This will be a posting, which either receives no to little responses or will have 256 responses within the next couple of hours :)
I am sure, there'll be quite a few who'd argue that this is necessary complexity, but my take on this definitely is the latter - artificially inflated
But it's not only the web. Same happened to Java in the 2000s and is currently happening to Android. Any mainstream Java job is more configuration of Spring containers with a bit of code glue sprinkled in-between than "proper programming". As for Android, just follow a couple of Android forums where plenty of people complain about such complexity and frameworks changing "by the minute"
A lot of programming seems to have turned into gluing a bunch of poorly programmed and documented systems together. I miss one of my previous jobs where I got to build a lot of stuff from scratch.
Well why reinvent the wheel with ie Spring in Java - you want well tested automatically scaling thread messaging bus for example, just configure existing stuff. Maybe its boring to some devs, but business like boringly stable tools, and they are the ones paying for our work.
Would you like that architects reinvent 'engineering wheels' with every house, bridge or tunnel and do all feom scratch just because its more fun for them? No you want well tested reliable approach, if they are bored a bit even better. Ie nuclear power plants who have some unique hybrid designs are endless source of maintenance delays and additional costs. Software devs just have much more freedom and little regulation, for now
Not necessarily reinvent the wheel, but not build the same glass buildings all across the world either. Your analogy is not that far off. Real world architecture is quite the same.
Spring is a strange example. It’s main selling point is you’re not reinventing the wheel and, instead, building on well tested and operational work already done.
I am sure, there'll be quite a few who'd argue that this is necessary complexity, but my take on this definitely is the latter - artificially inflated
But it's not only the web. Same happened to Java in the 2000s and is currently happening to Android. Any mainstream Java job is more configuration of Spring containers with a bit of code glue sprinkled in-between than "proper programming". As for Android, just follow a couple of Android forums where plenty of people complain about such complexity and frameworks changing "by the minute"
Aritifically inflated :)