I'm interested in using Ext.js, but troubled by a number of issues. Is there a better alternative?

Ext.js is of interest to me because it appears to have a fairly complete widget set (though I've certainly run into shortcomings of the widgets after a very short time). The problems I potentially have with it, however, include these:

• in my opinion it's very ugly, and looks like a cross between a Windows UI and some PHP content management system (yes I know I can write my own theme, but there may be limits to what I can change, and it may not be as easy as it should be, and I'd rather work with something that is clean, elegant, and attractive out of the box.)
• the graphs currently use Flash, which limits the clients it can be useful on (version 4 promises to resolve this problem)
• the license is a bit restrictive, which is not an issue now, but it makes me think twice about becoming intimately familiar with a tool that I may not be able to use in the future.

Honestly the look & feel is probably the biggest issue to me: I've seen in the past that developers (or companies) who don't place a high value on aesthetics often can't be bothered by other 'details' either.

开发者_运维百科So: is there a other better alternative?

UPDATE:

Another problem with Ext.js, is that it seems to be an all-or-nothing proposition. That's one reason I'm not looking seriously at SproutCore, which in other respects is awesome. (Well... it needs some performance improvements, but it'll get there eventually I think...)

Cappuccino seems to be the same way: you're not using it on a web page, rather you're building a Cappuccino app that just happens to use the web as its runtime environment.

In other words, ideally I don't want a JS version of Flex: it's own little walled garden. jQueryUI would be ideal if it were more complete, since it doesn't break with normal web development methods and paradigms. But if walled gardens are all there are, I'll live with it.

If you are looking for a RIA-Framework you shouldn't use jQuery(UI). Instead use one of the following frameworks.

• Qooxdoo (www.qooxdoo.org): Pure Open-Source RIA-Framework with the most of the features of ExtJS. There were coming up some interessting new themes in the last weeks
• Cappuccino (http://cappuccino.org): Nice framework with a nice GUI
• ZK (http://www.zkoss.org/): ExtJS like RIA-Framework
• SproutCore (http://www.sproutcore.com/): Apple-Style RIA-Framework

I undestand your pain - I use to got same - in ExtJS I saw only problems (those what you mentioned, and belive me much more others), however because I was a little forced to use it, I started to use it and I followed in love - It very complex and optimal solution for javascript driven apps.

You can go and look for alternatives like jQuery (I was there for 1 year), dojo, and others frameworks, but whoever says that they are better than ExtJS, he rather did not have ..... time to know ExtJS

It my very subjective opinion

I dont know much about PHP, and I am using ExtJS with ASP.Net MVC, they fit well. I wish I could use an integrated JS Widget set, but Jquery UI widget set was not rich enough when I last evaluated and I dont think it still is. But it is at least included in the last version of MVC.

My only complain about ExtJS would be the number of user extension controls that you need to use, I'd like to see those as part of ExtJS core widget set, but they are not, but still distributed with the library. ExtJS is a very nice fit for a cross-platform Rich Web Application. I would recommend trying ExtJS, I have really no complains about it other that what I already said above.