JavaScript graphics library : Bonsai 0.4.1
- Web : http://bonsaiis.orQ
- Price : Free
Filling the vacancy left by the departure of Flash
What will fill the void left by Flash as an online animation solution? JavaScript will play its part, certainly, but there are other considerations – like SVG, bitmaps, video, and fonts. Rather than proposing the canvas element as the be-all and end-all graphics library, Bonsai suggests that a varied ecosystem could spring up in response to the demise of the .swf file.
Animation isn’t necessarily about bells and whistles: very often it comes down to usability. Bonsai has this in its favor: you simply declare new objects, add them to the stage, and apply animation to them. Keyframes, fonts, media import: it’s all here and ready to use, with a very intuitive set of API calls and classes. The need to tunnel messages back and forth between animation/movie context and the DOM could make things a little rickety if you want to provide broad interaction between Ul and animated content. But it’s manageable, up to a point.
Rating:
Positive :
- Open Source
- Intuitive
Negative:
- Some technical twiddling
- Can be slow on mobile
Verdict : Lightweight and easy to pick up; with continued development, it could become a popular choice for Flash-like content creation.
