[lmm]

I generally use preexisting components, there's not a lot of value add in creating my own date picker or dropdown box or whatever. Obviously I put my own content in, and compose together existing components to make bigger new components if the component I want doesn't exist (e.g. if I couldn't find an address entry component I might make one out of individual text entry components). I think some of the components I use might actually be or correspond to "basic" HTML tags, but that doesn't make any difference at the point of use.

If a component doesn't have built-in styling support (i.e. configurable via React properties) then I'll use Tailwind so I can at least ignore all the selectors and cascading nonsense of CSS. (I remain hopeful that the world will eventually see that inline styling is the way to go; with Tailwind I meet them halfway)

[satvikpendem]

Okay, well you do realize you're not the average programmer right? I'd even say this is junior level if you are not really creating your own code and components, so it's not accurate to say that HTML and CSS are not "necessary" unless you're doing what seems to be very basic work. And Tailwind is still CSS, again, so without knowing what things like flex actually do, you can't use Tailwind either. I'm beginning to suspect you may just use AI to build much of your code for you.

[likium]

If your company has a good component library, you can really stay in that circle for 95% of the time. If you need that 5%, usually there's a library unless you're doing something really bespoke like canvas/webgl.

And AI really can do a lot of work nowadays. I met a founder who built their entire mvp with v0.dev. 5 pages, multiple flows, modals with photo taking/uploading and working color picker. They only needed to add the api-calling logic.

[lmm]

> I'd even say this is junior level if you are not really creating your own code and components

Must be a case of the midwit meme, or https://cspages.ucalgary.ca/~robin/class/449/Evolution.htm . Intermediate programmers satisfy their ego by writing everything themselves; a real experienced professional knows that custom code or a complex technology stack is a liability, and delivers the functionality the business needs in the way that will impose the smallest maintenance burden.

> it's not accurate to say that HTML and CSS are not "necessary" unless you're doing what seems to be very basic work.

Disagree. You need to be able to lay things out, compose components, and hook up behaviour. But you don't need to use the lowest level languages to do that, any more than you need to write all your programs in machine code. You need to understand the DOM, but that doesn't mean you need to express it in HTML, and similarly for layout.

> Tailwind is still CSS, again, so without knowing what things like flex actually do, you can't use Tailwind either.

You need to understand layout and styling properties, sure. But you can skip the things that make CSS CSS - selectors, cascading, and the like - which the industry is ever so gradually starting to recognise for the failures they are.

> I'm beginning to suspect you may just use AI to build much of your code for you.

LOL. Is this projection, or just reaching for any possible way to smear me? The AI fanboys are happy to mix a dozen technologies in their project because the AI "understands" all of them equally well - mix React and CSS and HTMX and what have you, why not? I'm actually genuinely curious about your thought process here (if you had one), can you talk through what lead you to this bizarre idea?