Frontend Architecture Debate Resolved by Three Core Responsibilities

A software developer argues that over 30 years of frontend development disputes about state ownership can be resolved by recognizing three layered responsibilities: the browser owns URL orchestration, the server owns content, and the browser again handles local UI affordances. This client-server-client pattern, the author contends, underpins every major frontend architecture from SPAs to HTMX to LiveView. Misalignment between these responsibilities is identified as the root cause of rising complexity in web application development. The author maps popular frameworks onto this model, noting that tools like HTMX lean heavily on server-side content while minimizing client-side affordances, whereas SPAs shift more weight to the client. The piece concludes that no single framework covers the full solution space, but all follow the same fundamental layering pattern.
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