Introduction
UI component libraries play a crucial role in the development of modern user interfaces. The purpose of this report is to evaluate and compare three of the most popular UI component libraries, Material UI (MUI), Ant Design (ANTD), and Semantic UI (Semantic) based on their performance, accessibility, and total blocking time. The evaluation was conducted for component counts of 50, 100, 500, and 1000.
Test Environment
Three separate ReactJS applications were created, each using one of the UI libraries under examination. The applications were designed to include an increasing number of components, ranging from 50 to 1000, to simulate a growing project. The performance data was collected using industry-standard performance tools, such as Lighthouse and the Chrome DevTools Performance panel.
PC Specs
OS Windows 11
Processor 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5–11300H @ 3.10GHz 2.61 GHz
Installed RAM 16.0 GB
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Test Results
Performance
The performance data was collected using industry-standard tools such as Lighthouse and the Chrome DevTools Performance panel. The results indicate that while all three libraries offer good accessibility, Semantic had the best performance with 100% for all component counts. MUI had a performance percentage of 95% for 50 components, 85% for 100 components, 64% for 500 components, and 57% for 1000 components. ANTD had lower performance scores, with 90% for 50 components, 76% for 100 components, 55% for 500 components, and 52% for 1000 components.
Total Blocking Time
In terms of total blocking time, MUI had the lowest with 190 milliseconds for 50 components, 260 milliseconds for 100 components, 2100 milliseconds for 500 components, and 4490 milliseconds for 1000 components. ANTD had a higher total blocking time, with 260 milliseconds for 50 components, 850 milliseconds for 100 components, 4156 milliseconds for 500 components, and 4570 milliseconds for 1000 components. Semantic had the highest total blocking time, with 10 milliseconds for 50 components, 80 milliseconds for 100 components, 1070 milliseconds for 500 components, and 4150 milliseconds for 1000 components.
Conclusion
The results of this comparison provide insights into the strengths and weaknesses of each library and can assist developers in making informed decisions when choosing a library for their next project. While all three libraries offer good accessibility, the data shows that Semantic is the best choice in terms of performance and file size. If a larger number of components is required, MUI and ANTD may be a better choice due to their wider component offerings. It’s important to note that the results of this comparison are based on a specific set of data and should be taken as a general guideline rather than a definitive answer. The best choice for a particular project will ultimately depend on the specific requirements and constraints.