Over-Reacting: A Recovery Guide for React Developers

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction: Confessions of a React Developer
    • The five stages of React grief
    • Why you’re reading this book (spoiler: useEffect broke you)
    • What you’ll learn (besides healthier coping mechanisms)
  2. Vue: The Gentle Intervention
    • Reactivity that actually makes sense
    • Templates vs JSX: Why your designer stopped crying
    • Migrating from React: The methadone approach
    • Pinia vs Redux: One brings joy, guess which one
  3. Svelte: The Compiler Will See You Now
    • What if your framework just… disappeared?
    • No virtual DOM, no problem
    • Reactivity without the ceremony
    • Migration strategies (and why your bundle size will make you weep with joy)
  4. Solid.js: React’s Cooler Younger Sibling
    • JSX without the baggage
    • Fine-grained reactivity explained
    • For those who can’t quit JSX but hate re-rendering
    • Moving from React: Keep the syntax, lose the pain
  5. Angular: The Framework With Opinions (And a Therapist)
    • In defense of opinions
    • Dependency injection: Finally, someone said it
    • TypeScript: Not optional, actually good
    • When structure prevents chaos
  6. Alpine.js: When You Just Need to Sprinkle Some Magic
    • jQuery’s cool nephew who went to college
    • No build step, no npm install, no tears
    • Perfect for when React was 300kb of overkill
  7. Lit: Web Components for Adults
    • Standards-based and future-proof
    • When you’re tired of framework fatigue
    • Migration path: From React components to actual components
  8. HTMX: The Intervention You Didn’t Know You Needed
    • What if most of your JavaScript was a mistake?
    • Hypermedia-driven applications
    • For when you realize the backend was right all along
  9. Vanilla Web Standards: The Framework Was Inside You All Along
    • What if you don’t need any framework?
    • Web Components, querySelector, and Fetch API
    • The platform can do more than you think
    • When vanilla is the right choice
  10. Astro: Content Sites Don’t Need Virtual DOMs
    • Ship zero JavaScript (by default)
    • Islands architecture explained
    • Keeping React for the parts that actually need it
  11. The Great Escape: Practical Migration Strategies
    • Incremental adoption patterns
    • Rewriting without getting fired
    • Team buy-in (or how to stage an intervention)
    • Testing and rollback strategies
  12. Life After React: Finding Your New Framework Family
    • Choosing the right tool for the job
    • When React is actually the right choice (yes, really)
    • Moving forward without useEffect-induced PTSD
    • The framework-agnostic developer: final form

“I used to think useEffect made sense. Then I met Vue’s watchEffect. We don’t talk about the dark times anymore.” — A Developer in Recovery