Going back to React.js after my Elixir journey

#elixir #react #nextjs

I hate to admit it, but Theo was right. When he reacted to my blog post about migrating from JavaScript to Elixir, he said I would return to React and Next after my "honeymoon period" with Elixir + Phoenix ended. While that wasn’t the exact reason, I did eventually go back to JavaScript. Let me explain why.

I absolutely love Elixir

I loved every single aspect of Elixir: the simplicity of just writing functions, having a batteries-included and opinionated framework like Phoenix, and being able to ship amazing UIs using LiveView. If this is what you describe as the "honeymoon phase", I'm 100% still on it.

So why leave Elixir?

The TL;DR is: I spent waaaaaay too much time learning Elixir and Phoenix and then building TechSchool with it, and almost 0% of this new knowledge was "reusable" on my day job. I still work as a Frontend developer, focused on Next.js and Remix.

I'm a human being. I get tired sometimes. I have a limited amount of time available. What if there was an easier way? What if I just used what I already know? Instead of constantly context-switching between 2 completely different programming languages and ecosystems? I'm not a huge fan of Vercel and the overall direction that React is going, but at the end of the day, that's the tool I know. If I used Next.js instead of Elixir for TechSchool, I would have finished it in 2 weeks instead of 6 months. That's A LOT of time saved.

So yeah, even though I still love Elixir and think it's a superior language to JavaScript in almost every single aspect, I decided to go back to my comfort zone. Not because my "honeymoon phase" ended but because I want to be more productive and be able to reuse knowledge both on my job and YouTube/side projects.

Do I have regrets?

Absolutely not. Learning Elixir + Phoenix was a life-changing experience. As the Pragmatic Programmer book advises, learning a new programming language each year is crucial, and I’ve accomplished that. No knowledge is ever wasted, everything we learn adds value.

Thank you Elixir ❤️

I wanted to finish this blog post by saying: Thank you Elixir! You have a wonderful community that embraced me through all this crazy journey and I'll be forever grateful for that. Also, one special thanks to Elixir Mentor who was kind enough to invite me to his amazing podcast!