Cole PetersFeb 28, 2023

In my latest long form article for Begin:

For years now, the most popular JS frameworks have carried out intense marketing initiatives based on the premise of improving developer experience (#DX). What is it about these promises of great DX that is consistently delivering poor user experiences? Can we change our approach to DX for the betterment of end users?

Plus a wild segue into the world of hand forged scissors 👀

https://begin.com/blog/posts/2023-02-28-redefining-developer-experience

Redefining Developer Experience — Begin Blog

For years now, the most popular JS frameworks have carried out intense marketing initiatives based on the premise of improving developer experience (DX). What is it about these promises of great DX that is consistently delivering poor user experiences? Can we change our approach to DX for the betterment of end users?

Begin
Show threadKyle GeskeFeb 28, 2023

@colepeters Great stuff Cole! As a (former*) web dev educator I've struggled with a lot of this. Held off integrating React into RRC curriculum for a long time, & kept our focus on fundamental / server-side templating. Eventually added React basics to address industry needs, but I was continually frustrated by the number of things already built into the browser/web standards that had to be reinvented when working in React.

*I'm teaching game dev now, which is a whole other ball of wax!

Show threadCole Peters
@stungeye Thanks so much Kyle! Your approach is really commendable. Admittedly I’ve only come around to this view in the last year or so, so I get how much energy it must’ve taken to keep focusing on the fundamentals. I’m glad I learned them in the first place; have tried teaching them to folks further in their career and it can be a huge challenge!
Feb 28, 2023 at 10:08pmWeb
Show threadKyle GeskeMar 1, 2023
@colepeters Cue nightmares about a generation of web developers who don't realize that a browser can serialize and POST a form without the need for javascript/JSON/fetch/axios/etc. 😉
Show threadCole PetersMar 1, 2023
@stungeye I feel like so many poor web apps are a result of this one thing 😅
Show threadKyle GeskeMar 1, 2023

@colepeters One thing I've been missing in the game dev world is the equivalent of web standards.

Every game engine does things differently, so you can't teach foundational skills in the same way as you can with web tech.

When I was teaching web I used to evaluate course material according to a standard of "will this still be relevant in ten years?" And sure, Unreal/Unity/Godot/etc will all surely be around in ten years, but you sorta have to hitch your horse to specific transitory wagons...

Show threadCole PetersMar 1, 2023
@stungeye Oh wow, that sounds pretty intense. At least with web frameworks there are often threads you can trace back to standards (like JSX -> HTML). Having to choose one game engine (or learn multiple from scratch) would give me so much anxiety 😅