I also recoiled at the complexity of React, Docker, etc. and went a different path: I basically moved all the code to the server and added a way to "project" the UI to the browser. From the program's perspective, you think you're just showing GUI controls on a local screen. There is no client/server split. Under the covers, the platform talks to some JavaScript on the browser to render the controls.
This works well for me since I grew up programming on Windows PCs, where you have full control over the machine. Check it out if you're interested: https://gridwhale.com.
I think pushing code to the server via HTMX and treating the browser like a dumb terminal has the same kind of advantage: you only have to worry about one system.
Fundamentally, IMHO, the client/server split is where all the complexity happens. If you're writing two programs, on the client and one on the server, you're basically creating a distributed system, which we know is very hard.
I also recoiled at the complexity of React, Docker, etc. and went a different path: I basically moved all the code to the server and added a way to "project" the UI to the browser. From the program's perspective, you think you're just showing GUI controls on a local screen. There is no client/server split. Under the covers, the platform talks to some JavaScript on the browser to render the controls.
This works well for me since I grew up programming on Windows PCs, where you have full control over the machine. Check it out if you're interested: https://gridwhale.com.
I think pushing code to the server via HTMX and treating the browser like a dumb terminal has the same kind of advantage: you only have to worry about one system.
Fundamentally, IMHO, the client/server split is where all the complexity happens. If you're writing two programs, on the client and one on the server, you're basically creating a distributed system, which we know is very hard.