[treshugart]

Yeah, the comparisons need updating. I'd prefer not to have them because you're then subject to keeping your README up to date with everyone you compare to but some people have asked for them. I'm torn.

That said, yes, Polymer does only change the parts of the DOM that need updating but there's still a fundamental difference in that Skate re-renders using a virtual DOM whereas Polymer keeps track of the elements that need updating and uses observables. Observables require you specify how they should behave depending on how you expect them to be set. Even so, sometimes you have to manually trigger them to update in order for your component to update. Skate relies on the same principle React does: you update a property, you re-render. The major difference here being that Skate checks references by default in updated() (like shouldComponentUpdate()) thus only re-rendering if necessary.

As jpnelson mentioned, Skate is more React-like than Polymer-like in its API, but it's still not 1:1 due to the specs. Some things like componentWillMount() don't translate because connectedCallback() is fired after the element is connected to the document. They're all different libraries; direct comparisons are hard.

FWIW, I'm not trying to downplay other libraries, either. Polymer is a great library and a major source of inspiration, just like React is.