I've been doing frontend since 2012 and I still don't understand why React became so popular.
No two React projects are the same. Like, even the router has at least three different mainstream options to choose from. It's exhausting.
No two React projects are the same. Like, even the router has at least three different mainstream options to choose from. It's exhausting.
Indeed. I work mainly in Angular because while it's widely regarded as terrible and slow to adapt, it's predictable in this regard.
Also now with typed forms, signals and standalone components it's not half bad. I prefer Svelte, but when I need Boring Technology™, I have Angular.
90%+ of all web apps are just lists of stuff with some search/filtering anyway, where you can look up the details of a list entry and of course CRUD it via a form. No reason to overthink it.
I know you are saying you do work mainly in Angular, but for others reading this, I don't think this is giving modern Angular the credit it deserves. Maybe that was the case in the late 20-teens, but the Angular team has been killing it lately, IMO. There is a negative perception due to the echo chamber that is social media but meanwhile, Angular "just works" for enterprise and startups who want to scale alike.
I think people who are burned on on decision fatigue with things like React should give Angular another try, might be pleasantly surprised how capable it is out of the box, and no longer as painful to press against the edges.
IMO, it is only as complicated or simple as you want to make it these days, and claiming otherwise likely is due to focusing on legacy aspects rather than the current state of the framework.
FWIW, I'm not arguing that it's the "best" or that everyone should use it. Or that it doesn't still have flaws. Just that it is still firmly in the top set of 3-5 frameworks that are viable for making complex web apps and it shouldn't be dismissed out of hand.