Are you interested in using React framework for a web development project or looking for a guide?
Would you like to know its benefits? Or are you completely lost when it comes to this incredible tool?
You've come to the right place if you answered yes to any of these questions.
This article will cover React, React Native, why you should use them and their available resources.
Are you ready to dive in?
What is React
Although many people refer to React as a framework, it’s a front-end JavaScript library.
This library—also known as ReactJS or React.js—is open-source and used to build web user interfaces (UIs).
It was created by Facebook for internal use back in 2011 and released into the world in 2013.
Today, React is a prevalent tool for development companies of all sizes, including Fortune 500 companies.
As of 2022, it's on its 17.0.2 version (with version 18 looming around the corner).
The main features of React are that it's declarative, simple, and supports the server side.
Further, it's fast and easy to learn and is also component-based.
What are components, you ask?
We'll delve into this part of the React architecture next.
How Does React.js Work
React divides interfaces into pieces called components: independent, reusable bits of code that represents part of a web page.
To build a page with React, you need to call each component in a particular order so the user can see it.
Each of these components is basically a JavaScript function.
There are two different types of components: function components and class components.
Function components, or Stateless components, are simple JavaScript functions that return React elements.
These are the ones responsible for rendering the user interface.
Class components are simple classes that add functionality to your app.
We highlight components here as they make it extremely easy to break down an app.
Also, they are beneficial when adding or changing UI details or functionalities.
What Language Does React Use
As we've mentioned before, React runs on JavaScript. So what is JavaScript?
Well, it's a programming language used to create front-end and back-end web applications.
JavaScript—often abbreviated as JS—first appeared back in 1995.
Currently, it's the third most popular programming language, behind Java and Python.
What is React Native
React is often confused for a framework, even though it is a library.
Sometimes, React and React Native also get a little mixed up.
Yet, React Native is an open-source framework built on top of ReactJS and released in 2015.
Meta Platforms, Inc., Facebook’s parent organization, also created it.
Its development is currently in the hands of Facebook and the dev community.
React Native is mainly used to develop native mobile apps. T
he fact that it’s cross-platform means you can use it for iOS and Android.
Other benefits include faster development, the creation of a native interface, and easy testing.
React.js JSX and Virtual DOM
We’ve now covered React’s programming language, but there’s more to React development.
Websites are built with HTML documents. Web browsers read these documents and create a Document Object Model (DOM).
This is a representation of how the web page will get arranged.
This is where JSX, a syntax extension of JavaScript, comes in.
This little critter makes it easy for developers to change the DOM to build dynamic content for the web.
Besides being very convenient, JSX also improves performance and efficiency.
But that’s not all there is to it. Using JSX helps React create something referred to as a Virtual DOM.
This copy of the site’s actual DOM allows React to update it with recent changes.
This comes in handy compared to going over the whole DOM each time there’s a small addition or modification to the site.
If you still have questions, check React’s site for a more comprehensive explanation.
Benefits of React.js
- Flexibility. One of the main benefits of React is its flexibility, as it works for several platforms. You can use it beyond building static websites, with React Native to dive into mobile apps. You can use React with Next.js for server rendering and with React VR to create 360 Experiences.
- Components. Being component-based allows teams easily reuse them across different React pages or projects. Since they're independent of each other, they can sabe companies both time and money. Also, within its large community, there's always some willing to share some component-based tips and tricks.
- Resources. As it's strongly backed by Facebook, there are plenty of React resources available. In fact, the top 4 contributors to React in GitHub are Facebook employees! The platform has also racked up around 50,000 components. React also has a blog with handy tutorials and links to the greater React community.
- Performance. As you may know, using DOM makes JavaScript slower than we would like. Yet, React reduces DOM changes to improve performance by using a Virtual DOM and JSX, as we’ve seen above.
- Experience. Developers react very well to React (no pun intended). With an easy-lo-learn API setting, the library deals with pure JavaScript and HTML, making it very simple to work with.
- Testing. React testing is user-friendly and requires minimal configuration (or even none). It also uses command-line testing for faster and more productive processes. Some testing tools available for React include Jest and Enzyme for writing tests, as well as Jasmine, AVA and Tape for web testing.
- Extensions. Our first definition of React mentioned UI design. yet the library has expanded way beyond that. There are currently many extensions available that provide full architecture support. like React Development Tools.
When to use React?
React’s main job is building user interfaces for single-page applications.
But the story doesn’t end there.
When should you use React? Here are our top six uses:
- React for Single-Page Apps. An SPA is an app that works within a browser and doesn’t need the user to reload it. As one of the most popular use for the React library, examples include Gmail, Trello and GitHub.
- React for Blogs Pages. Another use encloses building personal or professional blogs. You can do it with Gatsby, the React-powered static site generator. Gatsby also includes features from GraphQL, Webpack and React Router, with plugins for WordPress and Contentful.
- React for eCommerce. eCommerce and retail sites are popular today, and React is a great tool. The library helps developers install APIs, complex filters, and elements and allows the building of separate components.
- React for Messaging Apps. Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are great examples of messaging apps built using React, with the library acting as a WebSocket client to maintain two-way communication between client and server.
- React for Social Networks. Social networks are often built as single-page applications to make dynamic updates easier. Social network apps based on React have rapid development and an improved UX.
- React for Cross-Platform Mobile Apps. The React library and the React Native framework can work together to create amazing native-feel mobile apps for iOS and Android. While there is no code reusability, using the same architecture and method is a great perk.
Conclusion
It’s safe to say the React library is one of the most popular development tools.
Over the years, it hasn’t grown its community but diversified to cover any need developers may have.
It is no surprise that people often refer to it as a framework. Restricting it to a JavaScript library does not seem to be fair.
This powerhouse has managed to create a whole ecosystem around it.
This environment allows it to reach every inch of development.
We certainly hope you agree!
