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On React and WordPress

ma.tt

21–30 of 212 posts

Re: On React and WordPress

#21
post #10

>> rewrite Gutenberg using a different library. It will likely delay Gutenberg at least a few weeks I love this. How many times in my career have I heard "the rewrite will take us ". Good luck with that estimate.

We've migrated reasonably large React projects to Preact using the amazing preact-compat : https://www.npmjs.com/package/preact-compat -- it was really as simple as wiring aliases in the webpack config!

Re: On React and WordPress

#23
post #2

It's too bad that this particular point has become an issue with so many good open source projects. I still think that the risk, even for startups considering acquisition exits, is low (see this great post from a patent/IP attorney [1]), but the fact that it's enough to cause players like the ASF and WordPress to move away from it just means fewer players and less innovation in the ecosystem. IANAL, but I wish the la…

> It's too bad that this particular point has become an issue with so many good open source projects.

It is assymetric to think that the solution to this problem is not within Facebook's side.

Re: On React and WordPress

#24
post #10

>> rewrite Gutenberg using a different library. It will likely delay Gutenberg at least a few weeks I love this. How many times in my career have I heard "the rewrite will take us ". Good luck with that estimate.

We've migrated reasonably large React projects to Preact using the amazing preact-compat : https://www.npmjs.com/package/preact-compat -- it was really as simple as wiring aliases in the webpack config!

Isn't it unclear if preact violates Facebook's patents?

Re: On React and WordPress

#25
I'm glad to see this post. People don't like the Facebook license for React and are willing to invest time and money to steer clear of it.

I still don't understand why Facebook changed the RocksDB license so quickly but then took a hard stance on the React license.

Re: On React and WordPress

#26
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We've migrated reasonably large React projects to Preact using the amazing preact-compat : https://www.npmjs.com/package/preact-compat -- it was really as simple as wiring aliases in the webpack config!

Isn't it unclear if preact violates Facebook's patents?

The current understanding is that none of the patents in the portfolio currently covers React (and by extension, preact). But flipping the switch would satisfy the first-order requirement of not imposing the FB patent grant upon users of WP

Re: On React and WordPress

#27
post #10

>> rewrite Gutenberg using a different library. It will likely delay Gutenberg at least a few weeks I love this. How many times in my career have I heard "the rewrite will take us ". Good luck with that estimate.

Gutenberg's direct React usage is actually quite small - components implement a WordPress element, which is currently a wrapper for React, but can be transformed to use something else behind the scenes.

https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/tree/master/element

Re: On React and WordPress

#28
The Drupal community struggled a bit with the decision as well (see https://www.drupal.org/node/2645250). It seems there are a number of open source communities and enterprise development shops who are just not comfortable with the patent clause. React had a lot of momentum, but it seems alternatives like Vue.js are going to be the long-term winners in terms of being 'the next jQuery' in terms of longevity as a front end standard.

Re: On React and WordPress

#29
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not Preact? It seems the react compatibility would be very helpful when they already have such a significant investment into react.

Personally, I have a hard time imagining that any Facebook patents you use with React wouldn't also apply to Preact. Then again, I think this whole patents issue is mostly FUD. The number of companies who have to reasonably consider suing Facebook for patent infringement is small and they know who they are.

If you have nothing to hide from Facebook, you have nothing to fear from Facebook.

Re: On React and WordPress

#30
post #9
post #2

It's too bad that this particular point has become an issue with so many good open source projects. I still think that the risk, even for startups considering acquisition exits, is low (see this great post from a patent/IP attorney [1]), but the fact that it's enough to cause players like the ASF and WordPress to move away from it just means fewer players and less innovation in the ecosystem. IANAL, but I wish the la…

Matt is a copyleft zealot. Of course he'd drop React over this non-controversy. Anyone paying attention to how he views GPL would come to that conclusion.

Did you read the blog post?

His main concern is suddenly updating ~25% of all websites to "include" the React license.

Imagine Microsoft running a small WordPress site off in the distance somewhere that takes the Wordpress + React update. Tadaa, MS is now in theory bound by the FB patent clause.

He doesn't want to be responsible for the potential legal liability of encumbering 25% of the internet with a new license agreement.

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