🧠 50 Outstanding WebDev Articles
Published: 2024-06-25 07:57:08

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This year I started a new series on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/florian-rappl/) - "Advanced Links for Frontend". Each issue has 10 links to outstanding posts / articles. This bundle contains the links from the last 5 issues (issue 36 to issue 40).

I hope you enjoy this collection. Let me know in the comments which of these articles is your favorite (and why).

## Issue 36

1. Open sourcing graphql-query: 8.7x faster GraphQL query parser written in Rust (https://stellate.co/blog/graphql-query-parsing-8x-faster-with-rust) by Jovi De Croock
I guess the fastest way to serve GraphQL is to not use it.

2. Million Lint is now 1.0-rc (https://million.dev/blog/lint-rc) by Aiden Bai et al.
This might be even more important than the React Compiler.

3. Incremental Path to React 19: React Conf Follow-Up (https://remix.run/blog/incremental-path-to-react-19) by Ryan Florence
The Remix team is still releasing great stuff, but there arch enemy is also around the door ...

4. Next.js 15 RC (https://nextjs.org/blog/next-15-rc) by Delba de Oliveira and Zack Tanner
... and is making good progress on their next release.

5. An interactive study of queueing strategies (https://encore.dev/blog/queueing) by Sam Rose
Love this one!

6. The internet is full of broken links (https://sherwood.news/tech/the-internet-is-full-of-broken-links/) by Tom Jones
Unfortunately, keeping links alive is an underrated and underpaid endeavor.

7. JetBrains AI Assistant for JavaScript Developers – WebStorm (https://blog.jetbrains.com/webstorm/2024/05/ai-assistant-for-javascript-developers/) by Ekaterina Ryabuhka
Really awesome stuff - I cannot recommend this enough!

8. Angular 18 released, including the ‘same library used by Google Search’ thanks to Wiz merger (https://devclass.com/2024/05/23/angular-18-released-including-the-same-library-used-by-google-search-thanks-to-wiz-merger/) by Tim Anderson
So far I fail to see what the big fuzz is about. Are we zoneless yet?!

9. We’ve Got Container Queries Now, But Are We Actually Using Them? (https://frontendmasters.com/blog/weve-got-container-queries-now-but-are-we-actually-using-them/) by Chris Coyier
As long as we don't have full browser support I don't think we'll use them.

10. Modern CSS Layouts: You Might Not Need A Framework For That (https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2024/05/modern-css-layouts-no-framework-needed/) by Brech De Ruyte
Replace "might" with "do".

## Issue 37

1. Astro 4.9 (https://astro.build/blog/astro-490/) by Astro Team
Container API and React 19 support - what else is there to desire?!

2. Speeding up the JavaScript ecosystem - Server Side JSX (https://marvinh.dev/blog/speeding-up-javascript-ecosystem-part-9/) by Marvin Hagemeister
Nearly a 10x speedup - more than I expected. Great job!

3. Old Dogs, new CSS Tricks (https://mxb.dev/blog/old-dogs-new-css-tricks/) by Max Böck
Good selection and great read!

4. A case study of CSR (https://github.com/theninthsky/client-side-rendering) by Almog Gabay
If you care about the client then the techniques in the case study are a must to know.

5. React 19 lets you write impossible components (https://www.mux.com/blog/react-19-server-components-and-actions) by Darius Cepulis
Well, they are possible now.

6. Data storage for front-end JavaScript (https://www.infoworld.com/article/3715464/data-storage-for-front-end-javascript.html) by Matthew Tyson
When I read something like this I am always sad that WebSQL died.

7. Why, after 6 years, I’m over GraphQL (https://bessey.dev/blog/2024/05/24/why-im-over-graphql/) by Matt Bessey
I was over GraphQL 6 years ago. Never looked back.

8. Write SOLID React Hooks (https://dev.to/perssondennis/write-solid-react-hooks-436o) by @perssondennis 
There is a certain art to writing a great React Hook.

9. An even faster Microsoft Edge (https://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2024/05/28/an-even-faster-microsoft-edge/) by Microsoft Edge Team
Spoiler: It's just some functionality in Edge - not the rendering itself.

10. 3 new features to customize your performance workflows in DevTools (https://developer.chrome.com/blog/devtools-customization) by Rick Viscomi
Love all the content (and features) the Chrome DevTools team puts out.

## Issue 38

1. Announcing TypeScript 5.5 RC (https://devblogs.microsoft.com/typescript/announcing-typescript-5-5-rc/) by Daniel Rosenwasser
Time to ship it!

2. htmx: Simplicity in an Age of Complicated Solutions (https://www.erikheemskerk.nl/htmx-simplicity/) by Erik Heemskerk
Let's not forget why some solutions are so complicated...

3. The Gap (https://ishadeed.com/article/the-gap/) by Ahmad Shadeed
The gap is one of the best reasons for choosing flex and grid layouts.

4. TypeScript adds support for ECMAScript’s Set methods (https://www.infoworld.com/article/3715246/typescript-adds-support-for-ecmascripts-set-methods.html) by Paul Krill
Hell, it's about time!

5. Django dev survey shows growing use of HTMX, Tailwind CSS, background workers approved (https://devclass.com/2024/06/06/django-dev-survey-shows-growing-use-of-htmx-tailwind-css-background-workers-approved/) by Tim Anderson
I am not surprised - a Django dev does not want to mix and match.

6. CSS Length Units (https://css-tricks.com/css-length-units/) by Geoff Graham
Relative or absolute, or absolutely relative?

7. Zero-JavaScript View Transitions (https://astro.build/blog/future-of-astro-zero-js-view-transitions/) by Fred Schott
Another CSS snippet that looks innocent, but is super powerful.

8. Clean Code — A Practical Introduction in ASP.NET Core (https://www.telerik.com/blogs/clean-code-practical-introduction-aspnet-core) by Assis Zang
Clean, solid, whatever - as long as it's readable and doing it's job.

9. How to compose JavaScript functions that take multiple parameters (the epic guide) (https://jrsinclair.com/articles/2024/how-to-compose-functions-that-take-multiple-parameters-epic-guide/) by James Sinclair
Today for lunch: Curry.

10. Optimizing INP for a React App & Performance Learnings (https://www.iamtk.co/optimizing-inp-for-a-react-app-and-performance-learnings) by TK Kinoshita
One of the best articles on the topic - just great!

## Issue 39

1. I tried React Compiler today, and guess what... 😉 (https://www.developerway.com/posts/i-tried-react-compiler) by Nadia Makarevich
Was it good? Was it?! Spoiler: It's not bad.

2. How Deep is Your DOM? (https://frontendatscale.com/blog/how-deep-is-your-dom/) by Maxi Ferreira
I hope it's flat - flat is always good.

3. How React 19 (Almost) Made the Internet Slower (https://blog.codeminer42.com/how-react-19-almost-made-the-internet-slower/) by Henrique Yuji
Nah, it just almost would have made any SPA using it slower.

4. Announcing the public preview of the Microsoft AI Chat Protocol library for JavaScript (https://devblogs.microsoft.com/azure-sdk/announcing-the-public-preview-of-the-microsoft-ai-chat-protocol-library-for-javascript/) by Rohit Ganguly
So you want to integrate an AI chat in your app? Here we go...

5. How To Hack Your Google Lighthouse Scores In 2024 (https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2024/06/how-hack-google-lighthouse-scores-2024/) by Salma Alam-Naylor
It's easy: Just don't put anything in.

6. Next.js 15: Unveil New Horizons in Web Development (https://spin.atomicobject.com/next-js-15-best-features/) by Sagar Rathod
This is the one that comes with React 19.

7. Generating ZIP Files with Javascript (https://www.cjoshmartin.com/blog/creating-zip-files-with-javascript) by Josh Martin
Just follows Atwood's law: Any application that can be written in JavaScript, will eventually be written in JavaScript.

8. Blazor Basics: Blazor Render Modes in .NET 8 (https://www.telerik.com/blogs/blazor-basics-blazor-render-modes-net-8) by Claudio Bernasconi
What I would wish for is another mode that pre-computes the changes as pure JS - leaving the business logic automatically on the server.

9. Enhance Your Tailwind CSS Skills: Essential Tips and Tricks (https://dev.to/amorimjj/enhance-your-tailwind-css-skills-essential-tips-and-tricks-hp0) by @amorimjj 
Don't apply - just use.

10. Server Islands (https://astro.build/blog/future-of-astro-server-islands/) by Fred Schott
This is great, even though it's just a new name for something (partial caching) that exists already since 25+ years.

## Issue 40

1. Conditionals on Custom Properties (https://geoffgraham.me/conditionals-on-custom-properties/) by Geoff Graham
We are just a few steps away from CSS being a full programming language.

2. Blazing Fast Websites with Speculation Rules (https://www.debugbear.com/blog/speculation-rules) by Umar Hansa
This is really something else - just crazy what we can do now!

3. BEM Modifiers in Pure CSS Nesting (https://whatislove.dev/articles/bem-modifiers-in-pure-css-nesting/) by Vladyslav Zubko
Personally, I don't like BEM very much and I feel the things it should help with can be done without BEM more efficiently.

4. Experimenting with React Server Components and Vite (https://danielnagy.me/posts/Post_usaivhdu3j5d) by Daniel Nagy
I am surprised that RSC still requires so much implementation details. Is this complexity on purpose?!

5. htmx 2.0.0 has been released! (https://htmx.org/posts/2024-06-17-htmx-2-0-0-is-released/) by htmx Team
I think the list of breaking changes is not surprising. Well done!

6. Inline conditionals in CSS, now? (https://lea.verou.me/blog/2024/css-conditionals-now/) by Lea Verou
There we go again - back to (1).

7. Mobx Memoizes Components (https://www.mikejohnson.dev/posts/2024/06/mobx-react-compiler) by Mike Johnson
Spoiler: The React compiler might be less useful than you think.

8. Spread Grid (https://spread-grid.tomasz-rewak.com) by Tomasz Rewak
Really awesome lib - a job well done!

9. The Demise of the Mildly Dynamic Website (https://www.devever.net/%7Ehl/mildlydynamic) by Hugo Landau
Even though these days might be over, the websites that still live from that era are providing value to this day.

10. Mocking is an Anti Pattern (https://www.amazingcto.com/mocking-is-an-antipattern-how-to-test-without-mocking/) by Stephan Schmidt
I tend to agree. For Picard I'll also only use non-mocked unit tests and end-to-end tests.

## Conclusion

These are all outstanding articles by masterful authors. I enjoyed reading them all - I hope you did find something in there, too.

👉 Follow me on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/florian-rappl/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/FlorianRappl), or here for more to come.

🙏 Thanks to all the authors and contributors for their hard work!