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Konsta UI – Mobile UI Components Built with TailwindCSS

konstaui.com

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Re: Konsta UI – Mobile UI Components Built with TailwindCSS

#81
post #78

What is it about everyone using Tailwind? It inevitably becomes a mess in every codebase I've used it in; it's like Perl, a write only language. I just use Vanilla Extract (with their Sprinkles API) and call it a day, it uses TypeScript as the preprocessor language and then compiles it to raw CSS, similar to SCSS but without writing SCSS. https://vanilla-extract.style

It doesn't become a mess, but it's interesting you chose to comment on Tailwind and not KonstaUI despite topic being KonstaUI. Do you have any opinion to share on KonstaUI or any other helpful insight, except giving yourself credit for what you use and being negative towards the rest?

> on Tailwind and not KonstaUI despite topic being KonstaUI

Eh, when the heading prominently mentions TailwindCSS, I’d say the topic is very much about that choice. If it were a minor implementation detail, it would be different.

Re: Konsta UI – Mobile UI Components Built with TailwindCSS

#82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have, yes. It’s fine and no more annoying than css, styled or whatever else. If anything it’s easier because there’s consistent and constrained bunch of classes you can use.

Then just use CSS at that point, since the classes literally just map onto CSS properties anyway (and sometimes not even, since they have to spend time to make new, or even older, rules work). That's what I don't get about Tailwind, at its best it's as good as CSS, but oftentimes stuff like SCSS, CSS-in-TS etc are simply better.

> Then just use CSS at that point, since the classes literally just map onto CSS properties anyway

CSS is definitely a write-only language. I've yet to see anyone understand CSS in a large system and refactor it. You end up with dozens and hundreds one-off classes and overrides everywhere.

Re: Konsta UI – Mobile UI Components Built with TailwindCSS

#83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's real innovation, like jQuery imperatoveness to React et Al's declarativeness, sure I'd agree with you. But Tailwind is simply not innovation, it's at best repackaging normal CSS properties that when composed together act just like...regular CSS classes. So there's literally no point in using them. For example: https://twitter.com/stolinski/status/1613699772111638530

Should also read the reply then: https://twitter.com/adamwathan/status/1613718281969635328 The only people I know who dislike tailwind are those who either have never used it to make a project because of bias (hello past me) or those who dislike having faster development speed. Tailwind objectively saves time, yes, objectively.

I read most of the replies to the tweet I linked, including Adam's. It's simply not compelling enough for me to use Tailwind.

Re: Konsta UI – Mobile UI Components Built with TailwindCSS

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then just use CSS at that point, since the classes literally just map onto CSS properties anyway (and sometimes not even, since they have to spend time to make new, or even older, rules work). That's what I don't get about Tailwind, at its best it's as good as CSS, but oftentimes stuff like SCSS, CSS-in-TS etc are simply better.

> Then just use CSS at that point, since the classes literally just map onto CSS properties anyway CSS is definitely a write-only language. I've yet to see anyone understand CSS in a large system and refactor it. You end up with dozens and hundreds one-off classes and overrides everywhere.

So, the same as Tailwind then? That's also why I'd consider Tailwind a write only language, except with CSS you at least have the chance of organizing it properly.

Re: Konsta UI – Mobile UI Components Built with TailwindCSS

#85
post #31

These kind of libraries are always easy to spot in the wild because of their transitions on things like modals and action sheets don’t match native. They’re just not as smooth.

What exactly is a native mobile modal? That said I’m inclined to agree - emulating system controls with CSS always feels very uncanny valley to me.

My guess is a dropdown selection box.

Re: Konsta UI – Mobile UI Components Built with TailwindCSS

#86
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I should have meant proprietary as in non-standard, not non-open-source. By proprietary I meant that they wrote their own DSL and in the future if it needs to be ported over, it will be much harder. It's like CoffeeScript versus Javascript/TypeScript.

So it's a criticism which applies to literally every use of some library or framework to make writing web apps easier.

Sure, you could see it that way. That's generally why I also don't use libraries that haven't shown themselves to be durable; I'll use React because it's ten years old and has enough support so that if people do decide to migrate later on (due to technological improvements à la jQuery to pure JS and TS), it's easy to do so, and it's why I don't use much newer libraries like Svelte or SolidJS.

Re: Konsta UI – Mobile UI Components Built with TailwindCSS

#87
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you compare a given snapshot of code containing utility css vs well defined CSS, then yes, it looks worst. The reality is that if the codebase and style code is in flux, that idealized CSS stylesheet will churn towards a being a mess of tech debt. Utility CSS contain redundancies (on the HTML side of things), but the rule of dumb is that you shouldn't refactor redundancies until you are absolutely sure what the un…

> The reality is that if the codebase and style code is in flux, that idealized CSS stylesheet will churn towards a being a mess of tech debt. Interesting. That’s not been my experience. People tend to clean up as they go, eg if the design says we now need a thinner padding / gaps or a different colour blue, we change the variable, and if we spot cut and pastes we fix them. It’s certainly much easier to refactor than…

But tailwind also provides a way to change variables?

https://tailwindcss.com/docs/customizing-spacing

Better yet, it also forces people to use theme spacing sizes or making the use of custom unit very explicit (a [] in your class name)

Re: Konsta UI – Mobile UI Components Built with TailwindCSS

#88
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't become a mess, but it's interesting you chose to comment on Tailwind and not KonstaUI despite topic being KonstaUI. Do you have any opinion to share on KonstaUI or any other helpful insight, except giving yourself credit for what you use and being negative towards the rest?

> on Tailwind and not KonstaUI despite topic being KonstaUI Eh, when the heading prominently mentions TailwindCSS, I’d say the topic is very much about that choice. If it were a minor implementation detail, it would be different.

So what you're saying is that it's important to talk about the _tool_ used to build the look and feel of project being under discussion, not the project itself? And you managed to get all of that from the title. Interesting.

Re: Konsta UI – Mobile UI Components Built with TailwindCSS

#89

What is it about everyone using Tailwind? It inevitably becomes a mess in every codebase I've used it in; it's like Perl, a write only language. I just use Vanilla Extract (with their Sprinkles API) and call it a day, it uses TypeScript as the preprocessor language and then compiles it to raw CSS, similar to SCSS but without writing SCSS. https://vanilla-extract.style

I’ve used Tailwind successfully on several large codebases. It’s the only approach to CSS I’ve used that didn’t make me hate styling HTML.

Re: Konsta UI – Mobile UI Components Built with TailwindCSS

#90
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using it wrong on every codebase that wasn't even made by me but instead by my employers? If it's happening that many times, the tool is to blame. More likely that the people who use it and like it (for now) have never have to handle large amounts of components and refactoring them. It's basically impossible. Trends come and go, who's to say that in a few years we decide, like jQuery, that hey, maybe this utility fir…

> Using it wrong on every codebase that wasn't even made by me but instead by my employers? If it's happening that many times, the tool is to blame. There is no number here, you are basing this on your own experience and without any statistical analysis. Also no one really knows whether you or people you work with are genuinely trained and able to use the tools and/or program in a scalable, maintainable way. Therefor…

I assure you these aren't really small companies with no one knowledgeable about frontend coding standards. Insinuating that they're "using the tool wrong and therefore it doesn't work for them" doesn't do it any favors. If I see the same patterns everywhere and which even online people ran into the same troubles, I will blame the tool, absolutely. Tools are not dogmatic, they are meant for us to use. If we use them wrong, it is the tool that must change, not us.

The tool posted for discussion prominently displays its usage of Tailwind, so why wouldn't I comment on it? Must I only comment on the tool itself without anything in its periphery? We see a lot of people on HN comment on a Rust based tool too, it's not uncommon. You are free to comment on it or something else as you please too.

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