Very sensible commentary on software frameworks and the dichotomous debates that afflict them.
””” Using a lightweight, comprehensible framework is good, until you hit the limits of that framework and start pulling in lots more libraries to fill the gaps (the Sinatra/Cuba world). Using a heavyweight, complete library is good, until you start suffering from bugs caused by incomprehensible magic buried deep inside (the Rails world).
…
The underlying problem isn’t fashion, or bloat. It’s that software is very, very complex. Unless you’re doing hardcore embedded work in assembly language, you’re building a raft on an ocean of code you won’t read and can’t understand.
A friend of mine put it well once. He said that you should have deep understanding of systems one layer from yours (ie your frameworks), and at least a shallow understanding of things two or three layers away (operating systems, etc). “””
The last comment is similar to what I learned from the wisdom of Spolsky: Take control of one level below your primary level of abstraction.
