Don’t let JS turmoil stop you from learning
I have been reluctant to learn a modern JS framework because the network has felt too volatile for me to make a jump, and I really don’t see a point in learning something until I decide to use it in my daily workflow. I invest my time in getting really good at the tools I use instead of pretty good at a bunch of different tools.
Once the community makes this decision, I have a solid reason to learn one of these frameworks. Until then, I’ll just stick with jQuery, even though I dislike it.
This is not an uncommon sentiment, so I thought it would be useful to share my response:
The counter to this is that a number of the frameworks share concepts that are broadly applicable. Understanding what a component is applies to React, Vue, Angular and others. The knowledge transfers, even if the specific implementations are different between them, so there isn’t a reason to avoid learning one. Understanding React makes learning Vue easier, and gives you a better sense of what trade-offs are made when choosing one over the other.
Also, many of these frameworks follow a similar Flux-y pattern (actions up, data down), which is additional knowledge that again transfers regardless of framework. The volatility in the JS community has settled down since a few years ago, and these concepts are broadly applicable, so I’d highly recommend picking one (usually React) and learning it as much for its concepts/approaches as its specific implementation.