React is the most preferred JavaScript library used to create user interfaces. The components of the tool were developed by Facebook and released as an open-source JavaScript in 2013. React, also used by big companies such as Netflix, American Express, WhatsApp, and Instagram, is an easy-to-use tool. The tool can be easily understood after a few days of use, focusing on completing user interface tasks efficiently.
The open-source tool is used to create interfaces and includes reusable components. These components include the search button, search box, logo, and language option information on Google. React is a JavaScript library for using such visual elements.
JavaScript is a programming language for creating dynamic websites. Components such as animations and forms that appear when a web page is visited are written in JavaScript. Its use has increased in the past ten years, and standard field structures and components can be packaged in almost all web pages.
What is React?
In 2011, the idea was inspired by XHP, and the React tool emerged six months later. It has gained popularity day by day and has become one of the most preferred libraries today. The library is also used to create SPA and has left behind its competitors, such as Angular and Vue JS. Unlike these, it also takes care of the invisible parts of websites by providing database and form validation.
React applications can be written in JavaScript or JSX, but JSX is generally preferred. This is because it is more challenging to write user interfaces in JavaScript. React, a component-based, front-end library responsible for the application’s appearance layer, provides developers with many conveniences.
How React Works?
React reloads the web page and repeats all operations when new data is added, or any data is updated. After this process, only the updated data can be displayed. However, this can be considered a disadvantage. For example, the DOM, a document object model, can dynamically add and remove data created by the browser when the web page is loaded.
Creating a new DOM with each change allows old data to be accessed. It should also be known that the DOM is recreated and causes unnecessary memory waste. To get rid of these problems, React execution has become more popular. Instead of reloading the entire page whenever there is an update, the library destroys the old view, thus solving memory waste.
React converts text in JavaScript files into objects. This makes HTML code easier to understand. Virtual DOM lists elements’ attributes and contents as objects and properties. This is how the node tree, one of the components of React, is formed.
Various actions are taken by the user or the system to update the tree in response to mutations in the data model. If we look at the working logic;
In the event of a change in the underlying data, the user interface is rebuilt.
Then the difference between the DOM representation and the new interface is calculated.
After the calculation, the actual DOM is updated with only what has changed. Patches also only work in the affected regions. This makes the application faster and avoids wasting memory.
What Does React Do?
React is a JavaScript library that allows you to create fast and interactive user interfaces. The library, produced by Facebook, is not a framework. It has nothing to do with the architecture layer and focuses only on the view layer. Its only function is to make all the operations in the interface logical, straightforward, costless, and high-performance. React uses element-based and virtual DOM architecture.
React is a library that uses the Virtual DOM architecture and quickly implements rendering. Therefore, it is used on projects with much change. It can be said that it is suitable for projects where the operations are more on the user interface side.
JSX, a grammar for embedding XML into JavaScript, this tool allows the code to be written in a markup language. Looking at the pros
- Saves time.
- Allows creating a code base that can be blended for iOS and Android.
- Provides a high-caliber modern user experience.
- Enables the development of a versatile application.
- The user interface is responsive.
- Enables the creation of websites with faster loading times.
Updates the React DOM process efficiently and prevents problems in web-based applications. The tool for creating virtual DOMs allows us to keep them in memory. In case of any change, it updates the virtual one simultaneously.
React, which allows the creation of a user interface that can access different search engines, is a complete SEO friend. Speeding up the implementation process increases SEO rankings because web page speed is also effective in SEO optimization.
Introduced by Facebook, the library has become used by many famous brands and companies worldwide. It can function both as a framework and a JavaScript library, eliminating the need for additional elements for different purposes, such as routing and administration.
It uses virtual DOM for better page optimization and includes the JSX extension as a mix of HTML and JavaScript. This tool can be used to succeed in web development and create an effective and efficient website.
React, one of the most critical technologies for creating user interfaces provides advantages for users and developers by offering users low computational power and loading times on complex and highly user-interactive web pages.
Instagram’s user interface is also developed with React and is divided into many components. Each component has its features and functions, providing many conveniences to developers.
Why Use React?
React is easy to learn and increases job opportunities abroad for those who learn it. Thanks to its reusable structure, it can be used with other applications created within the application. It gives fast results in terms of performance with virtual DOM and has a supportive community.
React is testable and has server-side rendering, one-way data binding, simplicity, and a low learning curve. The React function, testability, determines how a component is rendered and behaves. This function makes it easy to test and debug applications.
Server-side rendering is used to re-create the initial states of components on the server side. With SSR, the server’s response to the browser is to have a page of HTML ready to display. This allows the browser to load and execute the JavaScript very quickly. This means that the website loads faster.
Unidirectional data binding means that, unlike other frameworks, it follows a unidirectional data flow. This advantage is that the application data flows in one direction and thus provides better control. This makes the application more flexible and increases efficiency.
Simplicity is a feature that the library gains as JSX files simplify the application. Learning is also facilitated by the component-based approach and different lifecycle methods.
The learning curve is low in React. Anyone with basic programming knowledge can quickly learn React. People who know HTML and JavaScript take little time to learn these libraries.