Comparisons

Gx is new. Release 0.1.0 is the first release. Each tool on this page is older, has more users and has more answers on the web. This page names what each one does better, so that you can choose.

What Gx does not have#

• A stable 1.0 API. A 0.x release can change an API.
• A second adapter. Release 0.1.0 has Datastar only. The htmx adapter comes with release 0.2.0.
• Client components. TypeScript islands and the React, Vue or Svelte ecosystems are not in release 0.1.0.
• A data layer. Gx is the web layer. It has no ORM, no auth, no jobs and no mailer.
• A build with no code generation. Each .gx file has a generated Go file that you commit.
• A strict Content Security Policy with Datastar. Datastar needs unsafe-eval.

templ#

templ is a language for HTML components in Go, with code generation and a language server.

What templ does better

• It is mature and has many users. You find examples, answers and integrations for it.
• A templ file takes any Go statement. Gx allows if, for, switch and := only.
• Its language server uses gopls for the Go parts, so each gopls feature works. Gx uses its own type index.
• It does one thing. It has no opinion about routes, forms or the browser, so it fits any stack.
• It has no browser runtime of its own.

What Gx does better

• Routes, links, actions, forms and signals are typed. In templ, a URL and an htmx target are strings.
• Props have names, and a required prop is checked. A templ component takes arguments by position.
• A component registry with three-way updates.
• One dev command with page morph, the error overlay and the stylesheet build.

Choose templ when you want only a template language, or when you need a tool that is in production in many companies today.

gomponents#

gomponents builds HTML with plain Go functions.

What gomponents does better

• It is only Go. There is no new file type, no code generation and no command to install.
• Each Go tool works with no extra step: gopls, the debugger, refactoring and coverage.
• A component is a function. There is nothing more to learn.
• The dependency is very small.

What Gx does better

• A page with much markup reads as HTML. You can paste an HTML block into a .gx file.
• The typed loop from route to action to form, the registry and the dev loop.

Choose gomponents when your pages have little markup, or when you want no build step and no tool.

Next.js#

Next.js is a full React framework with server rendering.

What Next.js does better

• The React ecosystem. A component exists for almost each need.
• Rich client state and interaction: drag and drop, editors, charts, offline use.
• Streaming, partial rendering and edge runtimes.
• A very large community, many hosts with one-step deploys, and many developers who know it.

What Gx does better

• No node, no bundler and no hydration. The build gives one Go binary.
• One language and one type system from the database call to the template.
• A page with no interactive part ships no JavaScript.
• The server and client boundary is small and explicit: client code is a client expression or nothing.

Choose Next.js when the product is a rich client application, or when the team works in React.

Rails with Hotwire#

Rails with Hotwire is a full-stack framework that sends HTML over the wire.

What Rails does better

• It is a full stack: models, migrations, jobs, mail, auth generators and a console. Gx is the web layer only.
• Twenty years of conventions, gems, guides and hosts.
• Turbo Native takes the same HTML into a mobile app.
• A generator makes a working resource in one command.

What Gx does better

• Static types. A renamed field, route or fragment stops the build. In Rails, a Turbo Stream target is a string.
• One static binary with a low memory use and a fast start.
• Signals in the browser with no extra controller file.

Choose Rails when you want one framework for the whole product and the team likes Ruby.

Which one#