> For Webpack, that's creating an empty project and incrementally adding config, starting with just an entry point (use a simple script importing some modules) and an output filename. Add one loader/plugin at a time. Move into boilerplates once you're familiar with the basic concepts.
I attended a General Assembly bootcamp last year (to great success afterward for me), and the pervasiveness of jumping right into a generator / boilerplate really caught me the wrong way.
I felt like going the path you describe, starting with relatively low complexity and building on top of it, was/is the right way.
Even talking to co-workers who have been doing this stuff for years, there's little incentive to jump into a boilerplate, if only there's then two learning curves... one for the boilerplate / its layout, and one for the tooling involved (React or Angular, etc).
> A boilerplate is another person's code, and while it's good to avoid NIH, unless it's superbly documented, it contains tricks and workarounds that only cloud real understanding.
This caused a lot of headaches with other students in my class (and classes afterward).
My idea to "solve" it was to incrementally build out my/our own boilerplate so we'd be able to at least use that confidently, as well as maybe have some understanding into how someone else built their boilerplate. It got shot down due to time constraints, though.
Whenever I'm asked to come in and mentor newer students for their projects, this is something I try to impart, though.