Hello, Fellows!
Welcome to today's Walk&Talk, where we delve into the ever-evolving world of our front-end tech stack, particularly in the context of the State of JS 20231 survey.
As we review and reflect on our technology choices, it's crucial to understand the foundational qualities that drive these decisions. Substitutability, ecosystem robustness, and developer availability are just a few critical factors we consider to ensure our tech stack remains stable and future-proof.
The following qualities (NFRs) are essential to determine:
Ecosystem richness
Developer availability
Community interest
Continuity
Substitutability
Over the past year, changes might seem minor, but looking at a broader span of three years, significant shifts emerge. For instance, a decline in Angular's developer availability might prompt us to reconsider its use in new projects. When evaluating our stack, we ask the key questions: Would I use this tech today if I were starting fresh? And if not, what would I change?
Our reliance on React remains strong despite exploring alternatives like Vue or Svelte. However, the potential of web components, frameworks like Google Lit, and vanilla JS also cross our minds, albeit with reservations about their ecosystems and developer onboarding challenges.
A critical part of our tech stack is the meta-framework. While Next.js has served us well, its shift towards server-side rendering raises concerns. Alternatives like Vite, with its flexibility and future promise, are on our radar. Though we don't need an immediate switch, we are hypothesizing and testing it for the future.
We are also evaluating our testing frameworks, considering a shift from Cypress to Playwright due to its ease of use. Similarly, we've transitioned from Recoil to Zustand for state management, as Recoil's experimental status no longer aligns with our needs.
Our tech stack review isn't about favoritism or trends; it's about strategic, long-term decisions that ensure the sustainability and success of our products. This approach helps us stay flexible, informed, and prepared for the future, balancing innovation with stability.
Thank you for joining me today. I hope you find these insights valuable. I invite you to read my full article and participate in the survey at the bottom. Your feedback is critical to me.
Stay tuned for more updates, especially about our work with Cloudbar. I'll share more about our daily operations, decision-making processes, and successes and challenges. Let's continue this journey together, embracing change and striving for excellence in our tech endeavors.
Have a great day, and see you next time!
Adrian
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https://stateofjs.com/en-US
Frontend Stack Review – React, NextJS, Tailwind & Tanstack-Query