2023.08.14 - Things you forgot (or never knew) because of React

Title: 2023.08.14 – Things You Forgot (or Never Knew) Because of React

Project IDX & Lehman’s laws & Vim & “未富先娇” & “平常”

This Week’s Highlights

Things you forgot (or never knew) because of React https://joshcollinsworth.com/blog/antiquated-react
My sense is: we’re beginning to near another leap. I don’t know what it will be, or why. But I think we’re starting to feel all the problems React actually doesn’t solve for us, like we felt with jQuery back in those days. And I think eventually it will be clear that it’s time to advance. What will that new thing be? I don’t know. Maybe it’ll just be the web platform. Maybe we won’t even need frameworks. Maybe it’ll be a framework above; maybe it’ll be something we haven’t even seen yet. Related:

• HTMX: The Game‑Changing Alternative to React
• An Introduction to htmx, the HTML‑focused Dynamic UI Library
• JSX without React

Google: Introducing Project IDX, an Experiment to Improve Full‑stack, Multiplatform App Development https://developers.googleblog.com/2023/08/introducing-project-idx-experiment-to-improve-full-stack-multiplatform-app-development.html
While Google’s been working on making multiplatform app development easier for years – from Angular and Flutter to Google Cloud and Firebase – it feels like there’s even more we can do to make the entire multiplatform app development workflow faster and more frictionless. So several months ago, a few of us got together and started experimenting. And today, we’re excited to share a very early look at our experiment, which we’re calling Project IDX.

A Blog Post With Every HTML Element https://www.patrickweaver.net/blog/a-blog-post-with-every-html-element/
A goal of the post was to avoid delaying other future posts with CSS updates on a previously unused element, but in reality it took a year and a half to make all the updates for just this post! I am using the MDN Web Docs list of HTML elements as a reference, which has more than 100 tags divided into a few categories, and I’ll also use those categories in this post.

Design and Practice of an RPC‑based TypeScript BFF https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/649521396
In this article we introduce a BFF (Backend‑for‑Frontend) design and practice built on RPC and TypeScript. We call it RPC‑BFF; by using the same language (TypeScript) on both front‑ and back‑end, it achieves several capabilities that other BFF solutions lack, dramatically improving performance, efficiency, and type safety of front‑back data interaction.

Do Machine Learning Models Memorize or Generalize? https://pair.withgoogle.com/explorables/grokking/
In this article we’ll examine the training dynamics of a tiny model and reverse‑engineer the solution it finds – and in the process provide an illustration of the exciting emerging field of mechanistic interpretability [9, 10]. While it isn’t yet clear how to apply these techniques to today’s largest models, starting small makes it easier to develop intuitions as we progress toward answering these critical questions about large language models. Related:

• GPTBot – OpenAI’s Web Crawler
• A guide to designing and shipping AI developer tools
• Coding assistants do not replace pair programming
• The Race to Capture Value: Cloud Lessons for the AI Era
• Model‑driven Prompt Engineering
• Advances in document understanding
• 3 Ways Microsoft is Shaping the Future of Frontline
• Don’t build AI apps! Design autonomous‑agent ecosystems

Deep Dives

What Does It Mean for Web Browsers to Have a Baseline https://thenewstack.io/what-does-it-mean-for-web-browsers-to-have-a-baseline/
A new project called Baseline aims to clarify what developers can rely on across browsers and the web platform in general.

Node.js’s Config‑Hell Problem https://deno.com/blog/node-config-hell
Configuration often gets in the way of developer productivity when building with Node.js. But Deno’s zero‑config, batteries‑included approach means you can be productive immediately.

My Experience Modernizing Packages to ESM https://blog.isquaredsoftware.com/2023/08/esm-modernization-lessons/
Details on the painful experiences and hard‑earned lessons I’ve learned migrating the Redux packages to ESM.

Optimizing Speed on eBay.com https://medium.com/@addyosmani/shopping-for-speed-on-ebay-com-6229711d7573
Optimizing the performance of eBay’s sites and apps for a faster user experience. Related: Building a Better Web — A Faster YouTube on Web.

A Compilation of Outstanding Testing Articles (with JavaScript) https://practica.dev/blog/a-compilation-of-outstanding-testing-articles-with-javaScript/
As a testing consultant, I’ve read tons of testing articles over the years. Most are pleasant reads that aren’t always worth your precious time. Occasionally, I’ve stumbled on an article that is shockingly good and can genuinely improve your test‑writing skills. I’ve cherry‑picked those outstanding pieces for you and added my own abstracts. Half of the articles focus directly on JavaScript/Node.js; the other half cover universal testing concepts applicable to any language. Related: Defining test cases and priorities.

Ancient Lore: Lehman’s Laws of Software Evolution https://microservices.io//post/architecture/2023/08/06/lehmans-laws-of-software-evolution.html
I recently revisited an important body of work: Lehman’s laws of software evolution. First published in 1974, these laws describe the forces (a.k.a. concerns) that influence an application’s evolution. Some laws drive evolution, while others impede it. I’ll first look at the kinds of applications to which Lehman’s laws apply, then describe the laws themselves.

Your Computer Should Say What You Tell It To Say https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/your-computer-should-say-what-you-tell-it-say-1
Google is adding code to Chrome that will send tamper‑proof information about your operating system and other software to websites, claiming it will reduce ad fraud. In practice, it reduces your control over your own computer and will likely cause some sites to block access for anyone not using an “approved” OS and browser.

Fresh Finds

• The future of the Vim project
• [Is Laravel the happiest developer community on the planet?](https://github.com/readme/featured/larave

(content truncated)

---

Originally written by Ping Xia (平侠) and published in Chinese on Web技术周刊 (Web Tech Weekly). Translated and adapted for DriftSeas with permission.