In the tech community, it is often heard that ideas are worthless and execution is the most important. I agree with this statement because having a great idea is useless without taking actual action.
However, my perspective has gradually changed recently. Although engineers should have a solid foundation, it seems like every day there are discussions about the internal implementation of certain frameworks, new frameworks emerging, and someone using a specific technology to build a ToDo App. While this technical exchange may seem vibrant and diverse, does it really bring about any significant changes outside the software development ecosystem?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that these things are unimportant or uninteresting. Frameworks like React have indeed revolutionized front-end development and made us rethink the essence of front-end engineering. Each person has their own career choices, such as clarifying requirements, writing maintainable and well-developed code, and exploring the fundamentals of computer science, which are all essential for engineers. I myself will continue to study technology as much as possible in my spare time.
However, what I feel more often now is that whenever we encounter a simple requirement, we tend to over-engineer it as much as possible. Functionality becomes less important, and it is preferred to start with React, Angular, or Vue in front-end development. It is also expected to have CI/CD, SSR, DevOps, various third-party integrations, linters, webpack, and then we can talk about the actual functionality.
With the advancement of more and more tools like Heroku, Netlify, ZEIT, AWS Lambda, and various cloud services, it no longer requires a lot of time to build a decent product. It is not like the old days where everything had to be built from scratch. Even CMS tools like WordPress, with some online tutorials and a stable server, can provide faster and more stable website performance than spending a month building everything from scratch.
Here are a few examples that come to mind:
Github
An example that was shared by a senior colleague is Github.
Do you remember the article where Github removed jQuery from their frontend? It emphasized the progress of modern browsers and how they can handle more advanced APIs, so Github gradually phased out the use of jQuery.
Since then, I haven't heard of Github adopting any new frameworks. However, if you carefully examine Github's UI and user experience, although it may not be perfect, it is stable and user-friendly, and it is used by developers from all over the world.
Behind the scenes, it is powered by Ruby on Rails, which has been criticized by engineers. The front-end part is not built with trendy frameworks like React or Vue, but rather with custom elements.
The services and value provided by Github have become an indispensable part of a software engineer's life.
Mask System
Now let's talk about the mask system. When it was first launched, there were a lot of complaints about its usability and ugly UI.
I believe that engineers who have worked with legacy code systems can easily understand this situation. The goal today is to solve the immediate problem. If we insist on making everything perfect, the end result will be nothing.
This is also a great example of iteration. First, deliver the feasible features to address the immediate needs and satisfy the users. Then, make adjustments based on the requirements.
Moreover, this feature of ordering masks with the real-name system and purchasing them online is a great idea, and it indeed solves the needs of certain users.
Good Chord Subtitles
A few weeks ago, I mentioned the Good Chord Subtitles program as an example in the rise of creators and coding.
Good Chord used simple code and p5.js to create a prototype that helped solve the problem of adding subtitles to videos. This may not be a difficult task, but has anyone thought of using this approach to create subtitles and actually implemented it?
Liuzhiyuan
A few weeks ago, Liuzhiyuan also released a video where he used CSS animation and Google Sheets to create animations. Although it is a simple idea, the video effect looks really cool. Seeing these examples often makes me marvel and think, "Wow! Such a simple approach can achieve such great results. Why didn't I know about it?"
In fact, there are many more examples, but here I just wanted to point out that ideas are still important, especially as devices and technology continue to advance, and the threshold for bringing ideas to life is getting lower. As long as you are willing to take action, even as an amateur, you can achieve results.