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This week's required contemplation: How does React compare to other frameworks you have used for front end development? 

Well in 2010 I worked for a startup working out of the Stanford Library (literally, room 200) that used the Zend PHP framework for developing a career connections website. It was a mess - an utter mess - and inspired me to either write my own framework or to never ever use one. But React is totally different, it's cohesive, effective, logical and there's distinct ways to accomplish common objectives, as well as simplifications to common JavaScript, adding convenience. The only problem I have with React is the HTML stuck in the middle of the JavaScript. I think it should be JSON there, too, where the HTML is. JSON has just one label where HTML has two for each element, a lot less characters overall, and for that reason I find JSON superior in all respects and capable of housing the same data references as HTML does. I created my own framework I call WebBlaster that uses JSON data to render its HTML, and I find that a step ahead of the React HTML paradigm, although React certainly has it's connections and features cohesively integrated. The Zend Framework was just...not something to look back on, at all, but it was my first experience with MVC which I definitely appreciate. MVC or at least some logical separation of objectives seems so relevant in development of a large code base.

Oh, another slight problem I may or may not have with React/SpringBoot Framework is deployment. In my own life, similar to the Agile principle of 'merge often', I normally start from a working something and build features off it. In other words, the first thing I'd do when building something is deploy a Hello World of it. Deploy - like - actually deploy - so it's out in the world, published and viewable. I have absolutely no idea how you would do that with Spring Framework. That could just be my lack of knowledge, but ten years ago when I was shopping for web hosts, most of them wouldn't let you run any Java server, just PHP. I learned programming with Java but at the same time my instinct is to always follow the path of least resistance. I'm not going to pay money for something I don't have to pay money for, just for the sake of principle. Zero's zero, and not zero tends to grow. Dependencies are actually a related third issue. A framework has so many inherent dependencies I would fear fragility. If you write your site yourself, when it breaks at least you'll know why. The flip side to that is, nearly every single web development company I've tried to apply to work at in the past 10 years lists React at the top of the list of things you should know if you want to work there. So, well, I'm glad I've been doing this stuff on my own all along, so I have some particularly insightful angles to see everything from.

Two other things I have going on right now are picking a project for 499, currently my top is a very down-to-earth DataScience site connecting the power of the world of Data Science to the convenience of an Express/Node web app.

And the other is my Hardware/Assembly/MIPS/Arduino class which is super fun, I went from being mind-boggled by MIPS assembly to just flying in it, in a short time. Always extrapolate. In MIPS I have to play funny games with sub-calling routines from sub-routines but I'm brand new to the language so I'm not knowledgeable at all in it, but I have a way of digging in and getting to the bottom of how it all works. I'm itching to get to the Arduino projects....I thought that would be after school was over, but I guess I get to try it out sooner than later! My mind is reeling with possibilities, the odd thing is though I can't think of one single actual practical use for it. That made me realize how dumb Bill Gate's house is. The king of Microsoft's best idea was make his house's temperature match his own. That's super dumb and egotistical. If he said "it matches my guests preferences" I think it would add a little more to his character. No, he just wants himself to be all cozy, via robo-temp-adjust. I haven't thought of anything better, but I'm working on it. Right now I'm at: cat-detector/cat-petter, I know, still super dumb....but they need a LOT of petting! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fi5p-8jXf8