Just Fucking Use React

[potholereseller]

I'm waiting for an article entitled: "Just Use X" Considered Harmful. The Web is complex (i.e. has many parts) because it is meant to satisfy a very wide range of needs. Most websites use WordPress, because that's an especially easy option to host, configure, and add/update content. But "Just Use WordPress" would be nonsense; a lot of people need more (e.g. Google Maps) or less (e.g. static personal pages) than what WordPress is appropriate for.

I know, I'll write an article entitled "Just Fucking Use C, You Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers". It'll be about using good-old CGI with C. Imagine a web framework in C, which generates HTML, CSS, and JS. It'll be sleek, easy-to-deploy, portable, fast, and you can optimize to your heart's content. Plus, it will future-proof your career, because your boss will make you spend a chunk of your career re-writing it in Rust: CGI + Rust is the future that nobody is aware of (read: dreading) yet.

[designerbenny]

This style of abrasive language works best when promoting the simple thing. Like Grug brain, etc. You use simple language to show how little thought is needed to get to the good stuff.

Each of the many paragraphs here requires thought to understand. That's React for you.

[codedokode]

Why not Vue? Unlike React it doesn't recalculate everything on every mouse move event.

Also I would like something that doesn't require to install Node.JS and unly packer like Webpack which invents its proprietary syntax instead of using standard EcmaScript. I like to make small apps that I run by clicking on HTML file and I don't have time to go to console and install things or type commands just to open a webpage.

[schwartzworld]

> Unlike React it doesn't recalculate everything on every mouse move event.

Where did you ever get the idea react does this?

[neoberg]

The article says "use React (or Vue, or Svelte, or Angular if you're a masochist - the point is a modern framework"

[pier25]

> and unly packer like Webpack

Huh? People are still using Webpack?

[qustrolabe]

Some time ago I myself was in camp of people who preferred minimal web as opposed to all these "bloated" frameworks. But one thing that changed me is Tailwind, it improves the complicated stupid old way I wrote CSS classes so much that all people who keep hating it just because it's one of those "bloated" things of modern webdev are just ridiculous.

Then I tried React, quite liked it but preference for something as small and fast as possible lead me to Preact. And as I have no need for hosting websites with backend (I just want client-side interactivity so static pages) I found how to do prerender workflow where all necessary html is generated at build time and interactivity gets hydrated on top of that by bundled js module. It's so much better than trying to figure out pure js interactions in site made with static generator with some obscure templating.

Though for some reason people nowadays mainly focus on running site as SSR through Node rather than just hosting static pages and figuring out static build workflow in those frameworks can be very challenging.

[jmogly]

Jarring title but 100% agree! You very quickly hit a point building a modern web app where you need advanced functionality. Rolling your own everything in raw javascript is not a sane approach. I think the just use html crowd is composed mainly of backend devs who struggle to comprehend that a web UI is more than just a pretty crud layer on top of their backend. Fight me :)

[hoppp]

I use React or vanilla js or server side rendering or all three together, depending what the situation requires.

I found this website aggressive and not funny.

[rubslopes]

Bear in mind that this is a response to another website: https://justfuckingusehtml.com/

[throw310822]

> Try building a dashboard with a dozen filters, real-time updates from ten different sources, user preferences that change everything, and collaborative editing where five assholes are mashing keys at once. Your "simple" JavaScript will turn into a spaghetti monster that'll make Cthulhu look like a fucking Teletubby having a tea party.

[bdangubic]

amazing that literally every single thing in this post would make me NOT want to use React (or another framework) :)

[cjdenio]

I don't trust anyone who pretends their framework of choice is always the correct choice. Real competency is knowing the right tool for the job. Or something like that.

[neoberg]

Yep, that's what we're saying in the article.

[turtlebits]

"sometimes, complexity is not a choice, it's a fucking requirement."

Complexity is never a requirement, and almost always self-inflicted.

[tiborsaas]

This just means that complex projects exists. Complexity refers to the domain or business problem that needs to be solved and software complexity is a consequence of that. If you can anticipate a certain level of complexity by various factors, then you are better off with React/Vue/Whatever.js that makes your life easier.

[pier25]

uness you're solving something complex...

[poobear22]

It may be worth investing in a vocabulary-expanding thesaurus, either HTML- or React-based.

[hooverd]

No thank you.

[pipiDulce]

JSX sucks and VUE Templates are better and if your a masochist you can still use JSX

[unevencoconut]

So, I should just use vanilla JavaScript? Well if you say so.

[codedokode]

Actually data-binding UIs (UIs that automatically update themselves when model variable changes) allow to do more in less time. So you just spend more time to reach the same result.

For example, I don't want to use non-reactive UIs (like vanilla JS or GTK) anymore. And it's sad to see that many (or maybe even most of) open-source projects still manually write code to update the UI and lose time on this. It's like trying to build a house using ancient tools.

[saadfrhan347]

it would be pleasing to read if you remove those cuss words.

[newdee]

Well, that’s just like your opinion, man.

[animitronix]

FUCK YOU I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME

[saluki]

Killing In the Name Of! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWXazVhlyxQ

[trw55]

MOTHER FUCKER!

[i_dont_know_any]

Goes to show that the "just do x, dipshit" (HTML, vanilla JS, etc.) rhetoric/framing carries literally zero weight.