The Future of Htmx (htmx.org)

Article summary

The article discusses the future of htmx, a library that adds behavior to HTML attributes, and its goal to become a stable and reliable tool for building web applications. The authors aim to emulate the success of jQuery, which remains widely used despite being considered legacy software. The article outlines the development roadmap for htmx, focusing on stability, simplicity, and quarterly releases. The library will prioritize compatibility and ease of use, with a focus on hypermedia-driven development.

Main themes

• htmx development
• jQuery comparison
• hypermedia-driven development
• web application building
• library stability
• JavaScript frameworks

What commenters say

• Some developers struggle to adopt htmx in large companies due to its relatively low popularity and the ease of hiring React developers.
• React is considered simple by some, but others find it complex and difficult to understand, especially for backend developers.
• The choice between htmx and React often comes down to staffing and training considerations, with React being easier to deal with from a management perspective.
• htmx can be a good fit for certain types of applications, but may not be suitable for complex projects that require extensive state management.
• The complexity of React is not inherent to the library itself, but rather a result of the broken language design of JavaScript and the need for bundlers and transpilers.
• Some developers believe that htmx can do everything React does, but better and more cleanly, especially when combined with custom elements.
• The decision to use htmx or another framework should be based on technical merits and advantages, rather than personal preferences.
• The popularity of jQuery is still significant, with many websites using it, and its API remains syntactically smaller and more sane than modern JavaScript improvements.