Sveltekit 1.0: Will Developers Taste the Fine Wine Now?

Svelte, an open-source front-end component framework that was changing how we write user interface components, has recently launched Sveltekit 1.0. This is a framework for building web applications on top of Svelte and, while low on usage, it still is a developer favourite, so much so that more than 68% of them have shown interest in Svelte—a percentage higher than ‘React’ solely because of its high performance and ease of use. 

Though the developer community loves it, most of them don’t get to use it at their jobs because the companies do not want to risk using any pre-1.0 framework. The reason is that before a 1.0 framework, there are high chances of disruptive/breaking changes happening with the framework. Additionally, since the API was changing every two or three months, many developers were hesitant to learn it. 

However, since Sveltekit 1.0 was launched, the chances of any disruptive changes have become more or less minuscule, that is until the launch of 2.0. Thus, the chances of companies adopting the framework becomes higher along with its chances of commercial adoption. 

Sveltekit is the OG

Web developers are like connoisseurs of fine wine, always on the lookout for the perfect blend of complexity and simplicity. Sveltekit offers just that, a tantalising bouquet of features like server-side rendering and static side generation that can be tailored to each page. Yet, it’s easy to learn and is a popular choice among the community. 

Additionally, Sveltkit seamlessly blends the best of both worlds with its unique file system-based routing, akin to other popular frameworks. Imagine a symphony of server-side rendering for the debut performance, where your initial requests are grandly greeted with fully rendered default pages, like MPA, yet as you navigate the app, it seamlessly shifts to a smooth solo of client-side renderings, like a SPA. 

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Sveltekit simplifies the development process by allowing you to write your code in one language instead of managing two separate apps, one for generating HTML and one for handling client-side interactions. The flexibility to run wherever JavaScript runs means you can deploy your app in various ways, whether on a traditional Node server or using cutting-edge serverless functions, even at the edge. 

SvelteKit offers a versatile approach to building applications, claiming that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution. Rather than subscribing to the notion that pre-rendering static pages are only a subpar substitute for cache control, SvelteKit allows for advanced capabilities such as build-time validation and rendering of data from inaccessible filesystems, serving as a safeguard against unreliable databases. 

Additionally, SvelteKit claims that server-side rendering is not always a necessity, even for robust and high-performing apps with strong SEO. Instead, it presents server-side rendering as a default option while acknowledging the numerous exceptions to this approach.

Future of Svelte

While the work of Svelte has been appreciated by the developer community, what lies ahead? Recently, Rich Harris, founder of Svelte, addressed it in detail. When asked what can be a possible roadmap, he shared that internationalisation, image optimisation and granular deployment control would be in focus while improving compiler output regarding hydration/scalability, component error boundaries. Utilising the new web animation API inside the transition system is also necessary development for the community. 

“This has been quite a lot of work, the roadmap includes built-in internationalisation support, which is very much left to develop the community”, said Harris. 

While talking about image optimisation, Harris said, “Image optimisation is a big one, and one of the reasons apps built in next.js tend to be quite performant is that [the] next image makes it easy to optimize your images.” 

“The default experience of letting your images on [the] web is not great and we believe we could do better. We ourselves use V image tools to optimise our images, and that works very well.”