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I used to code in Delphi Pascal, now I am migrating to JS, but still very fresh on the subject. I want to port an application from desktop to the web, and it looks like this: enter image description here

I have looked for frameworks to build a UI like this but I´ve found too many options (JQuery, YUI, Bootstrap, Angular, React, Vue ... - I not even sure if they are in the same category!), and it seems to me that they do way more than I need!

Besides that, most examples I´ve found are to build web sites, or mobile apps, nothing like this "Desktop Application Look" for a web application.

So I'am realy lost in the many options, and not sure if using a frameworks like these is too much for just laying out a UI.

In Conclusion, what is the easyest way to build a UI like that on the image?

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YUI is discontinues and JQuery is also dying, you shouldn't take those into consideration.

Professionally I work with Angular but I also do personal projects in React and Vue.

Based on what you're showing I think Angular would be a perfect fit for that sort of component structure and "complexity" and especially if you'll need to maintain and expand the project over time. But Angular has a somehow steep learning curve and it doesn't technically use JS but TS (TS is a super set of JS), plus it adds quite the boilerplate, so even though I actually think Angular would be a good fit for that I would suggest you not to go that route.

Next we have React and Vue, I have been using both and they are both very very nice frameworks.

React is the more popular and it is not too hard, but it is at time minimalist and does not include official routing, state management, etc... So if you go with React you can find different sources on what to use and get somewhat lost I guess.

Vue on the other hand is extremely friendly and easy, it has a great documentation and tools to get you up and running and provides everything you need out of the box.

So actually I would recommend you to go with Vue.

Also please take a look at electron, it is a framework you can use to build desktop applications using one of the frameworks mentioned above (I have seen a few tutorials on how to set up a Vue Desktop app using electron).

So all in all, if you don't have special requirement (like libraries to do something specific or stuff like that) I would go with Vue and if you want you can even go with Electron+Vue to make a desktop app.

So that is my pick :), note that there are other frameworks like svelte and ember, which I am not familiar with, so just understand that I am giving my opinion based on my experience and knowledge (anyways the big three are undoubtedly Angular, React and Vue).

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4 Comments

Thank for your time and the very well explained answer! I will have a look at Vue, for sure. I gonna wait a couple of days to see if someone else can add to the discussion. For now your answer have my vote! Thanks, Cheers.
Thanks :), please let me know when you arrive to a decision :)
Yeap! I´ve had a good look at Vue and Liked a lot! Great source of information for beginners, many examples to learn from and all the tools I will eventually need in one place. I´ve found this example that is very promissing on building Desktop Like applications. motla.github.io/vue-file-toolbar-menu So, thanks again for your answer!
wow that toolbar looks great! :) I am glad I could help, best of luck with your project :)
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I think Dario Piotrowicz is the best answer for you.

If you want this "dekstop app" design style, you'll have to change programming language again and look into JAVA or .NET, as desktop apps are also dying, and web applications turned desktop apps via electron are becoming mainstream.

Also, you can get that look with basic html and css and use javascript for functionality if you don't want to change language (again), and use electron for turning it into a desktop app via electron without using a specific framework, as (i think) electron takes any web site and turns it into a desktop app.

A great example of electron projects is discord, and spotify i guess? not sure on that one.

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I want to build a web application (running on browser), just want the looks of a desktop application but without instalation and running on any devide! I've considered to use only basic HTML/CSS and Javascript, I´m just not sure if doing it all from scratch is better (or not) than using a framework! Thanks

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