Sunday, December 15, 2024

Howdy folks, I don't typically send these out on a Sunday, but I figure at this point in the frazzled stretch leading up to the holidays it probably doesn't matter when I send it. You're lucky to get it! 😅

Are you a web developer? Enjoy focusing your efforts on “vanilla” tech? Make sure you don't miss another issue of That HTML Blog:

In the process of working on an end-of-year list of my favorite new Web Platform features, I found this awesome Web Platform Status dashboard which not only shows at-a-glance data from the Baseline initiative, you can filter the data based on a wide variety of criteria. So I looked up the features which entered Baseline this year, and while not as impressive a list as last year, it's still quite a set. More details to follow, but I'll spill the beans on my top choice: Declarative Shadow DOM, which was finally available polyfill-free in all browsers following the release of Firefox 123 in February 2024. 🙌

Speaking of things that finally work…

🔗 Oh Happy Day! React Finally Speaks Web Components

Our long industry-wide nightmare is over. 😂

I put together a couple of fun little CodePen demos showing off this new React 19 support for WCs:

• Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean! — This showcases how useState and useEffect within a React component can directly modify a web component in real-time, as well as the ability to bind to custom events dispatched by the custom element.
• A Heartml Counter — Yes, I have been chipping away on a Lit competitor of a sort, and it works with React 19 just fine! (shh, don’t tell anyone… 😉)

Speaking of web components…

🔗 There’s a New Custom Element Superclass on the Block

It’s always a good day when I learn about a new library to aid in authoring web components. And this time around, I got a tip in my inbox about a new kid on the block, Reactive Mastro.

For folks who are Intuitive+ members, I'm sending out a bonus issue of That HTML Blog in just the next few days. If you aren't yet a member, why wait? For small monthly or twice-annual subscription, you can support my independent writing here and on other superlative newsletters such as Cycles Hyped No More. I don't do ads…ever, so your direct support is literally the only way I can keep promoting vanilla-first web development here and beyond.

Thank you & Happy Holidays! 🙏🌟

Cheers,
Jared ✌️

🤔🌩️ Things that make you think: 💡😃

Be inclusive, be kind, be transparent and contribute to a better web. We have ample evidence of what doesn't work, of things that have gone wrong and we can take carefully considered steps towards something better.

💬 Cory Dransfeldt