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Why We Should Ditch React [video]

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Re: Why We Should Ditch React [video]

#11

Post by pmontra »

I usually don't look at videos (it takes too long) but I was complaining with myself that React is needlessly complicated so I checked it.

The point of the video is not so clear, maybe it's why reinventing the wheel again and again and not coming up with a good wheel once again.

First what I like of React vs (example) jQuery: despite the complexity a React (or Angular or whatever) application is infinitely more maintainable than the corresponding jQuery one. I converted one to React when I didn't dare anymore to fix bugs in a jQuery monster I created.

However, wrestling with dispatch, props, Object.assign, actions etc can't be the right way to do it. After all these web applications are the same thing we were doing in the 90s with VisualBasic or similar systems. Replace disk access or local Access dbs with JSON calls over HTTP, not a big difference and yet, coding a React app is a miserable experience. I think frontend developers should be paid twice as much as backend ones: they do a much more difficult job. For sure I don't want to do frontend development: it's not an efficient way to make money.

Some context: I'm mostly a backend developer now and I'm spending a few days working on a React frontend every two or three months. So I'm a little too rusty every time I start working with React. That doesn't help but I can't help feeling that code as complex as this smells of wrong architectural decisions. A collegue told me that Vue is much more pleasant to work with. I could give it a try if I'll ever have a personal project needing a complicated frontend. Server generated HTML is fine for everything else.

Re: Why We Should Ditch React [video]

#12

Post by ntdb »

macando wrote: post #9

I'm a fan of React but I posted the link because this time the author actually used React for many years. Usually, people criticizing it are still learning and are frustrated by React's vast and fragmented ecosystem stemming from its open nature.

The author's criticisms do not seem to be insightful. They boil down to "bah humbug stop changing things". Did you get something more useful out of it?

Re: Why We Should Ditch React [video]

#16

Post by nobleach »

The comments are a bit disconcerting. "Redux is trash"? It's a finite state machine. At its simplest level that's all it is. Now, I get that requiring it in every single React app makes little sense, but the library itself is just too simple to be considered "trash".

Re: Why We Should Ditch React [video]

#17

Post by potta_coffee »

pmontra wrote: post #11

I usually don't look at videos (it takes too long) but I was complaining with myself that React is needlessly complicated so I checked it. The point of the video is not so clear, maybe it's why reinventing the wheel again and again and not coming up with a good wheel once again. First what I like of React vs (example) jQuery: despite the complexity a React (or Angular or whatever) application is infinitely more maint…

I heartily recommend Vue. Similar in principle to React, but but fewer things to remember. Still have to pass props etc but I'm not a front-end developer, more of a generalist and I find myself being very productive using Vue.

Re: Why We Should Ditch React [video]

#18

Post by guitarbill »

baron816 wrote: post #3

Summary: this guy doesn’t like hooks because he doesn’t like learning new stuff and he wants to throw out React because it changed a little bit. Doesn’t mention the benefits of framework changes or rationale behind them. Definitely garbage YouTube click bait here. Don’t bother.

He does have a point that churn/the new hotness is a real issue, and the latest hotness in JS library/framework have a very short shelf-life. On the other hand, projects like Babel or Polymer, that want to be obsolete at some point, but will require minimal re-writing when that happens are excellent and future-proof.

Re: Why We Should Ditch React [video]

#19

Post by adventured »

pmontra wrote: post #11

I usually don't look at videos (it takes too long) but I was complaining with myself that React is needlessly complicated so I checked it. The point of the video is not so clear, maybe it's why reinventing the wheel again and again and not coming up with a good wheel once again. First what I like of React vs (example) jQuery: despite the complexity a React (or Angular or whatever) application is infinitely more maint…

I agree with your colleague: Vue is a lot more enjoyable to work with. I've disliked React every time I've worked with it and Vue has always been a good experience by contrast. For some reason working with React always makes me feel like it's the Java of JS frameworks. The problem ultimately is, Vue has long since badly lost the mindshare battle, React won. That doesn't matter for every developer or situation of course.

Re: Why We Should Ditch React [video]

#20

Post by ntdb »

guitarbill wrote: post #18
baron816 wrote: post #3

Summary: this guy doesn’t like hooks because he doesn’t like learning new stuff and he wants to throw out React because it changed a little bit. Doesn’t mention the benefits of framework changes or rationale behind them. Definitely garbage YouTube click bait here. Don’t bother.

He does have a point that churn/the new hotness is a real issue, and the latest hotness in JS library/framework have a very short shelf-life. On the other hand, projects like Babel or Polymer, that want to be obsolete at some point, but will require minimal re-writing when that happens are excellent and future-proof.

"The new hotness" is not a problem. It is a problem when developers insist on using "the new hotness" regardless of whether it adds value. There are many thousands of applications using React without hooks that are working just fine and will continue to do so indefinitely.
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