Webpack is one of my absolute favorite tools. It's easy to reason about and a pleasure to use. It absolutely checks the "navigable" box in my book.
However, it got constant flack (esp. here on HN) for being too complicated. Apparently asking a dev to spend a day learning the tool before getting started on a new project was too much to ask. Now the best practice is to use a meta-tool like vue-cli or react-scripts to abstract away Webpack, trading navigability for simplicity. Simplifying complex tasks requires magic and good luck debugging when your magic incantations don't work as expected.
I totally agree that navigability is super important and I wish I knew how to better emphasize it in my projects over the "batteries included" approach that has the best marketing.
However, it got constant flack (esp. here on HN) for being too complicated. Apparently asking a dev to spend a day learning the tool before getting started on a new project was too much to ask. Now the best practice is to use a meta-tool like vue-cli or react-scripts to abstract away Webpack, trading navigability for simplicity. Simplifying complex tasks requires magic and good luck debugging when your magic incantations don't work as expected.
I totally agree that navigability is super important and I wish I knew how to better emphasize it in my projects over the "batteries included" approach that has the best marketing.