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Chantae P.
Chantae P.

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Is it still necessary to learn Webpack in 2022?🤔

Currently, I am on the journey of completing The Odin project Full-stack JavaScript curriculum. The current project I'm working on is the Restaurant page project. But for the life of me, I have a hard time understanding how to use Webpack. Well, I kind of understand the basics of using Webpack. Such as the entries, outputs, loaders and so fort. But when it comes to adding multiple web pages, that's where I get stuck. Yes I understand you need to use the HTMLWebpackPlugin but it's still not clicking. I can do a single webpage using Webpack.I just can't understand how to create a bigger project using Webpack.

So my question is, how important is it to learn Webpack as a frontend developer in today's job market?

Top comments (15)

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fjones profile image
FJones

Necessary? No. Useful? Probably. It depends on your needs, at the end of the day. I'm still using webpack on all new projects despite alternatives, because none of the alternatives really do what I need them to - whereas webpack does. Maybe I'd need to spend more time on rollup et al to see what they do better, but even modern concepts like module federation seem to be a lot more stable and well-integrated with webpack than with any other build tool.

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taepal467 profile image
Chantae P.

Yeah I'll definitely check out the other alternatives that others have listed here.

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fyapy profile image
aabdullin

For beginners best choice is CRA or NextJS, rollup/vite/parcel yeah simple, but do not have so big ecosystem of plugins, and do not have solutions for micro-frontends.

But if you use Vue 3, Vite will be good choice.

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taepal467 profile image
Chantae P.

Seems like I'll definitely need to learn React to use most of these.

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volker_schukai profile image
Volker Schukai

When it's all about learning: It's 2022, frameworks are no longer necessary in many cases. The abstractions that these frameworks introduce may be tempting, but if you know the basics, it's not rocket science.

Frameworks come and go, but the platform continues to evolve.
My humble advice, learn the basics and explore the platform (browser, node, deno,...).

When it comes to the jobmark, you should look at what your potential employer uses and then learn that.

What use are your skills in Framework A if your employer uses Framework B?

If you are a gambler, you can use statistics and either bet on the current trend or look at what the rising stars are.

learn basics and concepts first, not concrete tools or frameworks.

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taepal467 profile image
Chantae P.

Yes, this I can do. Learning the basics is not the problem for me. It's actually implementing it in real world projects. I guess I will just need to keep practicing

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alok38 profile image
alok-38 • Edited

Among multitude of build tools and bundlers out there, Vite seems to be an emerging choice due to its minimalistic set up. The developer experience with Vite has been positive so far.

Since you have already made an attempt to learn webpack it won't hurt to build a simple project with it. Trust me I had a good time learning it as their documentation is fantastic.

Supplement this with Brad Traversy's webpack crash course and you will be able to finish a beginner project from scratch in about an hour.

As others have mentioned a strong foundation with the basics will make learning less painful.

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taepal467 profile image
Chantae P.

Yeah sounds simple enough. I'll definitely look into Vite. I'll check out the video as well. Thank you

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stopngo profile image
Max L Stop&Go

I think, webpack is a such a swiss knife that could do everything but needs some skills to use it. I'm using it from static HTML pages to full-stack web-apps because it gives maximum flexibility.
To be honest, I was scared by webpack first, but after investing some time to learn it and understanding what any bundler do I decided that it is prefect for my tasks, especially for React projects.

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dendihandian profile image
Dendi Handian

I choose the webpack wrapper like Laravel-Mix, I learn webpack later.

But now Vite seems promising.

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eidellev profile image
Lev Eidelman Nagar

I think it's more important to understand what a bundler does, the role it plays in the modern web toolchain and the difference between webpack and various alternatives.

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crankysparrow profile image
crankysparrow

In my experience, lots of devs use webpack without really knowing how it works or how to use it, haha. I use it somewhat often but can't say I know all of its capabilities or anything. For me the best way to learn this type of thing is just to start using it in projects and figure it out as I go along... I don't get too much out of reading a tutorial or documentation without that hands-on experience. Maybe just my personal learning style though!

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banonotit profile image
BANO.notIT

There are many building solutions like parcel and rollup now. And the support most features of webpack. So if you start a new project from ground up you can use those.
But in react CRA is still the most usable template and it’s fully depends on webpack. And in some cases that “mostly ok for all” configuration is not good for you so that you are forced to eject and do some fine tuning.

So if you’re using react you’ll probably use webpack for several years in future even if you don’t configure it explicitly.

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taepal467 profile image
Chantae P.

Haven't used react yet. But I'll keep this in mind. Thank you

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