On complexity of modern software development

Time goes so fast, especially in IT world. Current complexity of modern frameworks and workflows (especially JS) is actually mind-blowing, but it looks normal to us. Did we forget how simple things can be?

In my recent side project, I decided to focus on maintainability, and write it the dumbest way. What happened next amazed me. The final project became the mix of Makefile tasks, UNIX tools, and a lot of SQL. There are no fancy frameworks, just statically generated site using templates made of `cat`, `grep` and environment variables, SQL queries (sometimes big ones) which get run using command line tools and just export all the needed data, vanilla javascript, and even no CSS frameworks. The result was fantastic: looked and felt modern. It was such a relief that I could focus just on shipping stuff.

Do we need all the complexity of the modern software development world?
And the answer is yes, but for a different reason.
Most of the frameworks and techniques created not because they are just cool and modern, it’s about politics. We have enterprises, distributed teams, bootstrappers, etc.: diversity is higher than ever. And each of those requires different workflows, and have own demands. If it works for Facebook or Microsoft, you probably should do the reverse. Just try to understand who you are and what are your real goals.

We are surrounded by extreme complexity nowadays, and it’s important to remind yourself about simple and easy tools so that you can build your own same way, and you will make this world a little bit better. Evolution will do the rest.