Can You Answer The Question Without The Framework
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Friday, 18th May 2012
I love Stack Overflow and I regularly contribute and find answers there. Most of the time the quality of answers on Stack is much higher than the quality of answers elsewhere because the community helps to float the better answers to the top of the thread (although sometimes they float the copy of the best answer that was posted 12 hours later - but I'm not bitter about that).
There is, however, a strange phenomena that I have noticed, especially in responses to questions about JavaScript. People can't actually answer a pure JavaScript question without using jQuery (or Prototype or MooTools).
In fact, anyone who wants an answer that specifically shouldn't use a framework is told not to re-invent the wheel (even though sometimes we should re-invent the wheel, because otherwise our cars would all be running on wooden ones still) - so in order to implement their small requirement, they have to include a 32kb library with hundreds of features that they won't use.
Many people argue that 32kb isn't very much, but actually jQuery isn't 32kb because you will inevitably add various plugins that do exactly what you need.
If your first reaction to a problem is to grab hold of a framework, you are keeping yourself in the dark - not just because you are letting it do things that perhaps you should learn for yourself, but because you are probably reaching for the same framework each time and it might not be the best tool for the job.
The decision to use a framework should be a considered move. You should know exactly what problem the framework is solving for you and at what cost. You shouldn't be turning to a framework just because you rely on its magic to perform a task you cannot work out for yourself.
So the next time you reach for your favourite framework, whatever language you are using, think about solving your own problem first without using the framework. If you still think the framework is the appropriate solution, spend time learning what it does under the hood so you aren't turned into a framework-idiot.