Frontend in 2018: More consensus, less complexity

In 2017, frontend web development saw significant advancements with established frameworks like React and Angular maintaining strong community support, while Vue emerged as a popular alternative. Webpack remained the preferred build tool, and NPM continued to dominate as the package system of choice. The introduction of WebAssembly broadened the web's capabilities, while GraphQL transformed API interactions. Important updates to JavaScript included asynchronous functions and shared memory, enhancing developer experience and browser compatibility. React's major update with version 16 introduced features like fragments and error boundaries, while the community-driven RFC process opened the door for future API changes. Angular advanced with its v5 release, featuring ahead-of-time compilation and service worker integration. Meanwhile, Vue gained traction as a lightweight, component-based framework. Webpack's performance improved with version 3, but developers expressed interest in simpler, zero-configuration alternatives like Parcel. The shift towards progressive web applications, supported by Google's initiatives, aimed to improve mobile web experiences. Despite these innovations, the frontend ecosystem grappled with complexity, underscoring the need for consensus and user-friendly tools.