React completely changed the way I thought about rich clients. It took me a little longer than 2 days, I went into React with an absolute hatred of anything Javascript and came out 2 weeks later loving it. There is something to be said for a library that can wash away over 10 years of built up anger for a particular technology. It's not just another revamped library thrown into the frying pan, it's a complete rethink of how rich clients can be developed almost effortlessly with code that anyone can read. When I got into react, all I could think was "yes, this makes sense, this is how it should have been all along." Moving into the future I expect most libraries will unify under the concepts introduced by React in the same way that most web applications frameworks are different flavors of MVC.
You are absolutely right. Which is why I'm so excited about Angular2. It's the first post-React client-side framework to come along. (as opposed to React which is more of a library than a framework, although it definitely pushes the boundaries of that...)
Technically you're right - it is post-React. But in order for it to really have learned from React I think we'd have to wait a little while longer, because the industry is still learning what React and Flux can really bring to the table. For me, one of those things is simplicity, and that's something that I feel Angular sorely lacks.
Given the choice between two solutions capable of helping you solve a problem, why would you ever choose a framework over a library? I would never choose a framework when a library suffices.
It's not really a post-React framework though, it has been designed at the same time as React was starting to take mind share so it's not clear if they have built something that responds to what React + Flux provide.
React completely changed the way I thought about rich clients. It took me a little longer than 2 days, I went into React with an absolute hatred of anything Javascript and came out 2 weeks later loving it. There is something to be said for a library that can wash away over 10 years of built up anger for a particular technology. It's not just another revamped library thrown into the frying pan, it's a complete rethink of how rich clients can be developed almost effortlessly with code that anyone can read. When I got into react, all I could think was "yes, this makes sense, this is how it should have been all along." Moving into the future I expect most libraries will unify under the concepts introduced by React in the same way that most web applications frameworks are different flavors of MVC.