Re:Why I’m thankful for JavaScript fatigue
by lojack on Tuesday November 29, 2016 @06:54PM
(#13067280)
You say you've been doing front end development for 25 years, and also that front end frameworks have a shelf life of 3 years, but of those 25 years, how many were spent working with front end frameworks? At most I'd guess 10 years, but probably much less – the frameworks simply haven't existed long enough. You say the shelf life for front end frameworks is 3 years, but I constantly see companies building software with backbone, knockout, ember, and countless other front end frameworks that have existed for nearly the entire lifetime of front end frameworks. Sure, if you pick the latest fad you'll find a framework that has only been popular for a few years, but that hardly means it'll die off in the next couple years.
Re:Why I’m thankful for JavaScript fatigue
by intrasight on Wednesday November 30, 2016 @12:16AM
(#13068656)
I didn't say JavaScript framework - I said front-end framework. Started in 1988 with a framework called Dataviews. Was the bee's knees in the late '80s and early '90s and sadly is superior to the majority of present-day frameworks. Next framework I developed in was X-Windows. Then Motif. Then Generic Logic (awesome, and still exists!). Then MFC. Then Tcl/Tk. Then Netscape-era HTML. Then IE5-era HTML. Then IE6-era AJAX. Then ASP. Then ASP.NET Web Forms. Then XAML. Then ASP.NET MVC. Then JQuery. Then Bootstrap. Then Angular 1. Then Angular 2. Then WebComponents. Then React. Then ... the pace has been picking up! And I've only listed frameworks which I have used to build commercial apps - thus leaving off lots of other stuff I've played around with over the years, like Next and Mac and Android and iOS.
>but that hardly means it'll die off in the next couple years
History says you are wrong.
And regarding "set you up for life", I think this is a message that should get more attention among young developers. You may believe when you are young that neural plasticity is an infinite resources. You will find as you age that that is a false assumption. Neural plasticity, like beauty, is fleeting. Invest it in things that have some chance of lasting a lifetime. Front-end frameworks are not one of those things. I've been doing front-end work on and off for 25 years, and have used a couple dozen frameworks. The specific skills have a lifetime of perhaps three years.
Now in my case I do have a CS and engineering degree, and I also do a lot of back-end work. And clearly I enjoy the front-end work or I wouldn't keep coming back to it year after year. BUT BE FOREWARNED - it's NOT a good long-term skills investment.