What is HTML All The Things?
HTML All The Things is a web development podcast and discord community which was started by Matt and Mike, developers based in Ontario, Canada.
The podcast speaks to web development topics as well as running a small business, self-employment and time management. You can join them for both their successes and their struggles as they try to manage expanding their Web Development business without stretching themselves too thin.
What's This One About?
Web developers use a lot of tools to get the job done and unfortunately, those tools sometimes get dropped in favor of newer and shinier ones. In this episode Matt and Mike take a trip down memory lane to revisit and discuss some of the JavaScript tools that have since lost presence in the zeitgeist. These tools include jQuery, MomentJS, Apache Cordova, and more! Some of these tools, while not as spry as they once were, are still fully supported and have new versions in development. While they might not be exciting enough to make headlines on the daily, many are still viable tools projects depending on a project's needs, wants, and age.
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Show Notes
1. Vue Options API – The Classic Way to Write Vue (5-7 minutes)
- What It Was: The default way to write Vue apps before Vue 3 introduced the Composition API.
- Why People Loved It:
- Simple and easy to understand, especially for beginners.
- Clear separation of concerns (data, methods, computed, etc.).
- Readable, structured, and familiar for those coming from traditional MVC patterns.
- Why It’s in Decline:
- Vue 3 introduced the Composition API, which offers better logic reuse and TypeScript integration.
- The Options API can feel too rigid for complex applications.
- Many Vue tutorials and libraries are shifting toward the Composition API.
- Where It Stands Today:
- Still supported in Vue 3, but the ecosystem is moving towards Composition API.
- Many Vue developers still prefer it—so it’s not dead, but definitely fading.
2. jQuery – The OG Frontend King (6-8 minutes)
- What It Was: jQuery was the JavaScript library for DOM manipulation, AJAX, and animations.
- Why People Loved It:
- Made JavaScript actually usable in the days of vanilla JS struggles.
- Huge plugin ecosystem.
- Cross-browser support solved IE headaches.
- Why It’s in Decline:
- Modern JavaScript (ES6+), frameworks like React, and better browser APIs made it mostly unnecessary.
- Performance issues on large-scale apps.
- Where It Stands Today:
- Still lurking in legacy codebases.
- Some WordPress plugins still rely on it.
- Occasionally still useful for quick prototyping.
3. Moment.js – The King of Dates (5-7 minutes)
- What It Was: The go-to library for handling and formatting dates in JavaScript.
- Why People Loved It:
- Dealt with the nightmare that is JavaScript’s Date object.
- Easy parsing and manipulation.
- Rich set of features.
- Why It’s in Decline:
- Officially marked as “done” (no new features) in 2020.
- Heavy library size.
- Alternatives like date-fns and Luxon are more modular and performant.
- Where It Stands Today:
- Many legacy apps still use it.
- If you’re maintaining an old project, you might still run into it.
4. Cordova – JavaScript for Mobile Apps (6-8 minutes)
- What It Was: Cordova (previously PhoneGap) allowed developers to build mobile apps using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
- Why People Loved It:
- Let web developers build native-feeling apps without learning Swift or Java/Kotlin.
- Access to device APIs like camera and GPS.
- Why It’s in Decline:
- Performance issues compared to true native apps.
- React Native, Flutter, and PWAs became more popular.
- WebViews (which Cordova relied on) weren’t ideal for mobile UX.
- Where It Stands Today:
- Still used for some legacy apps and simpler mobile projects.
- Ionic (which originally used Cordova) moved to Capacitor, which is now the preferred choice.
- Apache Cordova & PhoneGap Lore
5. Bootstrap (JavaScript Side) – The OG UI Toolkit (5-7 minutes)
- What It Was: A front-end framework that provided pre-styled components and JavaScript-powered UI elements like modals and dropdowns.
- Why People Loved It:
- Rapid prototyping.
- Consistent styling with a familiar grid system.
- Built-in JS components without needing extra libraries.
- Why It’s in Decline:
- JavaScript frameworks like React, Vue, and Angular now offer their own component-based UI solutions.
- Tailwind CSS became a strong competitor, focusing on utility-first styling instead of pre-designed components.
- Performance concerns—Bootstrap’s JavaScript reliance on jQuery slowed adoption in modern projects.
- Where It Stands Today:
- The CSS side of Bootstrap is still widely used.
- The JS components are being replaced with native framework-based solutions.
Timestamps
Timestamps are machine generated - there may be some errors.
- 00:00 Welcome Back to HTML All Things Podcast
- 00:46 Introduction to JavaScript Tech We Loved
- 01:11 The Rise and Fall of jQuery
- 02:18 Supporting the Show and Announcements
- 02:47 Diving into Nostalgic JavaScript Technologies
- 04:05 The Ever-Evolving JavaScript Ecosystem
- 14:02 Vue 2 Options API: A Nostalgic Look Back
- 21:51 jQuery: The OG Front-End King
- 36:24 Monetizing with jQuery
- 37:09 The Rise and Fall of Moment.js
- 43:04 AI and Legacy Technologies
- 50:12 Cordova: From PhoneGap to Today
- 01:00:21 Bootstrap: A Front-End Framework Journey
- 01:09:38 Conclusion and Community Engagement
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