create-react-app-zero VS Telegram-web-z

https://github.com/jsebrech/create-react-app-zero

No build frontend dev is a thing, although obscure.

Preact has a no build path in their documentation: https://preactjs.com/guide/v10/getting-started/#no-build-too...

And here’s my no build react setup: https://github.com/jsebrech/create-react-app-zero

Not really the thing you’re looking for, but for those looking for a toolless approach static web apps are a possibility. Host a folder on github pages, put an index.html file in there, start coding.

Plugging my own repo: https://github.com/jsebrech/create-react-app-zero

It is a version of create react app that works in that way, no build tools needed, only a static web server for local development.

For example, I made a version of create react app that requires zero build tools and IMHO doesn't concede too much in developer experience. To be fair, I am not using this myself professionally, but as a proof of concept I think it's pretty interesting to see what's possible. https://github.com/jsebrech/create-react-app-zero

I have been in professional web development since 2004 and I mostly agree with the author that there are massive amounts of groupthink going on. "Modern" web development has standardized in tool stacks which are insanely complicated, far beyond anything that is warranted in most cases. We have forgotten how to make simple things in simple ways.

At a minimum you need node, npm, webpack, babel, an spa framework, a frontend router, a css transpiler, a css framework, a test runner, a testing functions library, and a bunch of smaller things, and that's just what is "needed" to build a static website with a bit of interaction. We're not even talking about the dockerized insanity that happens as soon as you want to slide an API under that beast.

I understand why every piece is there, I was there when they arrived on the scene, I understand what problem they solve. What I don't understand is why as a group web developers have decided this is the only way to solve the problem of web development. What we don't have are simpler web stacks. Why do we need npm or babel at all to make a simple web frontend? Modern browsers are good enough that with the right tooling we don't need build pipelines or package managers. Similar arguments can be made for the server-side parts.

Anyway, here's my own two cents to a simpler web dev stack: a version of create react app that is entirely self-contained and has no build steps. https://github.com/jsebrech/create-react-app-zero

There are also different urls for these apps as well: https://webk.telegram.org/ and https://webz.telegram.org/

I agree it is partly idiotic complaining though there is some truth to it.

Firstly IQ has declined. There is a widespread lie that everyone can be developer if they only try hard enough. Hence you get more noisy signals deciding over technological progress.

Secondly, people use complexity to show off. This comes and goes as very high complexity makes the simple stuff look smart again (see for example the Java framework diversification back when Java was atrocious, but later pure Java became fashionable again once the language had improved ).

Thirdly, one can build performant and impressive stuff from the layers and layers of complexity such as modern JS frameworks. See for example the latest Telegram web client.[1] So ultimately it is more about the IQ and skill of the programmer and less about the particular Turing-complete language/framework used, because whichever route you take, ultimately you have to face complexity and all the different events, states and exceptions.

[1] https://github.com/TelegramOrg/Telegram-web-z