These posts are becoming redundant. Although I do understand where the author is coming from. I think the issue is that frontend development is hard! Especially modern frontend dev. It requires an entirely different thought process than backend development and this is why I think so many people get scared and reach for the most familiar lib out there.
However, getting used to the React ecosystem really does have huge benefits (code clarity, minimization of bugs, ease of creating complex interactions) and I do recommend that those interested really just dive in and build something simple to see for themselves.
All the extra libs and tools are helpful and make your job easier in most cases. But they can be phased in as you get a deeper understanding of the ecosystem.
The ecosystem is standardizing now. And I don't see webpack or React going away anytime soon.
However, getting used to the React ecosystem really does have huge benefits (code clarity, minimization of bugs, ease of creating complex interactions) and I do recommend that those interested really just dive in and build something simple to see for themselves.
If you're new, ignore [babel, redux, (insert buzz lib here)] and just build something. Checkout https://medium.com/@clmyles/react-without-npm-babel-or-webpa... on how to create something with just React.
All the extra libs and tools are helpful and make your job easier in most cases. But they can be phased in as you get a deeper understanding of the ecosystem.
The ecosystem is standardizing now. And I don't see webpack or React going away anytime soon.