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Babel and Webpack got popular because people wanted to try JSX, but build tools were not common in for web developers at the time. Pete Hunt gave a talk I foun

Babel and Webpack got popular because people wanted to try JSX, but build tools were not common in for web developers at the time. Pete Hunt gave a talk I found somewhere online about Webpack, and then I gave a talk about it at the first React Conf. No amount of "Linux lets you write apps in JavaScript" was going to keep transpilers/bundlers from being a thing. Even after browsers started shipping HTTP Push, people found it's still more network efficient (at least for transient users) to bundle. Plus, there are privacy/security concerns with relying on public CDNs for libraries, which would be the next-best alternative.

cxr 2y ago
You're talking about browser-based Web apps. I'm talking about Electron desktop apps and NPM-based programs. And I'm not calling out "bundlers". You said that. I mentioned Babel and Webpack in the context of software that is crummy. Previously: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41899671 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41899671> > You're having a terrible experience because you're interacting with terrible software. It doesn't matter that it's written in JS (or quasi-JS). Rewrite these implementations all in other languages, and the terrible experience will remain.