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I have experience building both SPA apps and server-side templated apps. They each have their strengths and weaknesses. Just as a SPA won't solve all your prob

I have experience building both SPA apps and server-side templated apps. They each have their strengths and weaknesses. Just as a SPA won't solve all your problems without any trade-offs, getting rid of a SPA framework also won't solve all your problems -- you'll probably need to re-invent some wheels and then discover that your new solutions are hard too. I think it's good to have a healthy dose of skepticism about new technologies. But it's also important to understand their value and not to hate them just because they're hard. I like that the author tries to find this ballance. Though, honestly, from my own experience, I would rename this title to "You might not need a single-page app." More than once, I've tried to build something without a SPA framework only to realize that if there is any interactivity at all, it's often just simpler to use a SPA framework in the first place.

wreath 8y ago
> it's often just simpler to use a SPA framework in the first place. Simpler or more convenient? I've yet to see a production-grade React setup (for example) that is simpler than having either vanilla JavaScript or even jQuery to achieve the same interaction. The amount of tooling required to do simple interactions does not justify the technology for most applications IMO.
- pault 8y ago
  How complex were the applications that used those production-grade React setups? As the number of possible states increases, your vanilla JS solution explodes in complexity when you have to manually define every state transition. The declarative nature of SPA frameworks means all you need to worry about is presentation of your data. If all you need to do is some form validation, then writing an SPA is a terrible idea. If you need to build a UI that functions more like a desktop app with long-lived sessions and complex workflows, trying to manage all of your DOM updates will be a monstrously difficult task. You'll basically end up implementing a slow, buggy version of react.

wreath 8y ago

> it's often just simpler to use a SPA framework in the first place. Simpler or more convenient? I've yet to see a production-grade React setup (for example) that is simpler than having either vanilla JavaScript or even jQuery to achieve the same interaction. The amount of tooling required to do simple interactions does not justify the technology for most applications IMO.

pault 8y ago
How complex were the applications that used those production-grade React setups? As the number of possible states increases, your vanilla JS solution explodes in complexity when you have to manually define every state transition. The declarative nature of SPA frameworks means all you need to worry about is presentation of your data. If all you need to do is some form validation, then writing an SPA is a terrible idea. If you need to build a UI that functions more like a desktop app with long-lived sessions and complex workflows, trying to manage all of your DOM updates will be a monstrously difficult task. You'll basically end up implementing a slow, buggy version of react.