SE Radio 671: Carson Gross on HTMX

In this episode, SE Radio host Sriram Panyam explores HTMX with
its creator, Carson Gross, who is also creator
of Hyperscript, the mind behind the Grug Brained Developer,
a professor of software engineering at Montana State University,
and co-author of Hypermedia Systems.


HTMX is a modern JavaScript library that allows developers to
access AJAX, WebSockets, CSS Transitions, and Server-Sent Events
directly in HTML using attributes. It represents a return to
hypermedia-driven application architecture while supporting
modern user experiences. The episode starts with a look at the
current complexity in web development and how HTMX offers an
alternative approach. Carson explains the core philosophy of
"HTML as the interface" and how hypermedia principles influenced
HTMX's design. From there, they dive into HTMX's technical
concepts, including its attribute system, server-side
integration, event handling, and state management approach.


Carson shares some real-world implementation strategies,
including migration paths from JavaScript frameworks,
architectural patterns, and performance considerations -- as well
as a few scenarios in which HTMX might not be the best fit.
Finally, they look at the growing HTMX ecosystem, community
contributions, and future development roadmap. Throughout the
episode, Carson provides concrete examples and case studies of
HTMX in production environments.


Brought to you by IEEE Computer Society and IEEE
Software magazine.