I Don't Like Magic

3 days ago

The author dislikes 'magic' in technology, referring to marketing that oversimplifies how things work.
They advocate for 'seamful' design over 'seamless' design, arguing that the latter reduces user agency.
The author is a control freak in front-end development, preferring to write and understand all code themselves.
They avoid npm and client-side React due to distrust of dependencies and extra layers of abstraction.
The author distinguishes between libraries (code you call) and frameworks (code that calls your code), disliking the latter more.
They criticize the trend of using large language models to generate code, comparing it to npm but with even more abstraction.
The author acknowledges their approach is not pragmatic for commercial environments but suits long-term projects like their personal websites.
They highlight the maintenance nightmare caused by poorly understood abstractions in codebases.
The author concludes by reiterating their dislike for magic in coding, emphasizing the importance of understanding and maintaining code over time.

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