> I wonder if it's the case that many people on HN are just used to some completely different libraries and thus are coming in to React with a completely different mental model? And that's the cause of this sentiment being so common here.
Nope. For me React was the first frontend framework I learned. The mental model of Class components was really easy to understand. I have since "learned" hooks, but they are a constant source of mental exertion for me, and it's very easy to make mistakes. Kind of like all the other "improvements" that they brought to React since Class components.
You might be interested in learning the reason hooks were invented [0]. I also use hooks in Flutter via a separate package and its creator made a great GitHub issue talking about exactly why class components cannot replicate the hook model [1], simply due to the limitations of how classes work. The code is in Dart but it's simple enough to grasp if you know JS and class concepts in general like overrides and mixins.
I do not get that class components are in any way simpler. Before, you had to think about explicit configuration states during the components entire lifecycle. Now, you just... don't?
Previously everything was explicitly in your code. Now everything is done with "magic" outside your code. You're saying that this is better because now I "don't have to think about it". But I do! When something doesn't work, you have to figure it out. It's easier to debug code that you can see and reason with, and more difficult to debug a black box that behaves in mysterious and unexplainable ways.
What you're probably thinking is "it's faster to write a TODO example app with hooks". That's not really relevant for actual software development.
It seems that framework creators are constantly making tradeoffs where they are making the easy things easier at the expense of making the hard things harder. That's the wrong tradeoff to make.
Nope. For me React was the first frontend framework I learned. The mental model of Class components was really easy to understand. I have since "learned" hooks, but they are a constant source of mental exertion for me, and it's very easy to make mistakes. Kind of like all the other "improvements" that they brought to React since Class components.