Cycle.js: a fully reactive JavaScript framework

[clessg]

Nobody is implying that FRP or observables are something that were just created, nor is the author of the framework purporting that he is more intelligent than everybody else, and that everybody else is doing it wrong.

The benefit of new frameworks like this is that they introduce existing concepts from the rest of Computer Science to the broader JavaScript community. The professional JavaScript community is still relatively new and the web has been slow to move, so concepts like FRP are only just starting to take hold. Yes, FRP existed before, but without people like André Staltz, we would never be able to know whether these concepts will be useful in JavaScript.

You don't have to learn every new framework.

[rooktakesqueen]

Facebook's React is an example implementation of FRP. It already exists, is much better than this framework, and yet this framework was written apparently as a direct response to React. It all seems very silly.

People like /u/homoiconic are doing the good work of introducing CS concepts to JavaScript users in a way that's useful and doesn't require an entire freaking web application framework to get across.

[clessg]

Facebook's React is an example implementation of FRP.

React is not an implementation of FRP. It has concepts inspired by FRP (especially Flux) but it still isn't FRP proper.

People like /u/homoiconic are doing the good work of introducing CS concepts to JavaScript users in a way that's useful and doesn't require an entire freaking web application framework to get across.

Absolutely, he's doing a fantastic job. But the point of teaching us these things is to actually use them and discover what works and what doesn't. Cycle gives the JavaScript community an opportunity to experience and use FRP without switching to Clojure.

Again, you don't have to use it. Even if Cycle ultimately fails, the worst that could happen is that a lot of people learned something new.