The Stack Overflow Podcast How a creator of React is rethinking IDEs
Nov 1, 2024
Tom Okino, Chief Product Officer at Vercel and a key figure in React's creation at Facebook, shares his journey from a tech-savvy child to a pioneer in software development. He highlights the evolution of React from an internal tool to a beloved open-source project. The conversation dives into Next.js advancements and the balance between simplicity and complexity. Tom also discusses the transformative role of generative AI in software development and reimagining IDEs to enhance coding workflows with more interactive features.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Tom Okino's Web Development Journey
- Tom Okino's passion for web development started with tinkering on the family computer.
- This led him to learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, eventually landing a job at Facebook in 2009.
Early Days of React at Facebook
- At Facebook, Tom Okino initially worked on user-facing products like the "What's on your mind" box and search mentions.
- He transitioned to management within a product infrastructure team, where early React development began.
React's Evolution
- React's initial purpose was to manage large applications internally at Facebook.
- Open-sourcing React was initially met with internal resistance and external confusion.