In this session we attack a common problem of frontend development - the plugin/framework/addon/bootstrap/etc overload. It seems in very many cases everyone on the team forgot to ask this vital question:
Do we really need that?
The result of the plug'n'paste-based strategy is often a generic UI, multiple design compromises and typically much poorer performance. And you didn't learn anything new, which suck more than all the other reasons combined. Now, I for one thought we had finally escaped the assembly line, but maybe I am wrong?
Ok, so it allows you to get started really fast – but it also very frequently has the downside of not fitting your needs exactly – or being bloated in ways you never imagined possible. Before you are done tweaking the tool to fit your needs, you have ended up spending more time frustrated, than it would have taken you to write optimized custom code.
Writing custom code expands your skills, so in many cases it is in both yours and your client's best interest to skip (some of) the plugins.
This session is greatly inspired by the Manipulator approach. Manipulator is an extremely flexible, performance optimized, free and open source JavaScript library and framework with a slightly neurotic focus on details. It is designed to build the JavaScript you need, rather than offering you plugins that kinda does what you need and a 100 things you don't.
I'll talk a little bit and then we'll all talk. One at the time. And there's room for all opinions. It's going to be fun.
Free for everyone.