whatwg-url vs uri-js vs url-parse vs query-string vs uri-template
URL Manipulation Libraries Comparison
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What's URL Manipulation Libraries?

These libraries provide various functionalities for parsing, manipulating, and constructing URLs in JavaScript applications. They are essential for handling query strings, URI templates, and ensuring compliance with the WHATWG URL Standard. Each library has its unique strengths, catering to different needs in web development, such as simplicity, extensibility, or adherence to standards.

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whatwg-url85,022,74139398.6 kB5a month agoMIT
uri-js53,431,602309-304 years agoBSD-2-Clause
url-parse25,112,9241,03663 kB13-MIT
query-string12,894,7876,83051.6 kB316 months agoMIT
uri-template127,61142-13 years agoMIT
Feature Comparison: whatwg-url vs uri-js vs url-parse vs query-string vs uri-template

Parsing and Stringifying

  • whatwg-url:

    whatwg-url implements the full parsing and serialization of URLs according to the WHATWG standard, ensuring that URLs are handled correctly and consistently across different browsers.

  • uri-js:

    uri-js provides extensive parsing capabilities for URIs, allowing you to break down a URI into its components and validate them against the URI standard. However, it does not specialize in query strings.

  • url-parse:

    url-parse offers a simple API for parsing URLs into their respective components, such as protocol, host, and path. It also allows for easy manipulation of these components before reconstructing the URL.

  • query-string:

    query-string excels at parsing query strings into JavaScript objects and vice versa. It handles nested objects and arrays, making it easy to work with complex query parameters.

  • uri-template:

    uri-template does not focus on parsing but rather on generating URLs from templates. It allows for dynamic URL creation based on variable input, which is useful for RESTful services.

Standards Compliance

  • whatwg-url:

    whatwg-url is fully compliant with the WHATWG URL Standard, making it the best choice for applications that require accurate and reliable URL handling.

  • uri-js:

    uri-js is designed to comply with URI specifications, making it suitable for applications that require strict adherence to standards.

  • url-parse:

    url-parse is not fully compliant with the WHATWG URL Standard but provides a simple and effective way to parse URLs for most use cases.

  • query-string:

    query-string is not strictly compliant with any URI standards, focusing instead on practical use cases for query strings in web applications.

  • uri-template:

    uri-template follows the URI Template RFC, which is useful for generating URLs dynamically but does not focus on general URI compliance.

Complexity and Size

  • whatwg-url:

    whatwg-url is larger due to its comprehensive feature set and compliance with the WHATWG standard, making it suitable for larger applications that require robust URL handling.

  • uri-js:

    uri-js is more complex and larger in size, suitable for applications that require comprehensive URI handling capabilities.

  • url-parse:

    url-parse is lightweight and straightforward, providing essential URL parsing functionalities without unnecessary complexity.

  • query-string:

    query-string is lightweight and easy to use, making it ideal for small projects or when you only need to handle query strings.

  • uri-template:

    uri-template is relatively simple and focused, making it easy to integrate into projects that need dynamic URL generation without additional overhead.

Use Cases

  • whatwg-url:

    whatwg-url is best for modern web applications that require strict adherence to URL standards and robust URL manipulation capabilities.

  • uri-js:

    uri-js is ideal for applications that need to validate and manipulate URIs extensively, such as API clients and URL builders.

  • url-parse:

    url-parse is suitable for applications that need to quickly access and manipulate different parts of a URL, such as routing libraries and client-side navigation.

  • query-string:

    query-string is best for applications that primarily deal with query parameters, such as web forms and search functionalities.

  • uri-template:

    uri-template is perfect for RESTful APIs where dynamic URL generation is required based on variable inputs.

Extensibility

  • whatwg-url:

    whatwg-url is not designed for extensibility but offers a comprehensive set of features that cover most URL handling needs.

  • uri-js:

    uri-js can be extended with custom URI schemes and validation rules, making it flexible for complex applications.

  • url-parse:

    url-parse is not highly extensible but provides a solid foundation for basic URL parsing and manipulation.

  • query-string:

    query-string is not designed for extensibility, focusing solely on query string manipulation without additional features.

  • uri-template:

    uri-template is designed for extensibility in generating URLs, allowing developers to create custom templates as needed.

How to Choose: whatwg-url vs uri-js vs url-parse vs query-string vs uri-template
  • whatwg-url:

    Choose whatwg-url if you want a library that fully implements the WHATWG URL Standard. It is best for applications that need to ensure compliance with modern web standards and require robust URL handling capabilities.

  • uri-js:

    Select uri-js if you require a comprehensive library that adheres to URI specifications. It is suitable for applications that need to handle complex URI manipulations and validations, making it a good choice for projects that prioritize standards compliance.

  • url-parse:

    Use url-parse if you need a simple yet powerful tool for parsing URLs into their components. It is particularly beneficial for applications that require easy access to different parts of a URL, such as the protocol, hostname, and pathname.

  • query-string:

    Choose query-string if you need a lightweight solution specifically for parsing and stringifying query strings. It is straightforward to use and ideal for simple applications where you primarily deal with URL query parameters.

  • uri-template:

    Opt for uri-template if your application involves dynamic URL generation based on templates. This library is perfect for creating URLs with variable segments, making it useful for RESTful APIs and applications that require flexible URL structures.

Similar Npm Packages to uri-js

uri-js is a JavaScript library designed for parsing, resolving, and normalizing URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers). It adheres to the specifications set forth in RFC 3986 and provides a robust set of utilities for working with URIs in a consistent manner. With its ability to handle various URI components, uri-js is particularly useful for developers dealing with complex URI manipulations in their applications.

While uri-js offers a comprehensive solution for URI handling, there are several alternatives available in the JavaScript ecosystem that cater to different needs:

  • query-string is a lightweight library focused on parsing and stringifying query strings in URLs. It provides a simple API to convert query strings into JavaScript objects and vice versa. If your primary requirement is to handle query parameters in URLs, query-string is an excellent choice due to its simplicity and ease of use.

  • uri-template is a library that implements URI Template syntax as defined in RFC 6570. It allows developers to create URIs dynamically based on templates, making it easier to generate URIs with variable components. If your application requires generating URIs from templates or working with dynamic URL segments, uri-template can be a valuable tool.

  • url-parse is a library that provides a simple way to parse URLs into their components, such as protocol, hostname, pathname, and query string. It is lightweight and straightforward, making it suitable for applications that need basic URL parsing without the overhead of more complex libraries. If you need a quick and efficient way to dissect URLs, url-parse is a good option.

  • whatwg-url is a library that implements the URL Standard as defined by the WHATWG (Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group). It provides a comprehensive API for URL parsing and manipulation, adhering closely to modern web standards. If your application requires strict compliance with the latest URL specifications and advanced URL handling capabilities, whatwg-url is an excellent choice.

To explore how uri-js compares with these alternatives, check out the comparison: Comparing query-string vs uri-js vs uri-template vs url-parse vs whatwg-url.

Similar Npm Packages to url-parse

url-parse is a popular JavaScript library for parsing and manipulating URLs. It provides a simple and efficient way to break down URLs into their components, such as protocol, host, pathname, query string, and hash. This makes it easier for developers to work with URLs in their applications, whether they need to extract specific parts of a URL or construct new URLs from existing components. While url-parse is a robust solution for URL handling, there are several alternatives worth considering:

  • url-join is a lightweight library that focuses specifically on joining URL segments together. It ensures that the resulting URL is properly formatted, handling slashes and other characters gracefully. If your primary need is to concatenate URL parts without worrying about the intricacies of parsing, url-join is an excellent choice. Its simplicity and focused functionality make it ideal for scenarios where you need to build URLs dynamically from various segments.

  • url-parse-lax is a variant of the url-parse library that offers a more lenient approach to parsing URLs. It allows for more flexibility in handling malformed URLs and provides a simpler API for common use cases. If you find that you often deal with URLs that may not conform to strict standards, url-parse-lax can be a great alternative. It retains many of the features of url-parse while providing a more forgiving parsing experience.

To see how these libraries compare, check out the comparison: Comparing url-join vs url-parse vs url-parse-lax.

Similar Npm Packages to query-string

query-string is a popular JavaScript library that provides utilities for parsing and stringifying URL query strings. It simplifies the process of working with query parameters in URLs, making it easier to extract and manipulate data from them. With query-string, developers can easily convert query strings into JavaScript objects and vice versa, which is particularly useful for handling URL parameters in web applications.

One notable alternative to query-string is qs. The qs library is also designed for parsing and stringifying query strings, but it offers additional features and capabilities. For instance, qs supports nested objects and arrays in query strings, allowing for more complex data structures to be represented. This makes it a great choice for applications that require more advanced query string handling.

While both libraries serve similar purposes, the choice between query-string and qs often depends on the specific needs of the application. If you need a straightforward solution for basic query string manipulation, query-string is a solid option. However, if your application requires handling more complex data structures within query strings, qs may be the better choice.

To see how query-string compares with qs, check out the comparison: Comparing query-string vs qs.

README for whatwg-url

whatwg-url

whatwg-url is a full implementation of the WHATWG URL Standard. It can be used standalone, but it also exposes a lot of the internal algorithms that are useful for integrating a URL parser into a project like jsdom.

Specification conformance

whatwg-url is currently up to date with the URL spec up to commit 6c78200.

For file: URLs, whose origin is left unspecified, whatwg-url chooses to use a new opaque origin (which serializes to "null").

whatwg-url does not yet implement any encoding handling beyond UTF-8. That is, the encoding override parameter does not exist in our API.

API

The URL and URLSearchParams classes

The main API is provided by the URL and URLSearchParams exports, which follows the spec's behavior in all ways (including e.g. USVString conversion). Most consumers of this library will want to use these.

Low-level URL Standard API

The following methods are exported for use by places like jsdom that need to implement things like HTMLHyperlinkElementUtils. They mostly operate on or return an "internal URL" or "URL record" type.

The stateOverride parameter is one of the following strings:

The URL record type has the following API:

These properties should be treated with care, as in general changing them will cause the URL record to be in an inconsistent state until the appropriate invocation of basicURLParse is used to fix it up. You can see examples of this in the URL Standard, where there are many step sequences like "4. Set context object’s url’s fragment to the empty string. 5. Basic URL parse input with context object’s url as url and fragment state as state override." In between those two steps, a URL record is in an unusable state.

The return value of "failure" in the spec is represented by null. That is, functions like parseURL and basicURLParse can return either a URL record or null.

whatwg-url/webidl2js-wrapper module

This module exports the URL and URLSearchParams interface wrappers API generated by webidl2js.

Development instructions

First, install Node.js. Then, fetch the dependencies of whatwg-url, by running from this directory:

npm install

To run tests:

npm test

To generate a coverage report:

npm run coverage

To build and run the live viewer:

npm run prepare
npm run build-live-viewer

Serve the contents of the live-viewer directory using any web server.

Supporting whatwg-url

The jsdom project (including whatwg-url) is a community-driven project maintained by a team of volunteers. You could support us by:

  • Getting professional support for whatwg-url as part of a Tidelift subscription. Tidelift helps making open source sustainable for us while giving teams assurances for maintenance, licensing, and security.
  • Contributing directly to the project.
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