Mark Eschbach

Software Developer && System Analyst

Isomorphic JavaScript

Isomorphic javascript generally refers to code which may be executed in both the client and server without modification because the dependent framework abstracts out the differences.

Etymology of 'Isomorphic'

Although there are claims the idea was circulating around between 2005 to 2010 (and probably earlier), the earliest reference I could find was from 2011. The article is actually quite good an outlines a number of UI architecture patterns which are used in practice.

By isomorphic we mean that any given line of code (with notable exceptions) can execute both on the client and the server. Scaling Isomorphic Javascript Code by Chris Robin retrieved on 2015-04-11.

The term isomorphic is actually derrived from mathmatics, meaning of the same structure. When viewed through the lense of software development it is commonly accepted as a term to mean to run without modification. Many frameworks and libraries were touting they were isomorphic, however they tend to fall short.

Frameworks

  • React - A rendering framework.