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Discussion on: Less Javascript, more HTML and CSS

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jkhaui profile image
Jordy Lee

I love that you're also an admirer of the marginal gains ethos espoused by Dave Brailsford. However, I have a different view of how it should be applied to developing web apps.

I prefer to build complex web apps entirely in React and JS because I only need to think in one paradigm. Therefore, I can develop and iterate much more rapidly.
If I were to apply the marginal gains philosophy to my approach, I would look for all the 1% performance gains possible in JS (e.g. memoisation, using switch case instead of else-if, etc.).

As business requirements for web apps seem to get more and more demanding, I believe this is the best approach for optimal developer experience and user experience.

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ducksoupdev profile image
Matt Levy

An interesting view. I agree that business requirements seem to get more demanding. I'm not suggesting that we drop libraries like React - far from it. Often React is a perfect fit for applications. What I wanted to highlight was an overall awareness of an increase in bloat. I often see libraries used as sledgehammers where lightweight alternatives would fit better. I also see a lack of skills in how to develop for performance because there is no understanding of the underlying web platform - just knowledge of the library.

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jkhaui profile image
Jordy Lee

Yeah, I have the same sentiments about JS frameworks being used unnecessarily for completely static sites, so I guess we actually agree on most things.
The only other aspect my view differs is how much underlying knowledge is required - imo, if someone knows how to optimise performance within a framework, then it's probably not necessary to know lower-level optimisation techniques (although it would be better if they did, of course)