Framework · 2021–now · Platform Wars
SolidJS
Fine-grained reactivity without a virtual DOM. The framework perf nerds cite when explaining why React rerenders hurt.
SolidJS stuck in admiration because signals and compile-time optimization deliver measurable wins on benchmarks. Adoption stalled because React owns hiring, libraries, and employer risk tolerance. Being right about performance does not beat being default.
Context
Frameworks fought for the runtime
Front-end frameworks consolidated power; TypeScript became table stakes; Next and friends absorbed routing, data, and deploy gravity. Serverless and Jamstack rebranded old ideas with better CDNs, then cooled when auth and personalization refused to stay static. Blockchain-for-CRUD and big-bang rewrites collected dumb budgets. The winners were boring platforms with ecosystems — React gravity, Rust where systems care, Vite for greenfield bundling. The losers were narratives that skipped product-market fit or treated every App Router rewrite as destiny.
Compare with
Related
Framework · 2013–now
React
Components and unidirectional data. Won the front-end by being good enough and having a gravitational ecosystem.
Framework · 2016–now
Svelte / SvelteKit
Compile away the framework. Less runtime theater, more shipped HTML — including this site.
Framework · 2014–now
Vue
Progressive framework with a friendlier learning curve. Steady share without the cult volume.