Hyper is a new JavaScript framework positioned as a standards-first alternative to React. It prioritizes using web standards like Web Components and HTML templates over a virtual DOM, aiming for improved performance, smaller bundle sizes, and better interoperability with other web technologies. Hyper embraces a reactive programming model through its fine-grained reactivity system and leverages the browser's native capabilities for rendering updates. It also emphasizes progressive enhancement, allowing developers to build complex applications while ensuring a basic functional experience even without JavaScript enabled. The framework aims to provide a simpler, more intuitive developer experience by closely aligning with established web standards.
This blog post introduces Hyper, a new JavaScript framework positioned as a standards-first alternative to React. The author argues that React, while popular and powerful, deviates from web standards in several key ways, leading to a steeper learning curve, potential performance bottlenecks, and difficulties in integrating with other web technologies. Hyper, in contrast, embraces web standards as its core principle.
The post elaborates on several of Hyper's key features and how they differentiate it from React. Firstly, Hyper leverages standard web components, allowing developers to utilize familiar HTML, CSS, and JavaScript syntax without the need to learn JSX or other React-specific abstractions. This adherence to web standards promotes interoperability with other frameworks and libraries, and simplifies integration with existing web projects.
Secondly, Hyper emphasizes the use of the shadow DOM, a web standard that provides encapsulation and style isolation for components. This helps prevent style conflicts between different parts of an application and improves code maintainability. The post contrasts this with React's approach, which often relies on CSS-in-JS solutions that can complicate styling and introduce performance overhead.
Furthermore, the blog post highlights Hyper's focus on reactivity and efficient updates. It utilizes a fine-grained reactivity system that automatically updates the DOM only when necessary, minimizing unnecessary re-renders and optimizing performance. This reactive system, according to the post, is built on solid web standards and avoids the virtual DOM approach employed by React, which the author suggests can introduce performance issues in certain scenarios.
The author also discusses the developer experience with Hyper, emphasizing its simplicity and ease of use. By adhering to web standards, Hyper aims to reduce the cognitive load on developers, allowing them to focus on building features rather than wrestling with framework-specific conventions. The post provides code examples to illustrate how concise and readable Hyper code can be.
Finally, the post touches upon the broader vision for Hyper, which is to create a vibrant and collaborative ecosystem around a standards-based approach to web development. The author encourages developers to explore Hyper and contribute to its development, suggesting that a standards-first approach is the future of web development. The underlying message is that by embracing web standards, Hyper offers a more sustainable, performant, and interoperable alternative to React and other non-standard frameworks.
Summary of Comments ( 7 )
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43936844
Hacker News users generally expressed skepticism towards Hyper's claims of being a "standards-first" React alternative. Several commenters pointed out that using the web component standard doesn't automatically equate to better performance or developer experience. Some questioned the value proposition of Hyper compared to established frameworks like React, Svelte, or Solid, particularly regarding ecosystem and community support. Others criticized the benchmark comparisons presented in the blog post, suggesting they weren't representative of real-world scenarios. A few commenters showed interest in the project's approach, but overall the reception was cautious, with many awaiting further evidence to support Hyper's purported advantages.
The Hacker News post discussing Hyper, a standards-first React alternative, has generated a moderate amount of discussion with a mix of perspectives.
Several commenters express skepticism about the value proposition of Hyper. One commenter questions whether using web components directly is significantly more complex than using Hyper, particularly given the learning curve involved with a new library. Another echoes this sentiment, suggesting that the purported benefits of Hyper are minimal compared to the overhead of adopting a new technology. They argue that web components themselves, while not perfect, are a reasonable approach and that Hyper doesn't offer enough of an advantage to justify its existence. A different commenter expresses doubt about Hyper's claim of better performance than React, asking for benchmark data to support the assertion. This skepticism highlights the challenge new frameworks face in a crowded ecosystem. They must demonstrate a clear advantage over established solutions to gain traction.
Other comments delve into more specific technical aspects. One commenter raises concerns about the potential limitations of web components regarding server-side rendering and hydration. They also point out that relying on the shadow DOM can create challenges for styling, requiring the use of CSS variables or the
::partpseudo-element. This comment highlights some of the trade-offs involved in choosing web components over other approaches. Another commenter questions the choice of using strings for component names, suggesting that using JavaScript functions instead might offer better type safety and refactoring capabilities. This raises an interesting point about the design decisions made in Hyper and how they might impact developer experience.A few commenters express interest in Hyper and its approach. One notes that they have been working on a similar project and appreciates seeing other explorations in the same space. This suggests that there's a demand for simpler, more standards-compliant alternatives to React.
Overall, the comments on Hacker News reflect a cautious but engaged response to Hyper. While some express enthusiasm for the project's goals, many remain skeptical, questioning whether it offers enough benefits to outweigh the costs of adopting a new technology. The discussion highlights the ongoing debate within the web development community about the best approaches to building user interfaces and the role of frameworks and libraries in that process.