Broken DX
jasonleow • 11 Aug 2024 •
Was trying all weekend to get the Lifelog app running again locally on my new Macbook.
npm run dev, Node version issues, install NVM, create new super user, npm run dev again, more errors, installing postgresql to get it to run, then error again because maybe there’s no local data, then import old data into new laptop, then finally app runs in local but POST errors, then pg_restore --clean for local data. Now it fking finally works but who knows if there’ll be other others 😤💢
All that wasted time, just to even run the app for local development, to even start working on it. So darn inefficient. And this took a lot less time than it usually does thanks to AI. God bless Claude 3.5 Sonnet. Without it I would probably takes twice or thrice the time.
Amongst all the modern JavaScript frameworks, I can say I get along the best with Vue.js/Nuxt.js, but days like this even Vue/Nuxt tests my patience. Seriously, why does this always happen to apps running on JS frameworks?! I’m not the only one complaining. I often see even experienced software engineers ranting about coming back to an app and having to fix a thousand and one dependency issues before proper coding can even start.
Why can’t the developer experience be like plain JS on plain HTML… just edit and show on localhost. Works every time, even decades later. This should be the DX we aim for when it comes to JS frameworks. But seems like the authors just prefer it to be complicated, or simply lack the imagination. The DX of modern JS frameworks are broken.
No wonder people build their own frameworks.
You either die a hero or code long enough to see yourself building another JS framework.
/rant
Comments
This is the problem that Docker solves. It comes with its own problems 😅
@Winkletter Oh yeah for sure. I often wish they stopped developing. Like how I feel Vue 2 is the best version of Vue, not Vue 3. And also why I enjoy using plain Javascript, cos the upgrades are slower and more thought through.
@drodol Yeah agree. Feels a bit like transferring the problem around… whereas with plain JS, no such issues
There’s probably a framework lifecycle. The developer creates a framework because they’re fed up with the complexity of all other frameworks. It does exactly what they want, and other people take an interest. Those people ask for features to be added. As more features are added it joins the pantheon of overcomplicated frameworks, and the cycle begins again.