The “stroke-dashoffset” method is the same method that most SVG line drawing libraries use.
However, these libraries offer a great deal more in terms of convenience, shortened development time and cross-browser compatibility.
In fact, each of these libraries offer some combination of methods for:
start
stop
pause
reverse
clear
delay
synchronize
bidirectional animation
etc.
Some even have there own timeline capabilities and the ability to access a machine’s GPU where available. According to some library providers they can achieve up to 60 fps graphics performance.
In general, I think these libraries have more to offer than manually coding the stroke-dashoffset property with little or no downside.