The Future of Ember and Modern Build Tools with Chris Manson

The Future of Ember and Modern Build Tools with Chris Manson

Author: Skill Issue Studios July 25, 2024 Duration: 1:09:50

In this episode of Whiskey Web and Whatnot, Robbie talks with Chris Manson about the intricacies of JavaScript classes, the evolving landscape of React and Ember, and the benefits of using Vite in modern app development.

Over a Bulleit Rye, Robbie and Chris discuss the benefits of Ember for long-term stability and its backward compatibility, highlighting tooling like generators and integration tests that make Ember stand out. Transitioning toward modern web development, they examine the role of Vite and the ongoing efforts to integrate it with Ember, promising a future of faster rebuilds and cleaner dependencies.

In this episode:

  • (00:00) - Intro
  • (01:26) - Meet Chris Manson
  • (02:41) - Whiskey - Bulleit Rye
  • (07:44) - Hot takes
  • (15:50) - Do we need SSR?
  • (20:09) - Ember.js and modern build tools
  • (32:25) - React vs. Ember
  • (36:06) - Modernizing Ember with Embroider
  • (40:22) - The technical challenges of Embroider
  • (45:43) - Ember's inversion of control
  • (55:46) - Ember's backward compatibility
  • (59:31) - EmberFest

Quotes

“Because we're so opinionated in Ember, we're able to make decisions about your app that other frameworks aren't able to make, essentially. So we can say oh okay, we're cutting out all the stuff you're not using. That's the dead code elimination.” ~ Chris Manson

“We use generators in Ember. Very few other frameworks use generators. You generate a component in Ember and it instantly creates an integration test that renders that component and checks the contents of it and gives you ways to interact with it, to click it, to check the contents and encourages you to put more tests in that file.” ~ Chris Manson

Links

Connect with Chris

Connect with our hosts

Subscribe and stay in touch

Whiskey Web and Whatnot Merch
Enjoying the podcast and want us to make more? Help support us by picking up some of our fresh merch at https://whiskey.fund.


There's a certain alchemy that happens when you combine deep technical expertise with the warmth of a good conversation, and that's exactly what you'll find in Whiskey Web and Whatnot. Hosts Robbie Wagner, Charles William Carpenter III, and Adam Argyle bring decades of collective experience to the table, but they leave the lecture format at the door. Instead, each episode feels like pulling up a chair with colleagues who are just as passionate about the craft of building for the web as they are about the nuanced flavors in a glass of whiskey. The discussion naturally flows between the concrete details of modern development-like navigating JavaScript frameworks, CSS architecture, or the practical realities of agentic AI and new coding tools-and the broader, human aspects of a software engineering career. This podcast from Skill Issue Studios is built on the idea that the tools and the people who use them are equally important. You'll come for insightful, grounded advice on developer productivity and emerging technologies, but you'll stay for the genuine camaraderie and the occasional spirited debate about which whiskey bottle truly earns a spot on the shelf. It’s a refreshing blend of substance and personality, making complex topics accessible and reminding everyone that there's always a story behind the code.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Whiskey Web and Whatnot
Podcast Episodes
AI Cowgorithm Disrupts The Herd (Presented by Warp) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:51
This week, Robbie and Adam sip on whiskey from the Muff Liquor Company and dive deep into the chaotic state of AI development, Jensen Huang's wild claims about AGI and token spending, and whether we've accidentally turne…
Flogging Margins With The Dropcap Murphys [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26:13
This week, Robbie and Adam welcome Chris Coyier and Dave Rupert from ShopTalk Show to talk brand truth versus brand slop, whether CSS knowledge is now your biggest advantage, the rise of dark factories, and why apps buil…
Next.js Is Dead, Long Live Next.js! (Presented by Warp) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:32
This week, Robbie and Adam sip Redwood Empire Pipe Dream and dive into the messy reality of AI development, PR reviews, and whether we're all just vibe coding our way into chaos. They debate 200-file PRs versus 10 smalle…
The Manager Has Become The Managed (Presented by Warp) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:29
This week, Robbie and Adam sit down with Amelia Wattenberger—digital creative, product builder, and former principal research engineer at GitHub—to talk about AI agents, the death of chatbots, and whether typing code is…
Hot Pockets Pro Max (Presented by Warp) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:29
This week, Robbie and Adam sip a rare Single Malts of Scotland 12-year Hogshead release and dive into the world of AI-powered development, OpenClaw setups, and why hot pockets might be the perfect metaphor for where tech…
Pay No Attention to the LLM Behind the Terminal w/ Zach Lloyd [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:44
This week, Robbie and Adam sip Lagavulin 16 and catch up with Zach Lloyd—founder and CEO of Warp—about building the modern terminal, shipping AI agents to the cloud, and why editing text like it's 2026 should be the bare…
Humans Are Now Legacy Dependencies [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:01
This week, Robbie and Adam sip High ‘n Wicked Straight Rye and dive deep into the current state of AI development tools, the rise of agentic workflows, and whether humans are becoming legacy dependencies in their own sys…
We Fired the Tools: No Ralph Wiggum, No Training Wheels, Just Agents [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:33
This week, Robbie and Adam talk winter storms, snow blowers, and autonomous yard work before diving into the real topic: AI agents gone wild. They debate why Ralph Wiggum loops don't actually work, whether context pollut…
We Stopped Coding by Hand Because Agentic AI Is Too Good [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:42
This week, Robbie and Carlo sip Sagamore's 10-year reserve rye and catch up with Carlo on life abroad, AI coding workflows, the changing developer landscape, and why cars, whiskey shipping, and property management are al…