Web front-end sucks and JS frameworks are the reason why

I've been thinking about the state front-web again because of this tweet by Marco Rogers which he followed up with this thread. I have to agree that front-end sucks, and definitely agree with Marco that it isn't particularly interesting in explaining why to apologists in mentions.

And then what's funny is Theo Browne, of all people, came after Marco and wanted to make a response video about him. What I like about Marco is that he isn't just a random Twitter guy, he has some teeth and doesn't hesitate to snap back at people acting out of line. This is great popcorn content for me as I don't really want to engage with strangers, but love to watch when someone gets put in their place. Apparently, the two of them hashed it out offline and came to an understanding.

The fact Theo jumped in is funny to me because I watched this super interesting "conversation" (it was more like a debate) that was between him and Alex Russell. Alex is a good dude with good intentions. If you don't agree with him, I'm certain you will see him as cocky and annoying (many of my colleagues do.) In this video, Theo exposes himself as a React apologist. In my mind, Theo is the archetype for the person who will defend JS frameworks to the death and won't take any accountability for the damage they've done.

I used to be all-in on JS frameworks and thought they were a great tool for developers. I rejected the pessimism and criticism around them. But it's clear to me now that we've been lied to and they are no longer the best option. They should definitely not be the default option.

JS framework apologists today don't take accountability. In that video, Theo is hesitant to say that React might not be a good choice. The arguments he uses come all the way back from 2014, where he compares React to old tech like jQuery. This is nonsense. Today your app will be faster and better if you use PHP rather than JS. If Theo was honest he would compare a React stack with current MVC frameworks such as Laravel.

Which shows that these apologists don't understand any tech outside of the JS ecosystem. They're literally comparing current front-end they do now with front-end from more than 10 years ago. What's funny is JS frameworks in the last 5 years or so, have slowly realized that templating HTML on the server is good actually, and many of them are moving to a server-first design. A design that was figured out decades ago and you could always do with PHP.

My current client is all-in on React. Everything they have done and will be doing in the next few years in front-end will be React based. It's impractical for them to do anything else. And they most certainly chose that tech because it was the "default" choice for many years, they didn't have front-end expertise to guide them, and it was a major trend in the industry. And that's what I mean by damage. My client will be suffering for a while because they locked into a choice that is at best, mid. And it doesn't help when people like Theo are covering for React spreading myths that haven't been true for 10 years.