

Famo.us: do we really need another Javascript framework? - fvlasveld
http://www.inspire.nl/en/blog/famo-us-does-the-world-really-need-another-javascript-framework/

======
userbinator
I think another question following from this, that web developers should be
asking themselves more, is "do we really always need _a_ Javascript
framework?" I know that "web applications" are all the rage right now, and
there's this very _very_ strong dependence on Javascript, but for a lot of
purposes, a static page or form with some minor JS enhancements works really
well and degrades gracefully, which can't be said of a lot of JS-only apps.

There is a trend that's present in other areas of computing too, but I notice
it the most in web development --- the ever-increasing layers of abstraction,
just to do something that doesn't need all that complexity. Certainly there
have been _good_ web apps that make great use of HTML, CSS, and JS, but most
of the time it seems like we're finding more resource-consuming ways to
provide none to little gain in functionality.

It's especially sad when people who for various reasons cannot or will not use
the latest (mainstream) browsers with tons of features and resource
consumption, or who do not have a high-bandwidth, low-latency connection, are
essentially being locked out of easily using sites that have "upgraded", when
they would've been able to use that site to do the same thing they could've
done before (e.g. checking their bank account balance.) By all means use new
technology to _enhance_ , but don't use it to marginalise.

------
bsenftner
I think it is easy to confuse developers unfamiliar with 3D graphics into
thinking Famo.us is doing something unique, special, or new. I like the idea,
but the "amazing demos" I am seeing are just extremely basic 3D & 2D
operations, not really successfully replacing the ease of use traditional DOM
elements provide. This space will get a lot of players, now that the essential
idea is seeded in a zillion developers minds.

~~~
onion2k
The author of the rather awesome three.js demonstrated how to make Famo.us'
periodic table visualisation with his library:
[http://mrdoob.github.io/three.js/examples/css3d_periodictabl...](http://mrdoob.github.io/three.js/examples/css3d_periodictable.html)

------
kalmanolah
I knew it was only a matter of time before "flash.js" happened.

~~~
5h
That was my over-riding thought while reading the linked article and looking
around, smells like flash.

------
oleg009
Its definitely framework we need, to get more performance out of web pages,
especially with mobile in mind.

It has some really good ideas in terms of architecture and good modularized
code. (I would prefer cjs over amd)

On the other side it is very young:

1\. There are some serious issues to be fixed, f.e.
[https://github.com/Famous/famous/issues/111](https://github.com/Famous/famous/issues/111)
or
[https://github.com/Famous/famous/issues/74](https://github.com/Famous/famous/issues/74)

2\. There are no open sourced tests, I even assume there no tests at all at
the moment.

3\. They open sourced code but the development itself is closed. Its a black
box.

I really hope famo.us will change this stuff and will focus more on the core
framework and being real opensource product.

------
fsiefken
Like the late stand of Steve Jobs, if it's slow and drains the battery life of
my iPad it's evil.

So when was the last time you needed a 3D data visualisation?

When VR arrives the coming years, hardware accelerated stereoscopic in-browser
javascript, html or webgl rendering of 3d infographics, highfidelity/opensim
hypergrid clients projects like this will fulfill the promise of VRML and the
endeavours of the Web3D consortium. Projects like these will be made to good
use, but for now it seems like cool tech in search of an application.

That said, making yet another 3D or 4D version of Conway's life, lightweight
minecraft clone or stereoscopic mp3 visualiser in Famo.us would be nice pet
project. In the meantime I'll master Ember-Charts and D3.js for the fancy 2D
stuff.

------
AdrianRossouw
I'm actually quite fond of famo.us, although they definitely have a way to go.
I would not evaluate it as a finished product, but a young open source
project.

I mostly see Famo.us as a way to bypass the ever-increasing layers of
abstraction involved in CSS layout/positioning.

To understand what famo.us is and what it does, you really should read this
thread by malandrew, their employee #1.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7768900](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7768900)

------
relfor
I stopped reading when this happened: "It effectively skips the browsers
rendering engine and instead uses its own more efficient rendering engine
based on WebGL"

~~~
thealphanerd
Good thing you stopped... as that is entirely inaccurate :D

fwiw I am a famo.us employee

------
ddw
Ah OK, so the author hasn't even tried it yet. Well thanks for sharing anyway.

------
exbbc
Oh fuck off famo.us

------
waitingkuo
I'm now a full stack web developer (by meteor). With Famo.us and Phongap I can
now easily to build a cross-browser html5 app with native-like UI. In my
opinion, it's the future of agile development, especially for startups.

~~~
dasil003
I'm guessing this has to be satire.

~~~
Torn
I hope so. Poe's law, and all that

