How to learn Alpine.js

What is Alpine.js

Alpine.js is a responsive front-end framework developed by developer Caleb Porzio. Unlike Vue.js, React, and Angular that people are familiar with in the past, Alpine.js does not require you to make high-cost transformations to existing applications, nor does it have the concept of VDom. It can be directly added to the existing system and Use .

Quick study guide

Alpine.js is not used much in China, so most of the corresponding learning content is written in English, but the concepts involved in Alpine.js will not be as many as Vue, React, etc. You can learn it easily.

Recommended learning route

Alpine.js does not have so many concepts, so the learning route is also very simple, you only need to master the following contents.

1. Basic syntax and usage of Alpine.js;
2. The magic helper of Alpine.js; (not required)
3. Spruce, a state management tool for Alpines.js (not required)

Understanding the basic syntax allows you to develop your own applications using Alpine.js. The latter two can simplify your entire development workflow and improve your own development efficiency.

Recommended learning documents

1. Check official documents and learn basic grammar

To learn Alpine.js, the first thing you can’t do without is the official documentation. The official documentation of Alpine.js is on the project homepage

https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine

If your English is not good enough, I recommend you to look at the traditional Chinese version translated by developers in Taiwan. Although the grammar and words are not exactly the same, it is a good supplement for developers with poor English.

https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/blob/master/README.zh-TW.md

In addition, domestic developers also translate the simplified Chinese version on their blogs , but they are not officially approved, so please pay attention to the version when you read it.

Specific grammatical level, I suggest you follow the following logic to learn

The first echelon, learn:

• x-data: teach you how to organize your Alpine.js code
• x-on: event binding
• x-if: logical processing
• x-for: list rendering
• x-bind: data binding
• x-model: Two-way data binding

These six syntaxes allow you to basically start using Alpine.js.

The second echelon, learn:

• x-show: Control whether to display
• x-spread: Bind Alpine.js object properties to Object
• x-text: text within the control element
• x-html: Html within the control element
• x-transition: control transition animation

These five syntaxes make your Alpine.js project more functional

The third echelon, learn:

• x-cloak: The initialization of the control component is complete
• x-ref: binding parent component object
• $el: Get the element
• $refs: Get the x-ref marked in the parent component object
• $event: event object
• $dispatch: trigger event
• $nextTick: next DOM update
• $watch: monitor data changes

The above-mentioned grammar allows you to use Alpine.js in more depth, but in many scenarios you may not use it, so don’t worry.

2. View the implementation of common logic, compare different

Hugo is a member of the Alpine.js development team. In addition to development, Hugo also provides a Playground on its website. You can see some common use cases of Alpine.js here, such as: data binding, for Loop, grab data, etc.

You can visit https://alpinejs.codewithhugo.com/ to view some cases prepared by Hugo, so as to quickly understand how the functions you are familiar with should be implemented in Alpine.js.

3. Practice Alpine.js online

After you understand some basic usage, you can start to open a web page and start practicing on your own.

There are two debugging environments that can be used online. You can practice based on them and see the effect directly.

• A practice environment with TailwindCSS embedded
• A practice environment with built-in Console console

As a tool, Alpine.js requires more practice to be familiar with its use. With the documents and cases seen earlier, you can now practice the use of Alpine.js in these two practice environments.

4. View the real project and learn about Alpine.js

A tool needs reference from real projects from testing to landing to real environment. And Awesome provides many such cases.

By understanding these projects and tools, you can see how others use Alpine.js and learn about the development of Alpine.js.

Summary of learning resources of Alpine.js

There are not many learning resources in Alpine.js, but there are some that are more suitable for domestic developers. I will also list them as follows:

Video tutorial

• Building AlpineJS : A course on Laracasts opened by Alpine.js developer Caleb Porzio, introduces how to build an Alpine.js from 0. This course will give you a better and faster understanding of Alpine.js.

personal blog

• Code With Hugo : Alpine.js core developer’s blog, will update some technical articles about Alpine.js
• Alpine.js one step at a time : There is a series of Alpine.js introductory tutorials written by Taiwan compatriots. There are 30 complete articles, so you can read them a little bit.

Mailing Lists

• Alpine.js Weekly : Alpine.js Weekly is maintained by Hugo, the core developer of Alpine.js. An email is sent every Friday to introduce the latest Alpine.js community resources. It is worth subscribing.

forum

• Github Discussions
• Discord

Some common problems

1. Alpine.js depends on Webpack / Does Alpine.js support Webpack?

Answer: No, Alpine.js can be used in webpack or not in Webpack. Even if it is built by webpack, Alpine.js will automatically bind objects for your convenience.

2. Alpine.js is a technical solution designed for front-end/back-end

Answer: Alpine.js is not a technical solution designed for a certain type of people. Although in my opinion, he is very friendly to the back-end because it can be used without front-end build tools such as webpack, but if you are a front-end and don’t like React’s JSX or Vue’s template, you can still choose Use Alpine.js.

3. What is the threshold for learning Alpine.js?

The learning of Alpine.js only needs to master some core grammar, and then you can officially start using it. Compared to Vue and React, I think the cost of learning is still lower. Vue has a complete tool chain, which eases the learning curve, but there are still many concepts that need to be learned, but the difficulty of getting started is low.

My own experience

In my opinion, Alpine.js is a powerful tool for back-end developers. His grammar is simple enough and does not need to be packaged, so it can be easily accessed in the system for back-end developers. At the same time, Alpine.js can be well combined with the traditional server-side rendering logic, using the server-side rendering content, using Alpine.js to control the content, so that the page construction can be completed well, and the project can be improved without too much complexity. At the same time, it improves the dynamic effect of the page and the difficulty of logic writing. It is a good tool for back-end developers.

For front-end developers, if you hate the need to build and package every time you write a project, then Alpine.js is also a good choice.