tRPC is the most modern and simplest way to build an API in projects that involve TypeScript.
Its type-safety feature allows developers to move fast and break nothing as they handle client-to-server communication.
With tRPC, you don't need to worry about complex API schemas or contracts. That's why so many developers love using it over REST or Gatsby!
On the other hand, Next is another cutting-edge tool that has completely revolutionized web development.
It has many powerful features to build modern and fast web apps.
In this post, we'll explore why tRPC and Next.js are perfect for each other to build high-quality products.
What is Next.js?
Next.js is a modern React.js framework developed by Vercel for building fast and search-engine-optimized web apps.
It leverages React.js' power with unique features like server-side rendering (SSR) and static-side generation (SSG).
SSR improves performance, faster load times and better browser support.
Similarly, running pre-rendered static HTML files at build time boosts loading and performance.
That's why it's perfect for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Next.js combines the best of both worlds, fully-rendered content for crawler bots and highly interactive content that users love.
Another awesome feature is Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR). This feature allows developers to update and create new content on an existing website easily.
The best part is that it doesn't require a complete re-rendering to ensure your content is up-to-date.
This hybrid solution embraces SSR and SSG's power. The page regenerates itself whenever the server gets a request.
Next.js seamlessly integrates with TypeScript and EsLint with advanced developer features like automatic code splitting and hot module replacement.
What is tRPC?
tRPC is a library for building APIs that allows devs to use TS to connect the client to the server without schemas.
There are many reasons to think of TypeScript Remote Procedure Calls (tRPC) as the client-to-server future!
On projects that involve TypeScript in front and back ends, tRPC procedures made possible almost anything that devs wanted from REST and GraphQL.
It got rid of the need for manual type definitions ensuring end-to-end type safety.
What's more, it can integrate modern JavaScript frameworks and libraries if they support TypeScript.
This capability makes it great for building modern web applications with stacks like MERN or MEAN.
By eliminating the need for complex API contracts, it also makes refactoring and maintenance much easier.
As it works well with projects involving a single codebase, it's a perfect match for monorepos.
That's one of the reasons why it's also a perfect match for Next.js.
Why Combine tRPC and Next.js?
The combination of tRPC and Next has eased client-and-server connections with TypeScript.
tRCP even has a "Using Next.js" section on its official site, offering seamless integrations!
Likewise, Next.js is great for projects involving JS tools and makes it easy to install and configure TS.
Next's SEO and interaction capabilities make it ideal for blogs, eCommerce and Single Page Apps among others.
With tRPC, developers can easily connect the client and server sides for improved quality and performance.
This makes Next.js and tRPC ideal for small to medium-sized web apps that require strong marketing efforts!
tRPC, Next, and Prisma
There's one more aspect to consider: the database management system.
For most teams, implementing MongoDB to complete the MERN stack is an excellent choice.
However, there's a rising alternative: Prisma.
This open-source Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) is easily integrable with both Node.js and TypeScript.
Prisma allows devs define your database relations and models with intuitive and easy-to-read schema language.
It also simplifies migrations, data access and modeling while eliminating SQL queries.
The tool works wonders with PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite and Microsoft SQL Server.
Conclusion
tRPC and Next.js are state-of-the-art tools for building rich web applications!
They both work particularly with single codebases and require TS (or JavaScript if we only consider Next.js).
This feature makes them great for each other!
