[pc86]

> they feel like walled gardens of arbitrary knowledge that only applies to their ecosystem rather than to some fundamental learning about software.

This is sort of an expected side effect of recreating nearly-identical JS frameworks every couple months, no?

[mdtusz]

I continue to see this idea posted in HN and Reddit programming threads and it comes across as ignorance more than anything. The reality is that nearly all new modern web applications will be written using react or vue, with a long tail choosing a more esoteric or experimental tool because it either fits the project requirements, or the team is willing to accept more risk in favour of some other benefit (often times just curiosity).

Considering you have so few language options for frontend webapp development (excluding wasm and other such options), this really isn't a surprise to have a handful of options either. I can name more python server frameworks that are used in earnest than I can name frontend frameworks.

Part of the difference for frontend frameworks is that there's so much variety possible. Nearly every server framework has the same general design and API - some kind of routing, route handler definitions, and some additional niceties like with, db connection handling, sessions etc. I can't conceive of any other design that would work better or even be sensible.

While components have become the norm in front-end, there's still plenty of room for different architecture and actual API to use and define components, and manage state. That's where the fun of writing them comes in, and where there is still likely a better react or vue lurking in the shadows or yet to be created.

[jaredgorski]

I think both can be true. There are practical reasons to use React and Vue, but that practical approach is obfuscated by the zeitgeisty culture around tools that get unwisely applied to every use-case. Frontend architecture needs to be approached soberly and prudently. Not every site needs React and GraphQL.

[mdtusz]

I completely agree!

What I intended with my comment was to point out that the idea of new frameworks being created every week is a bit of an exaggeration and that it being the reason frontend development is fragmented is just totally incorrect.

React or Vue on their own with a sprinkling of helpful utility libraries will get most projects 99% of the way there though, and often times that _is_ simpler than trying to put together your own system for server side rendered pages and template composition.

Of course, if you're making a blog, you don't need any of this, but for _web applications_, I don't think I'd reach for SSR anymore.

[Zababa]

AngularJS, Angular, React, Vue, Svelte. That's 5 in 11 years. I could add Knockout, Backbone, Meteor and Ember. That's 9 if you're stretching it. I don't know anything about the last 4, but the first 5 ones all offer different ways to do things. I would even argue that they are more different that the "canonical implementation of the backend MVC framework" and the "Sinatra copy" that you have in every language.

[nicoburns]

React's been the dominant frontend framework for over 5 years at this point, and shows no sign of going away anytime soon.