>>> [!note] Migrated issue <!-- Drupal.org comment --> <!-- Migrated from issue #2913321. --> Reported by: [lauriii](https://www.drupal.org/user/1078742) >>> <h3>Problem / Motivation</h3> <p>At DrupalCon Vienna, Dries proposed a new strategic initiative to test and research how our administrative and editorial UX could be improved by using a JavaScript framework. As a first step, we have to choose which JavaScript framework will be used as part of the research.</p> <h3>Proposed resolution</h3> <p>I discussed this with other core committers, all of the JavaScript subsystem maintainers, the Project Lead, and developers with real-world experience building decoupled applications using Drupal&rsquo;s API&rsquo;s. The group appointed me (lauriii) to make the final decision, as the core framework manager who specializes in JavaScript.</p> <p>We all agreed that:</p> <ul> <li>There is an imperative to solve Drupal's UX problems.</li> <li>Drupal is now in a better position to leverage a JavaScript framework to solve some of these problems.</li> <li>We need to continue researching this before making a final decision.</li> <li>We want to have sufficient real-use experience to make a final decision prior to 8.6.0&rsquo;s development period (Q1 2018.)</li> </ul> <p>In the same discussion, we decided it would be more productive to choose one framework to research. Alternatives may be researched in parallel, by other contributors, but the core team will focus on the chosen framework.</p> <p>Several options were discussed, and the unanimous consensus was React.</p> <h3>Next steps</h3> <ul> <li>Gauge community interest, and flesh out any hard blockers (this issue.)</li> <li>Create a &ldquo;proof of concept&rdquo; project in React (Database Logging UI, for example) to give the core team real-world experience developing Drupal core features with React. This work will be done in a contrib project, leaving open the possibility to reverse course or experiment with alternatives.</li> <li>Identify changes to our supporting infrastructure, (e.g. do we need new/changed build tools for packaging, testing infrastructure, etc.) </li> <li>Research release cycle, and develop a plan. </li> </ul> <h3>Your feedback</h3> <p>Feedback is vital for our next steps. We would like to hear from you about your experience with React. The good, the bad, and the ugly. We want to get a sense of the broader community&rsquo;s feeling about this direction, and ensure we catch any hard blockers, prior to locking it in.</p> <p>Please keep discussion focused on whether or not React would be a viable solution for Drupal, not the promotion other frameworks.</p> <p><strong>Discussion will remain open until 23.10.2017</strong>, after which a decision will be made how best to move forward into an experimentation phase.</p> <h3>Benefits of React</h3> <ul> <li>Large ecosystem of over 16 000 libraries.</li> <li>Very active and friendly community of over 1000 developers.</li> <li>Proven maturity as a project, and backed by a community with a vested interest in its viability as a project.</li> <li>Used by other big projects such as Facebook, WordPress, TYPO3, The New York Times and Airbnb.</li> <li>Licensing concerns of the past have been resolved (now MIT).</li> <li>This move will embrace frontend development trends from the broader web development world and bring them into Drupal.</li> <li>Improve career options for classical Drupal developers</li> </ul> <h3>Challenges</h3> <ul> <li>React&rsquo;s release cycles are faster than ours, and we need to be able to accommodate this.</li> <li>Theming experience for decoupled UIs will change, and use React&rsquo;s approach instead of what we currently have.</li> <li>Modularity.</li> </ul> <h3>Getting started with React</h3> <p>React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces. It is maintained by Facebook, Instagram and a community of individual developers and corporations.</p> <p>If you&rsquo;re new to React, here are some great resources on how to learn it:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://reactjs.org/tutorial/tutorial.html">https://reactjs.org/tutorial/tutorial.html</a></li> <li><a href="http://buildwithreact.com/tutorial">http://buildwithreact.com/tutorial</a></li> <li><a href="http://jamesknelson.com/learn-raw-react-no-jsx-flux-es6-webpack/">http://jamesknelson.com/learn-raw-react-no-jsx-flux-es6-webpack/</a></li> </ul> <h3>Further reading</h3> <ul> <li>"<a href="https://dri.es/drupal-looking-to-adopt-react">Drupal looking to adopt React</a>" (Dries Buytaert)</li> </ul> <h3>Alternative approaches</h3> <ul> <li><span class="drupalorg-gitlab-issue-link project-issue-status-info project-issue-status-5"><a href="https://www.drupal.org/project/ideas/issues/2913628" title="Status: Closed (won't fix)">#2913628: Proposal to use Vue.js for building Drupal&rsquo;s administrative UIs</a></span></li> </ul> <h3>Sign-offs</h3> <ul> <li>Dries (Core Product Manager, Project Lead)</li> <li>lauriii (Core Front-End Framework Manager)</li> <li>effulgentsia (Core Framework Manager, Technical Working Group)</li> <li>xjm (Core Release Manager)</li> <li>yoroy (Core Product Manager)</li> <li>webchick (Core Product Manager)</li> <li>droplet (Core JavaScript subsystem maintainer)</li> <li>drpal (Core JavaScript subsystem maintainer)</li> <li>nod_ (Core JavaScript subsystem maintainer)</li> <li>dawehner (top core contributor)</li> <li>eatings (Technical Advisor)</li> <li>hampercm (Technical Advisor)</li> <li>justafish (Technical Advisor)</li> <li>prestonso (Technical Advisor)</li> </ul> > Related issue: [Issue #2675320](https://www.drupal.org/node/2675320) > Related issue: [Issue #2815199](https://www.drupal.org/node/2815199) > Related issue: [Issue #2918868](https://www.drupal.org/node/2918868) > Related issue: [Issue #1787222](https://www.drupal.org/node/1787222) > Related issue: [Issue #2920196](https://www.drupal.org/node/2920196)