humm so scriptaculous is built off prototype, and i really don't like that...
from what i'm seeing mootools is alot more intuitive and lighter and gives you alot more control. but scriptaculous comes w/ more built in effects tho, but they're mostly corny disappearing effects, and they don't have the accordian effect which i think is really neat.
i think really the selling point is just that its so much cleaner and its modular so i wouldn't have to deliver a whole 200kb package if i'm just using 1 or 2 effects.
prototype and moo both break javascript the same way, and aren't really friendly w/ other scripts in the enviro
IMO prototype is the old web2.0 (which is why everyone uses scriptaculous, cause they're just used to it, and why there are so many more third party plugins), and moo is much more elegant and refined, like it's web 2.1, they both pretty much do the same thing though, and moo latches itself onto js just as much as prototype. i think i just like the fact that moo is much more compact and lighter, it's modular, and the syntax just makes more sense to me
jQuery/jQuery UI unlike prototype/scriptaculous and moo doesn't alter native elements itself, it just uses what's there - i haven't encountered a particular point where this mattered other than how you write your classes (where i prefer moo) but so i hear it limits controlling and customizing your environment and adding extended functionality (according to devs at cnet, they prefer prototype or moo, and they themselves use moo). i know jquery is the easiest of them, though, especially for ajax, and then comes prototype..
i'm not looking particularly for any sort of xml support because i'm thinking of switching to json as it is..
that's all i know so far, so if you could help me answer this question:
really i'm just looking for whatever i can customize and create the flashiest coolest interesting multielement fx with and i do not care about xml support (perhaps the test would be what it's easiest to create a graphical navbar dock like object dock or that mac program bar). which should i use?
and ps what about spry?