ChaseRaz
Friday 01 December 2017
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DO I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING AT ALL?
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I don't really think about this phlog when I'm not writing it.  Well, not 
beyond thinking just enough about it to remember to write another post, 
that is.  I've taken to writing posts on the days that I'm teaching on 
campus.  We'll see how long that holds.

Something really comforts me that this information isn't being indexed by 
Google for everyone in the world to see... in 2357.  Maybe someone out 
there is grabbing this information, but I doubt this text will even 
survive me.  For an ego driven person, it's shocking how much solace I'm 
taking in this anonymity.

Today, I'm bemoaning the web.  Not because I'm on Gopher (that's actually 
what reminded me to get on and phlog).  Instead, it's because nothing is 
clear cut on the web anymore.  First there was HTML, then Javascript, then 
CSS... but now there are a million and one libraries and frameworks, 
including some I've created for myself.  But what is the difference 
between a UI and UX library?  Well, a lot actually.  Instead, maybe 
consider what is the difference between reactivity from the perspective 
of UI and UX elements--such as seen in Vue and Bootstrap,  and reactivity 
from the perspective of data binding in Angular or React?  

These fields simply overlap too much and have been giving web developers a 
headache for the better part of a decade.  A real push seems to have 
started around 2010, and it gets perpetually worse in massive waves every 
year or two.

I find myself wanting to go and learn at least one of each type of library 
and framework (layout, UX, app framework, etc.) but I know the code I'm 
writing in HTML5, CSS3, and plain old JavaScript seem to be working fine.  
Why do I really need to beef up to some massive construct?  Why am I told 
by developers that I MUST move on from JavaScript to jQuery?  Why should I 
take shorthand with an entirely new paradigm shift if I can manage the 
source language... especially when the shorthand feels like it takes even 
more time to me?

Am I that bad at what I do, or is the web world just filled with a bunch 
of opinionated people who only like what they use and view everything else 
(including Gopher?) as inferior without seeing the uniqueness of merit in 
tools that vary from one another?

I don't normally put a call to action in my work, but I honestly want to 
know if I'm alone on this issue or not.  

If you have thoughts on this, email me: chase@rcr.biz