I’m here to say that the Gutenberg team is going to take a step back and rewrite Gutenberg using a different library. It will likely delay Gutenberg at least a few weeks, and may push the release into next year.
Automattic will also use whatever we choose for Gutenberg to rewrite Calypso — that will take a lot longer, and Automattic still has no issue with the patents clause, but the long-term consistency with core is worth more than a short-term hit to Automattic’s business from a rewrite.
This is a big blow to React. The framework will still be massively popular and adopted but the number of developers in a thriving ecosystem like Automattic’s products – like WordPress – that now have to move onto something else is a big blow. Automattic’s continued use of React would have meant thousands of jobs for a long number of years.
As usual, Mullenweg sees the longterm angle, and weighs that against the core principles upon which his company was founded, and I believe he’s taking the right path.
Side note: I still see so many developers that deal with WordPress day-to-day that haven’t yet started learning JavaScript in earnest. Mullenweg himself has urged the WordPress community for the last several years to invest in learning JavaScript. So, if you haven’t already… jump in.