Dash integrates well with the graphing library Plotly and other Python data analytics libraries such as Pandas, Scikit-Learn and Numpy.

Dash allows you to build dashboards with interactive visualizations.

Streamlit

Another Python open-source framework for building data applications is Streamlit. With zero or little knowledge of web development, you can get a full-stack website up and running.

Streamlit has a very active community with third-party modules that can give your application superpowers. If you are interested in learning Streamlit, check out my course which covers some of the essentials to get you started. You can even check out a web app I built with Streamlit.

Conclusion

Does this mean we don’t need JavaScript? No!

JavaScript remains the king of the web, but at times if you are planning on building a simple user interface, these frameworks are your best bet.

If you are someone with no web development experience, these libraries will save you a lot of stress.

Please let me know if you have any libraries not included in the list, I will gladly add them.

Thanks for reading my article.




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