Thanks to both of you for the thoughtful discussion — I really appreciate seeing different perspectives here.

On the “lock-in” concern: that’s a fair point. dagger.js is still young, and it’s reasonable to be cautious with any new project. One of the core goals, though, is low lock-in: your code is still just HTML + JS + Web Components. Even if dagger.js disappeared tomorrow, your markup would continue to work with minimal adjustments.

On code readability: you’re right that the current source is compact and not heavily commented. That was a stylistic choice early on to keep things lightweight, but I understand it can make debugging less inviting. Based on this feedback, I’m planning to provide a more readable version so others can more easily step in.

So the trade-off you mentioned is valid: fewer features, but less surface area and minimal lock-in. The feedback here helps me refine where the ergonomics stop and where maintainability needs more attention.

Thanks again for taking the time to review both the idea and the code — it makes the project better, and I’ll keep iterating with these points in mind.

no prob. I have written code like that, and there is some allure to cram as much logic as possible into a single line.

The problem is that the nice feeling you get from writing it is inversely proportional to the nice feeling I have when reading it.

Haha, that’s a great way to put it . Writing one-line code does feel clever in the moment, but you’re right, the “writer’s joy” often turns into the “reader’s pain.” Striking the balance between elegance and readability is the real art of coding.