HTMX 2.0.0-beta1

What is HTMX ?

HTMX? is a lightweight JavaScript library that extends HTML through custom attributes, enabling AJAX, WebSockets, and other modern web technologies directly within HTML tags.

Key Features of HTMX 2.0

• AJAX: Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, which allows for updating parts of a web page without reloading the whole page.
• WebSockets: A protocol providing full-duplex communication channels over a single TCP connection.
• CSS Transitions: For smooth transitions between different states of an element.

How Does HTMX 2.0 Work?

HTMX 2.0 works by adding special hx- attributes to standard HTML elements. These attributes define how the elements should behave when an event occurs, such as a click or form submission. The library then takes care of the rest, handling the communication with the server and updating the DOM accordingly.

Advantages of Using HTMX 2.0

• Simplicity: HTMX 2.0 allows developers to write less code and achieve more functionality.
• Maintainability: The behavior of web elements is clear and localized, making it easier to understand and maintain the code.
• Accessibility: Progressive enhancement ensures that the core functionality of the web page is accessible, even if JavaScript is disabled.

Example: ?Let's take an example of adding and Displaying Contact dynamically.

Before dynamically adding and displaying a contact, we must install HTMX in our project via CDN, Webpack, npm, etc.

Imagine you're building a web application for managing contacts. You want users to add new contacts through a form and see the updated list of contacts immediately without reloading the page. This is where HTMX 2.0 shines, making the process straightforward and efficient.

Step 1: The Contact Form

First, we have a simple form for adding new contacts. With HTMX, we can specify that upon submission, the form should make a POST request to a server endpoint (/contacts) and expect a response that triggers an update in another part of the page.

<h2>Add A Contact</h2>
<form hx-post="/contacts" hx-trigger="submit" hx-target="#contacts-table" hx-swap="outerHTML">
  <label> Name: <input name="name" type="text"> </label>
  <label> Email: <input name="email" type="email"> </label>
  <button type="submit">Add Contact</button>
</form>
        

In this form, hx-post specifies the endpoint to which the form data will be sent. hx-trigger is set to "submit," meaning the action will occur when the form is submitted. hx-target points to the element that will be updated (#contacts-table), and hx-swap tells HTMX to replace the target's content with the server's response.

Step 2: Displaying Contacts

Below the form, we have a table where the contacts will be displayed. Initially, this table might be empty or contain a default set of contacts.

<h2>Contacts</h2>
<table class="table" id="contacts-table">
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Name</th>
      <th>Email</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <!-- Contacts will be loaded here -->
  </tbody>
</table>
        

Step 3: Server-Side Logic

On the server side, when a new contact is added through the form, the server processes the POST request to /contacts, adds the new contact to the database, and returns an updated list of contacts. This list is then used to render a new HTML snippet for the contacts table, which is sent back as the response.

Step 4: Dynamic Update with HTMX

Once the form is submitted, HTMX takes care of sending the form data to the server and receiving the updated contacts list. It then automatically updates the #contacts-table element with the new HTML content, all without reloading the page. This results in a seamless experience for the user, who can see the new contact appear in the list immediately after submission.

Hope it helps :) and you learnt 1 new thing today !

Content research : Prabir Kumar Satapathy