hx-pod Brock Benson - From vuejs to htmx: the good, the bad, and the ugly
Feb 20, 2025
Brock Benson, creator of Mayples and a seasoned developer, shares his journey of rewriting a VueJS app into HTMX. He discusses the challenges and breakthroughs encountered, such as navigating caching complexities and improving user experience through innovative strategies. Brock emphasizes the importance of business context in development, revealing how understanding user needs influenced his approach. He also compares the frameworks, offering insights on performance, maintainability, and the trade-offs of functionality over aesthetics.
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Rewriting a Large App
- Brock Benson rewrote a large Vue.js app to HTMX, driven by Vue 2's end-of-life and performance issues.
- The app, akin to "TurboTax for business valuation," handles complex financial models and document processing.
Easier Rewrite, Unexpected Features
- Brock found rewriting in HTMX easier due to existing backend code and a preference for simpler frontends.
- The HTMX version even gained new features due to backend data accessibility.
Learning by Doing, Caching Challenges
- Brock's learning process was driven by practical needs, focusing on replicating existing functionality in HTMX.
- Caching became a major challenge due to the need for both performance and data consistency.