The problem with frameworks

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As anyone whose ever spoken to me will testify, I believe there are some major shortcomings with popular front-end development frameworks like Twitterā€™s Bootstrap.

Previously Iā€™ve been bothered mostly with the details, non-standard markup, overly complicated and restrictive grids or poor semantics. However, Iā€™ve recently come to realise that probably most damaging is that such frameworks deprive developers of knowledge and understanding. Let me explain.

##To learn is to understand Iā€™m sure, at some time, weā€™ve all done one of those online tutorials; ā€œbuild an uber-widget in 30 minutesā€ or similar. The value in such a tutorials is not in the end-product, but in the process of learning they give us.

With the learning comes understanding and with understanding we can build not only a facsimile Ć¼ber-widget but, more importantly, we can adapt and innovate using what we have learnt. With knowledge we can create something new, something better, perhaps even a wunder-widget.

##A hidden cost Itā€™s one thing to be given a comprehensive toolkit and a set of Ikea-like instructions about how to use it, but quite another to really understand the individual tools; how they were made, their shortcomings or how they might be improved.

Giving someone all the right tools of the trade will not make them a master carpenter. Itā€™s the same with front-end development toolkits.

My fear is that, in delivering a pre-packaged, pasteurised and homogenised frameworks, we starve not only ourselves but future developers of knowledge, understanding and real skill.

##Everyone knows this Personally, I donā€™t think that is true. I would be quite happy if everyone understood that such toolkits are, like many things in life, a compromise. You sacrifice quality, performance and understanding for the sake of speed and convenience.

I get the impression that many are under the impression that such tools are unicorns-in-a-tin, the best of the best.

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