A presentation at Codemotion in in Milan, Metropolitan City of Milan, Italy by Horacio Gonzalez
24-25 October, 2019 #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
24-25 October, 2019 Are Web Components the Betamax of web development? Horacio Gonzalez @LostInBrittany #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Who are we? Introducing myself and introducing OVHcloud #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Horacio Gonzalez @LostInBrittany Spaniard lost in Brittany. Developer, speaker, dreamer, geek Flutter #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
OVHcloud: A Global Leader 200k Private cloud VMs running 1 Dedicated IaaS Europe 30 Datacenters Own 20Tbps Hosting capacity : 1.3M Physical Servers 360k Servers already deployed Netwok with 35 PoPs
1.3M Customers in 138 Countries #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
OVHcloud: Our solutions Cloud Web Hosting Mobile Hosting Telecom VPS Containers ▪ Dedicated Server Domain names VoIP Public Cloud Compute ▪ Data Storage Email SMS/Fax Private Cloud ▪ Network and Database CDN Virtual desktop Serveur dédié Security Object Storage Web hosting Cloud Storage Over the Box ▪ Licences Cloud Desktop Securities MS Office Hybrid Cloud Messaging MS solutions #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
The 3 minutes context What the heck are web component? #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Web Components Web standard W3C #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Web Components Available in all modern browsers: Firefox, Safari, Chrome #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Web Components Create your own HTML tags Encapsulating look and behavior #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Web Components Fully interoperable With other web components, with any framework #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Web Components CUSTOM ELEMENTS SHADOW DOM #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents TEMPLATES @LostInBrittany
Custom Element To define your own HTML tag
<body> … <script> window.customElements.define(‘my-element’, class extends HTMLElement {…}); </script> <my-element></my-element> </body> #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittanyShadow DOM To encapsulate subtree and style in an element <button>Hello, world!</button> <script> var host = document.querySelector(‘button’); const shadowRoot = host.attachShadow({mode:’open’}); shadowRoot.textContent = ‘こんにちは、影の世界!’; </script> #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Template To have clonable document template <template id=”mytemplate”> <img src=”” alt=”great image”> <div class=”comment”></div> </template> var t = document.querySelector(‘#mytemplate’); // Populate the src at runtime. t.content.querySelector(‘img’).src = ‘logo.png’; var clone = document.importNode(t.content, true); document.body.appendChild(clone); #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
But in fact, it’s just an element… ● ● ● ● Attributes Properties Methods Events #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Sometimes I feel a bit grumpy The stories of the grumpy old speaker… #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
On Web Components tour since 2014 #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Image: bu.edu Web components == Revolution #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Images: BitRebels & Brickset Building a world brick by brick #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Is the promise unfulfilled? It’s 2019 now, where is your revolution, dude? #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
And, even worse, several months ago Hey, dude, your Web Components thing is like Betamax Even if it was a better solution, market has already chosen, React has won, as VHS did… #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Hey, old man, WTF is a Betamax? A videocassette guide for Millenials #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
At the beginning there was the TV And public saw it was good… #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
But how to keep your favorite show forever? Sony VTR CV-2000 - Image credit LabGuy’s World The VTR was born, somewhere in the 1960s #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
From videotape to videocassette… Sony U-matic - Image credit MKH Electronics U-matic cassette - Image credit PSAP And then to mass market, sometime in the 1970s #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Each vendor proposed their solution Sony’s Betamax - Image credit PSAP JVC’s VHS - Image credit PSAP Cassettes aren’t so different from JS frameworks after all… #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
#CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
There was a format war So fierce that it has its own Wikipedia page #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Betamax was a superior format Higher quality recorders, better resolution, slightly superior sound, and more stable image #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
But the market decided otherwise And Betamax, even if superior, failed… #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
As usual, the winner took it all Until a new arrival entered in scene, the DVD… But that’s another story for another talk #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Why did Betamax failed? Spoiler: it isn’t so simple… #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Betamax was believed to be superior In the minds of the public and press #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
But consumers wanted an affordable VCR Betamax costed hundreds of dollars more #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
They also wanted to record a full movie Originally Betamax cassettes only recorded 1 hour #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
And compatibility weighted on VHS side Many licencees offered VHS VCRs #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Are Web Components like Betamax? A perceived superior alternative destined to fail? #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
It could be even the opposite… Web components are maybe the VHS of JS #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Compatibility is on Web Components side Web Components everywhere, baby! #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Do you remember AngularJS? And all the code put in the trash bin when Angular arrived… #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
The pain of switching frameworks? Rewriting once again your code… #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
The impossibility of sharing UI code? Between apps written with different frameworks #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Web Components change that In a clean and standard way #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
They are indeed a revolution But it’s a silent one… #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
They are there, in everyday sites More than you can imagine #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
The components architecture won Components, components everywhere #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Web components ARE platform Truly part of the platform… #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Aren’t the multiple Web Components libs a sign of failure? If the standard worked, people would use Vanilla, wouldn’t them? #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Web component standard is low level At it should be! #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Standard == basic bricks Standard exposes an API to: ○ Define elements ○ Encapsulate DOM #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Libraries are helpers They give you higher-level primitives #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Different high-level primitives Each one tailored to a use #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Sharing the same base High-performant, low-level, in-the-platform web components standard #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Libraries aren’t a failure of standard They happen by design #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Stencil Powering Ionic 4 #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Not another library A Web Component compiler #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Not a beta anymore Ionic 4 released, powered by Stencil! #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
A build time tool To generate standard web components #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Fully featured ● Virtual DOM ● Async rendering ● Reactive data-binding ● TypeScript ● JSX #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
And the cherry on the cake Server-Side Rendering #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Polymer Is the old player still alive? #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Polymer evolved again in 2018 Image: © Nintendo Polymer 3 was here! #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
What’s Polymer status today? Well, how could I say… it’s complicated #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
It seems it’s going to be deprecated… Technically yes… and that means good news! #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Let’s try to see clearer Let’s dive into Polymer history… #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
A tool built for another paradigm No web component support on browsers No React, Angular or Vue innovations #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
No so well suited for the current one The current platform is way more powerful The state of art has evolved #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Let’s learn from its lessons The current platform is way more powerful The state of art has evolved #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
And let it rest… There will have no Polymer 4… #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
So Polymer as we know it is dead… But the Polymer Project is indeed alive! #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
But I have invested so much on it! What to do? #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
That’s why web components are top You can keep using all your Polymer components and create the new ones with a new library… And it simply works! #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
And without metaphors? Polymer Project != Polymer library Polymer Project well alive Polymer library was only one library #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
LitElement New kid on the block #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Born from the Polymer team For the new web paradigm #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Modern lightweight web components For the new web paradigm #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Based on lit-html An efficient, expressive, extensible HTML templating library for JavaScript #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Do you know tagged templates? function uppercaseExpression(strings, …expressionValues) { var finalString = ” for ( let i = 0; i < strings.length; i++ ) { if (i > 0) { finalString += expressionValues[i - 1].toUpperCase() } finalString += strings[i] } return finalString } const
expressions = [ ‘Tours’, ‘Touraine Tech’,
‘Thank you’];
console.log( uppercaseExpressionI am so happy to be in ${expressions[0]} for ${expressions[1]} again! ${expressions[2]}, ${expressions[1]}! )
Little known functionality of template literals #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents
@LostInBrittany
lit-html Templates
let myTemplate = (data) => html<h1>${data.title}</h1> <p>${data.body}</p>;
Lazily rendered Generates a TemplateResult #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents
@LostInBrittany
It’s a bit like JSX, isn’t it? The good sides of JSX… but in the standard! #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
LitElement import { LitElement, html } from ‘lit-element’; // Create your custom component class CustomGreeting extends LitElement { // Declare properties static get properties() { return { name: { type: String } }; } // Initialize properties constructor() { super(); this.name = ‘World’; } // Define a template render() { return html<p>Hello, ${this.name}!</p>; } } // Register the element with the browser customElements.define(‘custom-greeting’, CustomGreeting);
Lightweight web-components using lit-html #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents
@LostInBrittany
One more thing…* Let’s copy from the master #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Polymer is not important WebComponents ARE #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Use the Platform, Luke… WebComponents ARE native #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Do you love your framework? Oh yeah, we all do #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Would you marry your framework? Like until death… #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
How much does cost the divorce? Do you remember when you dropped AngularJS for Angular? #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Why recode everything again? Reuse the bricks in your new framework #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Lots of web components libraries LitElement SkateJS For different need and sensibilities #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
And some good news Angular Elements Vue Web Component Wrapper Frameworks begin to understand it #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
So for your next app Choose a framework, no problem… But please, help your future self Use Web Components! #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
Conclusion That’s all, folks! #CodemotionMilan19 #WebComponents @LostInBrittany
I have been speaking and writing about web components for years, and last year in a conference somebody asked me a question that hurt: “After all this time, do you still believe in Web Components? React has won, man, and your Web Components will go down the way of Betamax…”. In this talk we will see that in 2019 Web Components are far from dead, they are part of the platform, used everywhere. The revolution has already come, but it’s a silent one. Let’s look at it together!
Here’s what was said about this presentation on social media.
