MJ

How did Netlify fix their CDN? We told them they had a problem when @remix_run SSR apps were expecting to get different results from the Netlify CDN cache when the query string changed. SSG had blinded them to a significant flaw in their CDN architecture.

The broken JAMStack thinking even leaked into the tools they made to serve JAMStack sites. Up until a few weeks ago the Netlify CDN ignored the query string when caching! Why? Because the query string doesn’t matter when every page is pre-rendered. That’s JAMStack for ya

Consider the simple case of a variable that you need in the browser, like a public key. In SSG you need access to the compiler so you can "inject" your var during CI. In SSR, just set an env var and put it in the HTML somewhere. Small complexities like this really add up.

SSG/JAMStack broke so many developers' ideas about how the web works. When you take away the server, all you have left is the build. And that's a very limiting place to be. Put the server back in, and it's a breath of fresh air. You wonder why you ever left it.

Wordle 297 2/6

I’ve heard more than one person using @remix_run say how they were surprised to realize after a while that they were essentially a “backend developer”, which is something that they had never really identified with before. But Remix blurs the lines between the backend and front!

Locality of reference was a huge factor in the design of our route modules in @remix_run. Having your component (view) in the same file as the functions that handle reading and writing it’s data (loader/action) eases the transition of primarily front-end devs into full stack.https://twitter.com/rjs/status/1513076428329336832 …

I like this idea of “React sprinkles”. You can use as much or as little React as you like in @remix_run. This helps it meet the needs of really client-heavy apps, but also very minimal apps that don’t need much interactivity. Remix spans the whole spectrum https://twitter.com/rjs/status/1513073635610746882 …

If you wanna know where to find me after this tech thing is over, I’ll be in the garden

You know what would be really fun? Working in a nursery selling plants. You’d just get to sit there all day and help people grow beautiful things and answer their questions about what soil to use and which kinds of plants to pick. No computers. Just plants.

I was on a podcast recently where the interviewer was genuinely pretty shocked when I used the words “React” and “web standards” in the same breath. But it isn’t React’s fault if *you* aren’t using web standards and progressive enhancement. That’s your job!

For example, nothing about React says that your page needs to be a janky mess with spinners everywhere. But lots of “React sites” are. Why? Take a closer look at your tools. Pop open the network tab. Are your tools getting in the way?

Unfortunately I think when some of these people say “React” what they mean is “my React framework”. Like when people in the Rails community said “Ruby” but really meant “Ruby on Rails”. React is very flexible. If it feels busted to you, it might be your framework’s fault.

I’ve been seeing more and more people bemoaning the widespread use of React lately. Wishing for something else to come along. Don’t forget: the underlying tech is HTML! Treat React as just a tool for generating and manipulating HTML and you will have a much better time with it.