Introduction
Get acquainted with Aurelia 1, the documentation, and how to get started.
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Get acquainted with Aurelia 1, the documentation, and how to get started.
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We strongly recommend using Aurelia 2 for all new projects. Aurelia 2 represents the latest evolution of the framework, offering improved performance, enhanced features, and ongoing support.
As documented here, Aurelia 1 is now primarily maintained for legacy projects. While it remains a robust solution, new development should focus on Aurelia 2 to leverage the most current capabilities and future updates.
If you're working on an existing Aurelia 1 project, this documentation will continue to serve as a valuable resource.
Welcome to Aurelia 1, the powerful, open-source JavaScript framework for crafting extraordinary web applications. At its core, Aurelia 1 is more than just a framework; it believes in the unbridled power of open web standards. With Aurelia 1, your development experience is streamlined, intuitive, and flexible.
Aurelia 1 isn't just feature-rich; it's a testament to high performance and extensive extensibility, offering a component-oriented design that's fully testable. It's built for developers who know the value of simplicity and the importance of conventions that don't obstruct but enhance creativity.
To start, jump to our Quick Start Guide or read on for an overview.
Aurelia 1 emerges as a beacon of innovation and power in front-end development in a sea of frameworks. Here's why Aurelia 1 might be the perfect choice for your next project:
All-in-One Ecosystem: Aurelia 1 is your Swiss Army knife, offering everything from dependency injection to routing, eliminating the need to juggle multiple libraries. Its ecosystem extends to plugins for internationalization, validation, and more, supported by tools like a CLI for seamless development.
Unparalleled Performance: Speed and efficiency are in Aurelia 1's DNA. It consistently outperforms competitors in benchmarks thanks to its sophisticated batched rendering and efficient memory usage.
Data-Binding Done Right: Aurelia 1 harmonizes the safety of uni-directional data flow with data-binding productivity, ensuring both performance and ease of development.
Stability in a Dynamic World: Since our 1.0 release in 2016, Aurelia 1 has maintained API stability, innovating without breaking changes, a testament to our commitment to developer trust.
Adherence to High Standards: Aurelia 1 is a paragon of standards compliance, focusing on modern JavaScript without unnecessary abstractions.
Empowering Developers: Aurelia 1's philosophy is simple: empower developers with plain JavaScript and get out of the way. This results in cleaner, more maintainable code.
Ease of Learning and Use: Aurelia 1's design is intuitive and consistent, minimizing the learning curve and maximizing productivity with solid, simple conventions.
Seamless Integration: Aurelia 1 plays well with others. Its adherence to web standards makes it a breeze to integrate with any third-party library or framework.
A Vibrant Open-Source Community: Embrace the open-source ethos with Aurelia 1, licensed under MIT, without restrictive clauses. Join a community that thrives on collaboration and innovation.
A Welcoming and Supportive Community: Our active core team and Gitter chat embody a culture of welcome and support, where every developer is a valued member of the Aurelia family.
While it's true that Aurelia 1's ecosystem and community might seem modest compared to some of its more populous counterparts, this perceived underdog status is, in fact, one of its greatest strengths. Aurelia 1 represents a boutique choice in web frameworks, prioritizing quality over quantity and fostering a tight-knit, highly engaged community. This approach translates to a more focused, consistent, and dedicated development experience, both in terms of the framework itself and the support you receive from the community.
Direct Impact: In a smaller community, each member's voice and contribution have a more significant impact. Developers have direct access to the core team, fostering a collaborative environment where feedback and contributions influence the framework's evolution.
Quality Over Quantity: Aurelia 1 focuses on delivering a high-quality, refined development experience. Each plugin, library, and tool in the ecosystem has been carefully crafted and thoroughly vetted to meet high standards.
Nurturing Innovation: A smaller ecosystem doesn't mean limited capabilities. On the contrary, it often leads to innovative solutions and creative problem-solving, as developers are encouraged to think outside the box.
Stronger Connections: A smaller community fosters closer relationships, leading to more meaningful interactions, collaborations, and a sense of belonging. This environment is conducive to a supportive and helpful atmosphere where developers at all levels can thrive.
The size of a community or ecosystem should not be the sole criterion for its effectiveness. In many cases, the quality of interactions, the dedication of its members, and the framework's alignment with your project's needs are far more critical factors. Aurelia 1's commitment to standards, modern best practices, and empowering approach offers a unique and rewarding development experience that stands on its own merits.
In a landscape where Virtual DOM is often touted as a necessity, Aurelia 1 confidently takes a different path. Aurelia 1's choice not to use a Virtual DOM is a deliberate and strategic decision grounded in a philosophy that prioritizes efficiency, simplicity, and alignment with web standards.
Directness and Efficiency: Aurelia 1 interacts directly and efficiently with the DOM. By avoiding the overhead of a Virtual DOM, Aurelia 1 ensures faster rendering and updates, leading to a smoother user experience.
Simplicity and Predictability: Without the abstraction layer of a Virtual DOM, Aurelia 1 offers a more straightforward and predictable development experience. Developers work closer to the web platform, leveraging native browser capabilities for DOM manipulation.
Optimal Performance: Aurelia 1's approach to DOM updates is highly optimized. It intelligently manages DOM changes, ensuring minimal performance overhead. This results in applications that are not only fast but also more resource-efficient.
Aligned with Web Standards: Aurelia 1's commitment to standards means that it leverages the native capabilities of modern browsers, ensuring compatibility and future-proofing your applications.
Less Complexity, More Control: By avoiding a Virtual DOM, Aurelia 1 reduces the complexity of your application's architecture. This direct approach gives developers more control and understanding of how their application interacts with the browser.
Tailored for Modern Web Development: Aurelia 1 is designed to meet the needs of modern web applications. Its efficient, standards-based approach is perfectly suited for today's dynamic, interactive web experiences.
The decision not to use a Virtual DOM reflects Aurelia 1's overarching philosophy: to provide a powerful, efficient, and straightforward framework that stays true to the web's nature. This approach encourages developers to build both performant and maintainable applications, leveraging the web platform's full potential.
Your journey with Aurelia 1 begins here in our meticulously crafted documentation. Start with the Quick Start Guide to grasp the basics of building an Aurelia 1 application. The "Getting Started" section is your next stop, followed by "App Basics" for a deep dive into regular Aurelia 1 usage.
As your comfort with Aurelia 1 grows, explore "Advanced Scenarios" for insights into performance optimization and large-scale project management. While you may find less need for raw API documentation due to Aurelia 1's convention-based approach, our "API" section is comprehensive. Don't miss the "Examples" section, where practical code samples for common scenarios are found. Our "Resources" section is a treasure trove of FAQs, framework comparisons, and much more.
Did you find something amiss in our documentation? Every page includes an "Edit on GitHub" link, making it easy to contribute corrections or improvements.
You're in the right place. If you are starting with Aurelia 1, we highly recommend reading through our Quick Start Guide. It will show you how to create a project and build your first components using Aurelia 1's powerful templating system.
As you become more familiar with Aurelia 1, perhaps you will come up with something you would like to share with the community. The Aurelia team welcomes any contributions you feel would benefit others in the community. Check out the "Community Contribution" section if that is the case. We welcome any feedback or suggestions to help improve Aurelia 1 and enrich the community. Check out the "" for details about the contributing process and how to contact us.