This is definitely part of it. JavaScript tooling encompasses back end, front end (progressive enhancement inside server generated web pages), front end (large

This is definitely part of it. JavaScript tooling encompasses back end, front end (progressive enhancement inside server generated web pages), front end (large single page apps), and a bunch of language flavours (ES5, ES6, ES7, TypeScript, JSX, to name a few). So it's understandable the tooling ecosystem is large and diverse, and that plumbing it all together can result in premature hair loss. We're using ES5 with AngularJS at work, and it's like a breath of fresh air ;)