In this episode of Dead Code, Jared interviews Carson Gross, creator of HTMX, about the principle of Locality of Behavior (LoB) and its role in web development. Carson explains that HTMX enhances HTML rather than replacing it like modern JavaScript frameworks, offering a simpler, hypermedia-driven approach ideal for use cases like e-commerce. He critiques the traditional emphasis on Separation of Concerns, arguing that keeping behavior close to markup improves maintainability and avoids “spooky action at a distance.” Carson acknowledges trade-offs between LoB, DRY, and SoC, emphasizing the importance of context-based decision-making. He and Jared also discuss broader software trends, advocating for deeper modules, simpler APIs, and a pragmatic, less ideological approach to coding as the industry evolves.

Links:

HTMX Website

HTMX Essays (especially Locality of Behavior and When to Use Hypermedia)

grugbrain.dev

Hypermedia Systems Book

Richard Gabriel’s “Worse Is Better” Essay

Mozilla Developer Network (MDN)

John Ousterhout’s A Philosophy of Software Design

The Uncle Bob vs. John Ousterhout Argument

Big Sky Software (Carson’s Company)

Hyperscript

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Episode Transcript

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