Do i need React?
Hi guys,
i am programming with plain html, css and javascript since i think 4-5 years and i was always to lazy to learn something like react/angular/scss/nextjs or all the things that everyone uses.
But on my last big project i startet struggeling over some features, that i think would be easier doing with react, like img compression/img loading/navigation or such things.
I also started learning react native and i mean it is good, but it is such a big new learning process so i kinda hate it, but need it.
So do i really need to learn React? what do you do, is it that easy doing things with react? Is it a common standard nowdays? Am i the only one programming with vanilla Javascript?
This is not as black and white as you make it sound :) Frameworks like Alpine (https://alpinejs.dev/) or HTMX (https://htmx.org/) can often be a reasonable middle-ground between 100% vanilla JS and the React/VUE/etc juggernauts.
I'm still 100 times more comfortable working with an HTML file than I am with some React function plus JSX plus Redux plus xyz 🤯
Alpine e.g. is a perfect for the way I do web development and an absolute joy to work with.
When combined with a utility-first CSS framework like Tailwind and a backend framework you are comfortable with, you can actually get pretty far when it comes to creating re-usable components (e.g. there is an effort underway to create an Alpine version of Headless UI (https://alpinejs.dev/components)).
Long story short: You don't need React to get things done. You might want to use it. And that's great then, too! Or you want to learn it to become more attractive for employers or clients. But otherwise there are so many other great frameworks out there, that I'd encourage you to look a little left and right before jumping into React just because it's the big name everyone knows.
React (or similar) will definitely speed up your development once you get to know how to use it. There is also a huge ecosystem for it, so you don't have to build everything from scratch. I use Next.js (which is a full-stack framework for React) and Material UI. I would only use vanilla JavaScript for something very simple.