So, another 'X' JS framework just came out, gained some traction and now you see it in every other tweet, post, or youtube video.
Most of the devs have learned the hard way, that trying to master each and every tech can ultimately leave you as a master of none.
On the other hand, the hype won't usually be there if there wasn't something attractive on the tech it comes from, meaning it would potentially be worth checking out.
How do you normally approach it? Do you always make sure you are among the first ones to check it out and do 'cool' projects or do you not pay much attention to it, focusing on mastering your current stack instead?
Top comments (25)
About 8 years ago I was still mostly using jQuery to write frontend code. I felt like I must be missing something with KnockoutJs, BackboneJS, and then Angular with a lot of hype (Angular 1, of course)... but when I tried using them it was nothing but pain for me. I couldn't tell if I was just being dumb and missing the point or if some of these solutions weren't so much better than jQuery.
Then React came around and that was one that actually seemed like a step change. Not only did it become almost standard for the problems I was trying to solve, it went on to influence everything else.
I'm a React lifer (I don't do that much frontend development in general, and I still prefer vanilla JS if I can help it), but that to me was the difference between hype and substance. New stuff that has come since has had to be better than React in some way to be special and that definitely makes for better stuff.
All that is to say, sometimes a thing is worth the hype, but if you dabble in something and you're having a hard time fitting it with a real solution you'd want to build and maintain then it might be too much hype.
Jeez. Yes. I mean jQuery seemed so cool at the time. A few years ago I moved to Angular, and it's lightyears better in every way.
I'm now working on AngularJs and updating it to Angular. AngularJs died a quick death for a good reason IMO.
It may be confirmation bias, but I think that a lot of the things that are hyped aren't new.
I've seen so many blog posts about such-and-such a revolutionary technology only to read it and find out it's a new name for something that was around 30 years ago.
On the flip side, the things that are genuinely novel are often going to sink without trace because they fail to get enough users behind them at an early stage in their development. So I read them with marginal interest and move along, waiting to see whether they're still a thing next year.
I realise I am part of the problem here. I'm also generalising wildly. That said, I can't remember the last "hyped" thing that I thought was particularly interesting. In fact, a lot of the time I think they're terrible ideas that happen to have more visibility than they deserve.
That's an interesting take 😉
Thanks for sharing 🙏❤
One more thing to keep in mind: many new technology trends come from huge companies and solve their problems, which often means: scaling globally. As long as you don't work in a company that has a global user base as well, their solution might not be the right solution for you.
That explains well why they are also in demand 😉
I like to maybe do a little bit of reading into it and look at some code, not to do anything ‘serious’ with it but just out of interest - then generally leave it until/unless it becomes a bit more stable/mainstream in actual production code - I might play around with it in a side project or something in the mean time but that would be about it.
New frameworks in any language come about because of a need. Someone had a specific need that wasn’t met by other system. Therefore, they developed what worked best for them.
The “hype” in frameworks is the same with languages and other tools - some people get over zealous about what they found helped them. To them, it’s not hype. Just to others.
The truth is, there isn’t a single solution for everything. Use what works best for the job at hand. If your tools don’t seem to fit, then look for one that does. The only bad tool is the one you use for a job it wasn’t meant to solve. Each tool has it’s strengths and weaknesses. I would never use a hammer to tighten a screw (though I know some people do). I would get the screwdriver made for it and use it.
That is where the negative hype comes from - people trying to force use of a tool for everything!
This is well put 👍😉
I can't even keep up with what's been around for years, so that doesn't leave much time, energy and brain cells for hype.
When the time comes that I need something to do "X", then I look at what's available. Some of the many criteria are whether it's gained widespread acceptance (usually meaning it's easier to get help and the technology is more likely to be actively maintained) and what kind of ecosystem they have (if applicable). Something too "new" is not likely to have that, no matter how hyped.
Alright, how many frameworks came out while I was typing this comment? :D
Hahah, lol 😉 Some even came out while I wrote this reply 😂😂
Unless something really grabs me (which isn't ever likely to happen with a JS framework I'm afraid), my stance is usually "learn it if you find yourself needing to". (But if you find yourself needing to, then do learn it, don't try to pick it up as you go)
I say use the right tool for the job. If the tools you have work for your particular use case, and a replacement doesn't add any value, then why bother? I usually will look at the website to read about its capabilities, and see some examples of it if possible, before I decide whether to try it out. But then again I rarely code outside of work nowadays. Usually I'll look into a tool/framework if I'm interviewing at a place that requires it and I haven't used it before/in a while. Like, I haven't done any PHP or Ruby work in the last 3 years, so if I were to start up those again I'd be more likely to look at new options. I like Laravel as a framework and have used CakePHP before that, but it'd be worth seeing what else has come around since.
As long as you know the basics of the language you're using, know how to organize your code well, and understand the basic patterns and idioms, you can adapt to any framework.
This is somewhat similar I feel about it too 😉
Thanks for your input 👍
Unfortunately a lot of tech hypes make sense, maybe even most of them. Some bring new concepts, some are radical new approaches, and even a boring hype is at least some evolutionary progress ...or good marketing. I guess some hypes lead into a dead end, but you have to be pretty clever to see that coming.
I try to restrict myself to look at hypes only in my fields of expertise, but some hypes like GPT-3 are too interesting to be ignored.
There's a paradox between what gets people excited, and what just works. Hype is in techs that are new (or more often re:newed) and hold promise. This primes users (including in the workplace) to put in much effort, and often the effort is required because new stuff is also not stable.
Getting to "just works" is more incremental. Dot net in 2020 just works; it's also cross platform and such, but will never get the hype we saw around Java.
If you're 90% into hype you are running a broken concept car and you don't have a tool suite. But if you invest 0% in cool things your dev-x (and resume/startup/business) have no oomph.