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An Open Source UI Builder for React

github.com

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Re: An Open Source UI Builder for React

#11

Post by jarcane »

writepub wrote: post #5
WorldMaker wrote: post #3

Tried to open the demo and got an "Only Works in Chrome" error page. That doesn't give me a lot of confidence in the tool, as my audience for my UI should be larger than just one browser, and I know that I have to test in multiple browsers.

I don't think the output from this tool is necessarily non-compliant with other browsers. This tool/app itself might be - and I think it's OK given it's audience (web developers) who anyways overwhelmingly gravitate towards chrome for it's superior debug tooling

I don't think the output from this tool is necessarily non-compliant with other browsers.

Their home page doesn’t even render correctly in Firefox.

Re: An Open Source UI Builder for React

#12

Post by mattkevan »

It’s a pity they’ve shut down, though hopefully it can live on somehow as open source.

There’s a lot of activity in the Sketch/Figma/whatever to React space at the moment, including Hadron [0], Alva [1] and Lona [2].

There’s a real gap in the workflow between design - basically a drawing - and working code. Handoff tools like Zeplin help, but it seems redundant to build everything twice, first in a design and prototyping tool, then again in working code.

However I’m not sure where these tools fit in, as a team that uses React in production would have the skills - and would probably prefer - to dive in with code, rather than use the output of a code generator.

It’s meant to make things easier, but the tech is so complicated it’s way out of reach of those who might actually benefit from it.

[0] https://hadron.app

[1] https://meetalva.io

[2] https://github.com/airbnb/Lona

Re: An Open Source UI Builder for React

#14

Post by Edmond »

mattkevan wrote: post #12

It’s a pity they’ve shut down, though hopefully it can live on somehow as open source. There’s a lot of activity in the Sketch/Figma/whatever to React space at the moment, including Hadron [0], Alva [1] and Lona [2]. There’s a real gap in the workflow between design - basically a drawing - and working code. Handoff tools like Zeplin help, but it seems redundant to build everything twice, first in a design and prototy…

To make tools that generate React/Vue code work well you have to go far and beyond what most of the front-end oriented tools currently do...At Codesolvent we're taking a different tack..some samples:

Showcase:

https://youtu.be/hgFkzrqxDcs

https://youtu.be/IpX47gAe150

Demos:

https://youtu.be/u6uV2X1MGeY

https://youtu.be/s2dYVret-Ck

https://youtu.be/X6pL0St6NM4

Happy to answer questions.

Re: An Open Source UI Builder for React

#15

Post by muhneesh »

madeofpalk wrote: post #10
muhneesh wrote: post #2

Would a member of the Pagedraw team share a postmortem? Seems like this is a huge need and will be the future state of web / mobile design - what stopped you guys?

I think the reality is, no matter how awesome and impressive these tools are, they just don't seem to have a fit in the market. Prefacing this with the fact I don't know all that much about the product, only a quick glance For a big team of developers, building a big website with complicated interactions or requirements, a tool like this isn't going to meet all the requirements the developers have If you're building…

At a high level, that makes some sense - these tools might not be the most practical way to get from point A -> point B today for a typical web or mobile app.

In my head, I'm wondering if they are just way too early? Going from design -> code -> UI is, in theory, less efficient than just going from design -> UI, in a programmable, customizable, scalable way.

Re: An Open Source UI Builder for React

#17

Post by deltron3030 »

mattkevan wrote: post #12

It’s a pity they’ve shut down, though hopefully it can live on somehow as open source. There’s a lot of activity in the Sketch/Figma/whatever to React space at the moment, including Hadron [0], Alva [1] and Lona [2]. There’s a real gap in the workflow between design - basically a drawing - and working code. Handoff tools like Zeplin help, but it seems redundant to build everything twice, first in a design and prototy…

>There’s a real gap in the workflow between design - basically a drawing - and working code.

In tools like Sketch and Figma you're digging for the underlying visual rules, one "component" or layer can have a ton of variations, and I can quickly compare and compose them side by side on a canvas. You build an evolving system to build design systems from.

In code you're implementing the version or composition that made it, one composition. Unless you can move, juggle and manipulate items as convenient as in design tools, exploring compositions with code is a much lesser experience for a designer, even if he can code.

Re: An Open Source UI Builder for React

#18

Post by k_sh »

Solvitieg wrote: post #16
CraftThatBlock wrote: post #9

"Sorry, our editor is optimized for Chrome" Please don't fall for the monopoly. Spend a little time and make it work everywhere, for the sake of the open web

How does this happen when you compile through Babel?

Babel (specifically, babel-preset-env, which I assume you're referring to) only ensures that your code's syntax can run within a given browser. It doesn't make sure all the web APIs and browser features you take advantage of are compatible, or that they produce the same result.

Re: An Open Source UI Builder for React

#19

Post by undershirt »

mattkevan wrote: post #12

It’s a pity they’ve shut down, though hopefully it can live on somehow as open source. There’s a lot of activity in the Sketch/Figma/whatever to React space at the moment, including Hadron [0], Alva [1] and Lona [2]. There’s a real gap in the workflow between design - basically a drawing - and working code. Handoff tools like Zeplin help, but it seems redundant to build everything twice, first in a design and prototy…

Wanted to add Modulz [3] to this list

[3] https://www.modulz.app/

Re: An Open Source UI Builder for React

#20

Post by skunkwerk »

mattkevan wrote: post #12

It’s a pity they’ve shut down, though hopefully it can live on somehow as open source. There’s a lot of activity in the Sketch/Figma/whatever to React space at the moment, including Hadron [0], Alva [1] and Lona [2]. There’s a real gap in the workflow between design - basically a drawing - and working code. Handoff tools like Zeplin help, but it seems redundant to build everything twice, first in a design and prototy…

I've been compiling a list of these design-to-component code apps here: https://github.com/skunkwerk/awesome-design-to-component-cod...
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