Front End is the New Back End

By Benjamin Bykowski

Elevator Pitch

Modern web development has led to powerful new frameworks and tools. Compare and contrast what’s new and what’s next from JS frameworks and package management to emerging CSS standards and bundling. This isn’t an intro to React, NPM, and WebPack, just why they’re so popular and what might be next.

Description

There’s been a disturbance in the Force, as if a thousand server-side frameworks cried out and were suddenly silenced… The rise of modern web tooling has given way to powerful new frameworks and tools. Headless and serverless were just the beginning. We’ll conduct a round-up of modern tooling and look at how it is all evolving. Meet your challengers: - See How Yarn is replacing (supplanting?) NPM - Why Bootstrap and Foundation are rendered moot by CSS Grid - How zero-config Parcel.js is taking over WebPack - We’ll even see how a 1KB footprint idea in Hyperapp can dethrone React for JS framework dominance. This isn’t a prediction of the future, just a look at where we’ve come and where we (might) be headed. As always, prizes and giveaways will be available for all talk attendees.

Notes

There is never a shortage of new developments in web technology. This talk is aimed at creating awareness of what is available today and how emerging technologies and platforms are putting the power in the hands of the front end developer. I’ve spoken on these subjects in the past but as tech podcasts ignite excitement, I seek to channel this into a singular talk that will bring enthusiasm and awareness to these emerging trends in front-end programming and modern web development.

This talk was already picked up by the organizers of Stir Trek in Columbus this May 4th meaning it will only be more refined and polished in time for PGH TechFest.