5 Questions for Jeremy Keith · Frontend Dogma
If you like the prospect of an old man ranting at clouds, this is for you.
A Rant about Front-end Development – Frank M Taylor
Can we please stop adding complexity to our systems just so we can do it in JavaScript? If you can do it without JavaScript, you probably should. Tools shouldn’t add complexity.
You don’t need a framework to render static content to the end user. Stop creating complex solutions to simple problems.
Related links
Build for the Web, Build on the Web, Build with the Web – Web Performance and Site Speed Consultant
If I was only able to give one bit of advice to any company: iterate quickly on a slow-moving platform.
Excellent advice from Harry (who first cast his pearls before the swine of LinkedIn but I talked him ‘round to posting this on his own site).
- Opt into web platform features incrementally
- Embrace progressive enhancement to build fast, reliable applications that adapt to your customers’ context
- Write code that leans into the browser, not away from it
I’m not against front-end frameworks, and, believe me, I’m not naive enough to believe that the only thing a front-end framework provides is soft navigations, but if you’re going to use one, I shouldn’t be able to smell it.
Moving on from React, a Year Later
Many interactions are not possible without JavaScript, but that doesn’t mean we should look to write more than we have to. The server doing something useful is a requirement for building an interesting business. The client doing something is often a nice-to-have.
There’s also this:
It’s really fast
One of the arguments for a SPA is that it provides a more reactive customer experience. I think that’s mostly debunked at this point, due to the performance creep and complexity that comes in with a more complicated client-server relationship.
MomBoard: E-ink display for a parent with amnesia
Technology doesn’t have to be terrible. Here’s an absolutely wonderful use of an e-ink display:
I made as much use of vanilla HTML and CSS as possible. I used a small amount of JavaScript but no framework or other libraries.
Related posts
Displaying HTML web components
You might want to use `display: contents` …maybe.
Progressive disclosure defaults
If you’re going to toggle the display of content with CSS, make sure the more complex selector does the hiding, not the showing.
Schooltijd
Going back to school in Amsterdam.
Switching costs
The enshittification of React …which was already pretty shitty for users.
Control
Trying to understand a different mindset to mine.