KUTE.js

A minimal native Javascript animation engine with jQuery plugin and with most essential features for web developers, designers and animators, delivering easy to use methods to set up high performance, cross-browser animations. The focus is flexibility, performance and size (core engine is 15.8k min and 5.6k gzipped).

Demo / CDN

For documentation, examples and other cool tips, check the demo. Thanks to jsdelivr, we have a CDN link here. We also have cdnjs link right here. Sweet!

Core Engine - visit page

• tween object methods: .to(), .fromTo(), .allTo(), .allFromTo()
• tween control methods: .start(), .stop(), .pause(), .play()
• 2D and 3D transforms: all except matrix, matrix3d, scale3d, rotate3d
• box model properties: top, left, width, height
• colors: color, backgroundColor
• scroll: vertical scroll animation for window or any element with overflow: auto|scroll
• options: yoyo, duration, easing, repeat, delay, offset (for tween collections), repeatDelay and other transform/plugins related options
• Robert Penner's easing functions
• extensible prototypes and utility methods

SVG Plugin - visit page

• morphs SVGs with the path tween property, updating the d attribute of <path> or <glyph> elements
• crows-browser SVG transform via the svgTransform property and the transform presentation attribute
• draws SVGs with the draw tween property for <path> elements
• SVG related color CSS properties such as: fill, stroke, stopColor
• other SVG CSS properties: strokeWidth, stopOpacity

CSS Plugin - visit page

• all box model properties: margin, padding, with all their variations like marginTop, all variations for width or height like maxHeight or minWidth, outlineWidth, borderWidth with all side variations, except short-hand notations
• borderRadius properties radius
• color properties: outlineColor, borderColor with all side variations except shorthands, etc
• clip property only for rect type of values
• text properties: fontSize, lineHeight, lettersSpacing and wordSpacing

Text Plugin - visit page

• animated number increments/decreases
• writing text with a cool effect

Attributes Plugin - visit page

• animates any numeric presentation attribute with suffixed value
• animates any other non-suffixed numeric presentation attribute
• handles attributes namespaces properly with stroke-opacity or strokeOpacity
• properly handles the suffixes for you

Easing Functions - visit page

• optimized dynamics easing functions
• optimized cubic-bezier easing functions

jQuery Plugin

This aims to make the KUTE.js script work native within other jQuery apps but it's not always really needed as we will see in the second subchapter here. Since the demos don't insist on this particular plugin, we'll write some basics right here.

The plugin is just a few bits of code to bridge all of the the awesome kute.js methods to your jQuery apps. The plugin can be found in the /master folder.

NPM/Bower

You can install this through NPM or bower respectively:

$ npm install kute.js
# or
$ bower install kute.js

CommonJS/AMD support

You can use this module through any of the common javascript module systems. For instance:

// CommonJS style
//grab the core
var kute = require("kute.js");
// Add SVG Plugin
require("kute.js/kute-svg");
// Add CSS Plugin
require("kute.js/kute-css");
// Add Attributes Plugin
require("kute.js/kute-attr");
// Add Text Plugin
require("kute.js/kute-text");
// Add Bezier Easing
require("kute.js/kute-bezier");
// Add Physics Easing
require("kute.js/kute-physics");

// AMD style
define([
    "kute.js", // core engine
    "kute.js/kute-jquery.js", // optional for jQuery apps
    "kute.js/kute-svg.js", // optional for SVG morph, draw and other SVG related CSS
    "kute.js/kute-css.js", // optional for additional CSS properties
    "kute.js/kute-attr.js", // optional for animating presentation attributes
    "kute.js/kute-text.js" // optional for string write and number incrementing animations
    "kute.js/kute-bezier.js", // optional for more accurate easing functions
    "kute.js/kute-physics.js" // optional for more flexible & accurate easing functions
], function(KUTE){
    // ...
});

Basic Usage

At a glance, you can write one line and you're done.

//vanilla js
KUTE.fromTo('selector', fromValues, toValues, options).start();

//with jQuery plugin
var tween = $('selector').fromTo(fromValues, toValues, options);
$(tween).KUTE('start');

Advanced Usage

Quite easily, you can write 'bit more lines and you're making the earth go round.

//vanilla js is always the coolest
KUTE.fromTo(el,
    { translate: 0, opacity: 1 }, // fromValues
    { translate: 150, opacity: 0 }, // toValues
    
    // tween options object
    { duration: 500, delay: 0, easing	: 'exponentialInOut', // basic options

      // callbacks
      start: functionOne, // run function when tween starts
      complete: functionTwo, // run function when tween animation is finished
      update: functionThree // run function while tween running    
      stop: functionThree // run function when tween stopped    
      pause: functionThree // run function when tween paused    
      resume: functionThree // run function when resuming tween    
    }
).start(); // this is to start animation right away

Using the jQuery Plugin

Here's a KUTE.js jQuery Plugin example that showcases most common usage in future apps:

// first we define the object(s)
var tween = $('selector').fromTo( // apply fromTo() method to selector
  
    { translate: 0, opacity: 1 }, // fromValues
    { translate: 150, opacity: 0 }, // toValues
    
    // tween options object
    { duration: 500, delay: 0, easing	: 'exponentialInOut', // basic options

      //callbacks
      start: functionOne, // run function when tween starts
      complete: functionTwo, // run function when tween animation is finished
      update: functionThree // run function while tween running    
      stop: functionThree // run function when tween stopped    
      pause: functionThree // run function when tween paused    
      resume: functionThree // run function when resuming tween    
    }
);

// then we apply the tween control methods, like start
tween.start();

Starting with KUTE.js 1.5.7, the jQuery Plugin got lighter and uses the proper method automatically based on how many elements are returned from selector. If one element the proper single object method is used fromTo() or to() but if more than one elements are returned it will use allFromTo() or allTo().

Alternative usage in jQuery powered applications

When size matters, you can handle animations inside jQuery applications without the plugin. Here's how:

var tween = KUTE.fromTo($('selector')[0], fromValues, toValues, options);

// or simply provide a class|id selector, just like the usual
var tween = KUTE.fromTo('#myElement', fromValues, toValues, options);

tween.start();

Pay attention to that $('selector')[0] as jQuery always creates an array of selected objects and not a single object, that is why we need to target a single HTML object for our tween object and not a colection of objects.

HTMLCollection objects should be handled with allFromTo() or allTo() methods.

var tween = KUTE.allFromTo($('selector'), fromValues, toValues, options);
tween.start();

How it works

• it computes all the values before starting the animation, then caches them to avoid layout thrashing that occur during animation
• handles all kinds of transform properties and makes sure to always use the same order of the transform properties (translate, rotate, skew, scale)
• allows you to set perspective for an element or it's parent for 3D transforms
• computes properties' values properly according to their measurement unit (px,%,deg,etc)
• properly handles cross browser 3D transform with perspective and perspective-origin for element or it's parent
• converts HEX colors to RGB and tweens the numeric values, then ALWAYS updates color via RGB
• properly replaces top, centered or any other background position with proper value to be able to tween
• for most supported properties it reads the current element computed style property value as initial value (via currentStyle || getComputedStyle)
• because it can read properties values from previous tween animations, KUTE.js can do some awesome chaining with it's .to() method
• allows you to add many callbacks: start, update, complete, pause, stop, and they can be set as tween options
• since translate3D is best for movement animation performance, kute.js will always use it
• accepts "nice & easy string" easing functions, like linear or easingExponentialOut (removes the use of the evil eval, making development safer, easier and closer to standards :)
• uses all 31 Robert Penner's easing functions, as well as bezier and physics easing functions
• handles browser prefixes for you for transform, perspective, perspective-origin, border-radius and requestAnimationFrame
• all this is possible with a core script of less than 20k size!

Browser Support

Since most modern browsers can handle pretty much everything, legacy browsers need some help, so give them polyfills. I also packed a small polyfill set with most essential features required by KUTE.js to work, it's called minifill, try it.

Contributions

• Dav aka @dalisoft contributed a great deal for the performance and functionality of KUTE.js
• Ingwie Phoenix: RequireJS/CommonJS compatibility and usability with common package managers
• Others who contribute to the project

License

MIT License