Why Svelte is a game changer for IIoT development

Peter Repukat -

If you've done any development on IIoT HMIs, you've probably spent countless hours wrestling with bulky frameworks, trying to make them play nice with old and outdated IIoT systems. Well, grab a coffee (or your beverage of choice), and let me tell you about how Svelte might just make your life a whole lot easier.

TL;DR:

  • Tiny bundles for resource-constrained devices
  • Lightning-fast performance with minimal overhead
  • Sveltes small ecosystem is not a problem
  • DX Matters: Intuitive syntax for rapid development
  • UI-polish with "no-code"-animations

The Svelte Advantage

In recent years, I have mainly done development and consulting work on IIoT (or adjacent) Projects. Modern solutions often use web-technologies for their HMIs and dashboards.
I've used the big three Frameworks (React, Vue, Angular) with great success in that area, however, when I discovered Svelte, I was immediately impressed by its potential.
After a few Years of working with Svelte on the side, I'm, certain that Svelte could be a game-change for HMI development.
Let's explore why:

1. Bundle Size

Let's face it, when you're working with IIoT devices that have less processing power than your toaster, the size of your application matters significantly. Svelte shines in this area with its remarkably small bundle size. Unlike traditional frameworks that ship the entire library to the browser, Svelte does most of its work at compile-time, resulting in minimal runtime code.

2. Low Runtime Overhead

Svelte's approach to reactivity sets it apart from other frameworks. Instead of using a virtual DOM, Svelte compiles your code to efficient vanilla JavaScript that updates the DOM directly. This results in lower runtime overhead, making Svelte applications incredibly fast and responsive.

For IIoT HMIs, where real-time data updates and immediate user feedback are often critical, this efficiency can make or break a whole project.

3. The Ecosystem Myth

Okay, I hear you. "But what about all those shiny React components and wrappers?"
While it's true that Svelte's ecosystem is significantly smaller than those of the big three frameworks, it actually isn't a problem at all.

Svelte's simplicity allows for easy integration with vanilla JavaScript libraries, which can be a game-changer.
How often have you wrestled with a specific library that has a wrapper for your chosen framework, but doesn't quite have the feature set your client needs? Only to choose another framework down the line and end up writing your own wrapper anyway?

By leveraging vanilla JavaScript libraries directly, you not only ditch the reliance on often times questionably maintained wrappers, you're also expanding your toolkit beyond the limitations of framework-specifics.

4. Developer-Friendly Experience

One of Svelte's standout features is its intuitive, easy-to-learn syntax. As someone who has worked extensively with Svelte as well as other frameworks, I can attest that its learning curve is notably gentler than other frameworks. This translates to:

  • Faster development cycles
  • Easier onboarding of new team members
  • More maintainable code in the long run

In my experience, projects that would take weeks with other frameworks can often be completed in days with Svelte, allowing for more rapid prototyping and iteration.

5. Built-in Transitions and Animations

While industrial interfaces prioritize functionality, user experience remains important.
Well crafted animations and transitions can enhance the overall UX greatly, but are often time-consuming and hard to implement well.
Svelte provides built-in, efficient and well crafted transitions and animations, that don't require more code than specifying what elements should have them applied to.
This makes it trivial to create smooth and intuitive interfaces.

Conclusion

While my direct experience with Svelte has been primarily outside the IIoT domain, the framework's characteristics align well with the unique challenges of industrial interface development. Its small footprint, high performance, and developer-friendly nature make it a promising candidate for building modern and efficient HMIs.

If you're considering upgrading your IIoT interfaces or starting a new project, Svelte is certainly worth exploring. Its potential to streamline development, enhance performance, and improve maintainability could provide significant benefits in the industrial context.

As we continue to push the boundaries of what's possible in IIoT, tools like Svelte offer exciting opportunities to create more responsive, efficient, and user-friendly industrial interfaces. I'm looking forward to seeing how this technology can be leveraged to drive innovation in the IIoT space.

If you're interested in discussing Svelte or IIoT development, feel free to reach out.
If you need any of my expertise in a professional setting, you can hire me or my colleagues via my employer, CmdScale.