As of May 2023[update], Bootstrap is the 17th most starred project (4th most starred library) on GitHub, with over 164,000 stars.[4] According to W3Techs, Bootstrap is used by 19.2% of all websites.[5]
Features
Bootstrap is an HTML, CSS and JS library that focuses on simplifying the development of informative web pages (as opposed to web applications). The primary purpose of adding it to a web project is to apply Bootstrap's choices of color, size, font and layout to that project. As such, the primary factor is whether the developers in charge find those choices to their liking. Once added to a project, Bootstrap provides basic style definitions for all HTML elements. The result is a uniform appearance for prose, tables and form elements across web browsers. In addition, developers can take advantage of CSS classes defined in Bootstrap to further customize the appearance of their contents. For example, Bootstrap has provisioned for light- and dark-colored tables, page headings, more prominent pull quotes, and text with a highlight.
Bootstrap also comes with several JavaScript components which do not require other libraries like jQuery. They provide additional user interface elements such as dialog boxes, tooltips, progress bars, navigation drop-downs, and carousels. Each Bootstrap component consists of an HTML structure, CSS declarations, and in some cases accompanying JavaScript code. They also extend the functionality of some existing interface elements, including for example an auto-complete function for input fields.
Example of a webpage using Bootstrap framework rendered in Firefox
The most prominent components of Bootstrap are its layout components, as they affect an entire web page. The basic layout component is called "Container", as every other element in the page is placed in it. Developers can choose between a fixed-width container and a fluid-width container. While the latter always fills the width with the web page, the former uses one of the five predefined fixed widths, depending on the size of the screen showing the page:[6]
Smaller than 576 pixels
576–768 pixels
768–992 pixels
992–1200 pixels
1200–1400 pixels
Larger than 1400 pixels
Once a container is in place, other Bootstrap layout components implement a CSS Flexbox layout through defining rows and columns.
A precompiled version of Bootstrap is available in the form of one CSS file and three JavaScript files that can be readily added to any project. The raw form of Bootstrap, however, enables developers to implement further customization and size optimizations. This raw form is modular, meaning that the developer can remove unneeded components, apply a theme and modify the uncompiled Sass files.
History
Early beginnings
Bootstrap, originally named Twitter Blueprint, was developed by Mark Otto and Jacob Thornton at Twitter as a framework to encourage consistency across internal tools. Before Bootstrap, various libraries were used for interface development, which led to inconsistencies and a high maintenance burden. According to Otto:
A super small group of developers and I got together to design and build a new internal tool and saw an opportunity to do something more. Through that process, we saw ourselves build something much more substantial than another internal tool. Months later, we ended up with an early version of Bootstrap as a way to document and share common design patterns and assets within the company.[7]
After a few months of development by a small group, many developers at Twitter began to contribute to the project as a part of Hack Week, a hackathon-style week for the Twitter development team. It was renamed from Twitter Blueprint to Twitter Bootstrap and released as an open-source project on August 19, 2011.[8] It has continued to be maintained by Otto, Thornton, a small group of core developers, and a large community of contributors.[9]
Bootstrap 2
On January 31, 2012, Bootstrap 2 was released, which added built-in support for Glyphicons, several new components, as well as changes to many of the existing components. This version supports responsive web design, meaning the layout of web pages adjusts dynamically, taking into account the characteristics of the device used (whether desktop, tablet, mobile phone).[10] Shortly before the release of Bootstrap 2.1.2, Otto and Thornton left Twitter, but committed to continue to work on Bootstrap as an independent project.[11]
Bootstrap 3
On August 19, 2013, Bootstrap 3 was released. It redesigned components to use flat design and a mobile first approach.[12] Bootstrap 3 features new plugin system with namespaced events. Bootstrap 3 dropped Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 3.6 support, but there is an optional polyfill for these browsers.[13] Bootstrap 3 was also the first version released under the twbs organization on GitHub instead of the Twitter one.[14]
Bootstrap 4
Otto announced Bootstrap 4 on October 29, 2014.[15] The first alpha version of Bootstrap 4 was released on August 19, 2015.[16] The first beta version was released on August 10, 2017.[17] Otto suspended work on Bootstrap 3 on September 6, 2016, to free up time to work on Bootstrap 4. Bootstrap 4 was finalized on January 18, 2018.[18]
^Otto, Mark (August 19, 2011). "Bootstrap from Twitter". Developer Blog. Twitter. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
^"About". Bootstrap. August 19, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
^Otto, Mark (January 31, 2012). "Say hello to Bootstrap 2.0". Developer Blog. Twitter. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
^Otto, Mark (September 29, 2012). "Onward". blog.getbootstrap.com.
