Vite is Neat
31 Jan 2023
I spoke at NebraskaJS about Vite:
Aside from a scratchy voice initially (and having to present remotely due to a Covid recovery), it went well! I was excited to share my excitement for ES Module-centric toolchains, and the speed they afford day-to-day development.
As an example of a Vite-driven website, I showcased the GPS bike tracking website, which used Vite on its frontend. The UI isn't especially complicated, but it demonstrates the flexibility tools like Vite afford. I didn't need a full framework, and most of the functionality was Vanilla JS, along with a few geospatial tools and a mapping library.
Simply going toolchainless and using skypack might have been the easiest approach, but I still wanted some type-safety for the code I was authoring, and Vite offered an easy way to integrate TypeScript.
I do wonder if Vite and its tools are just steps along the path toward full buildless development. It's exciting to see tools embracing new primitives, while also meeting developers where they're at, and enabling productivity along the way.