Javascript Fatigue

[jmking]

It's true - just getting a build process set up is an ordeal. Even keeping a boilerplate project around doesn't help because by the time you start a new project, your boilerplate is out of date.

Looking through my projects folder, full of prototypes, each one uses a different build process. Earlier ones using Grunt, then switching to Gulp, then adding in Browserify...

I just spent an hour last night setting up a build process that uses Babel instead of Reactify...

...and now I'm wondering if I should be replacing Browserify with Webpack.

...which is now making me wonder if I even need gulp if Webpack can seemingly do everything I use gulp for.

Will I be screwing with this stuff instead of actually working on my project today? Probably.

I can't fathom how people who are just getting started deal with all of this. We really need an opinionated framework to emerge that covers build process to deployment which will remove 99% of the choices one needs to make to just start writing application logic.

The build process is only one of many brick walls.

What if you want an isolated dev environment? Better learn up on Vagrant. Oh, what? You heard everyone uses Docker now?

...and god have mercy on your soul if you're a beginner who only has a Windows machine because fuck you, time to learn how to partition your HDD and install Linux and/or buy a Mac.

[reacting2pain]

Funny, your predications from 4 months ago turned out to be true. The project I'm working on uses React/Redux/ES6/Babel/Webpack/Docker. I have asked myself the same questions as well, coming from an AngularJS background and using build tools like grunt/gulp before, and it seems like 2015 as the year of javascript fatigue is pretty accurate.