Mean packages are magic to me

I've been playing around with a Mean.io app for a few days now.

Working within a framework has had its advantages. For example, to set up a new model/view/controller package, I just entered this 1-liner command:

    mean package feeds

This created a nicely structured set of files that just worked. In the main menu of the app, a link is added which you can follow to discover how this new package works.

I wanted to understand how the framework was able to create a new package and how it was connected to the rest of the app, so I started diving into the code. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure it out. I'd account my inability to understand what is going on under the covers to a few factors: 1) I don't have and didn't spend enough time reading. 2) I'm a beginner to this style of Javascript coding. 3) Frameworks try to hide stuff from developers.

I should elaborate on that last point. Frameworks are not evil. Their goal is to abstract away difficult, messy, confusing parts of the code, so that you don't have to re-write or reconfigure those nasty parts. A side effect of this abstraction is that you may be left wondering, how does this all work? (as i am now).

As Arthur C. Clarke said, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." A lot of the MEAN framework is still magic for me. For now, I'll continue to rely on this magic, continue coding, and come back to it later when some of the magic starts wearing off.