It turns out its a lot simpler than you might expect, but htmxs usefulness may justify the hype.
What Is htmx?
htmx is a small JavaScript library with a narrow focus.
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It makes common JavaScript functionality available via HTML attributes.
Heres a simple example:
This code shows a custom HTML attribute,hx-get.
One big advantage of the library is how easy it is to start using.
Infinite scroll is a common techniquethat sites like Twitter use for their feed.
When you reach the bottom of a list, infinite scroll loads more items for you to continue reading.
But htmx can do all this for you.
Just change the final item to:
Adding these four attributes to the final list item implements infinite scroll.
As you scroll to the bottom of the list, notice how the page loads new content automatically.
Also note how htmx has added a listener for the scroll event.
By abstracting common behavior, htmx ensures consistency across your projects and between them.
Infinite scroll will behave the same way from page to page, regardless of who implemented it.
Youll still need to write code to handle specific business logic and more low-level functionality.
Because htmx does a lot of work for you, theres less potential for customizing behavior.
This will often be a positive trade-off, but youll need to be prepared to hand off control.
You might be tempted to use the hx-get attribute on every link, in place of anhrefattribute.
You should alwayspractice progressive enhancementto prevent this.
