Why Svelte?

Why not? What binds us to a virtual DOM? Popularity and hype? Personal bias and comfort? Influence of thought leaders? Adherence to design patterns or philosophies?

Sometimes, the most profound solutions are not the newest or the shiniest, but those that restructure the way we think. They challenge the status quo and provide a fresh perspective on the problem at hand. In the realm of JavaScript frameworks, Svelte seems to be doing just that.

The Power of Simplicity

Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room: the overwhelming complexity that’s become synonymous with modern web development. There’s a perverse beauty in it, like watching a Rube Goldberg machine. It’s intricate, sure, but it’s also needlessly complicated. It’s no wonder that so many of us find solace in the arms of the basics - HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Simplicity has always been at the heart of great software development. Svelte, in its divine wisdom, champions this back-to-basics philosophy. It doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel or introduce complex, unnecessary abstractions. Instead, it starts with the language we all know - HTML - and enhances it, making it more expressive, more powerful, yet remaining simple and intuitive. The most sophisticated solutions are often the simplest ones, and Svelte is an embodiment of this philosophy.

Clarity over Cleverness

There’s a growing trend towards Domain Specific Languages (DSLs) in the frontend space. DSLs offers developers more expressiveness in coding without the potential pitfalls associated with ignoring the semantics of JavaScript.

React introduced JSX, an XML-like DSL extension to JavaScript. While JSX has its benefits, it also introduces a layer of abstraction and complexity. Svelte, on the other hand favours clarity over cleverness. It extends HTML to a DSL, which is a refreshing shift from the traditional JavaScript-centric view. By building upon HTML and extending languages we’re already familiar with, Svelte offers more expressive coding possibilities while circumventing potential pitfalls, such as server code ending up in the client’s bundle.

The charm of Svelte is that it delivers the power of DSLs without the baggage; It doesn’t introduce complex concepts or force developers to learn a new way of thinking. It keeps JavaScript semantics intact while still offering less context-switching, less cognitive load, and ultimately, more productivity.

Performance by Default

Performance is not an afterthought in Svelte. It is a fundamental aspect of the design, baked into the very core of the framework. Svelte compiles your code to efficient, imperative code that directly manipulates the state of the DOM. This means the code that gets shipped to the browser is highly optimized and specific to your application.

The benefit? Superior performance out of the box. With Svelte, you don’t have to become a performance expert to build fast web apps. The framework handles it for you.

Reactivity: Making it First-Class

In React, reactivity is achieved through a combination of props, state, and lifecycle methods. Svelte, in contrast, makes reactivity first-class. By using a simple assignment syntax, Svelte makes state management straightforward and intuitive.

Dissolving False Dichotomies

Modern web development is filled with false dichotomies: SPA or MPA, server-side rendering or client-side rendering, and so on. Svelte, doesn’t play this game. It offers a more pragmatic approach, blurring the lines between these dichotomies and offering developers the flexibility to choose what’s best for their specific use-case.

Why not Svelte?

A good framework is not defined by the number of things it does, but by how well it does the essential tasks with the least amount of friction. Sure, Svelte might not be the right choice for every project. There will always be specific use cases and requirements that call for the features and capabilities offered by other frameworks. But for the vast majority of projects, It offers a balance of power and simplicity that’s hard to beat, and it does so without sacrificing performance or developer experience.

Svelte is not just another JavaScript framework. It’s a shift in how we think about and approach web development. It’s about getting back to basics, getting things done. In the sea of JavaScript frameworks, Svelte stands out, not by being the loudest, but by being the most thoughtful.