Advantages of React.JS for Web Development
The hype about React Js
So, you’ve all heard about React JS, but what is it actually? Will it be suitable for your business?
ReactJS is an open source, component-based front-end Javascript library that developers use to build user interfaces for single page applications. Maintained by Facebook, the library is open-source, but it is only meant for the view-layer of the application. React JS is the obvious choice for front-end and single page development because of a ton of benefits.
Developers prefer this platform while developing highly compelling and user-friendly websites and applications because it gives them ample opportunities to be creative. There are a number of other advantages that make the library very popular among developers.
The benefits that make React JS one of the best
1. It is intuitive
React JS helps create simple and intuitive code so you can avoid unpredictable scenarios. The library offers powerful state, action and event management. Though simple, ReactJS gives full control to the developers on how it should behave on user actions. The library is in itself intuitive and allows for interactivity to the user interface layout.
2. Flexible
The modular structure of ReactJS makes it one of the best flexible tools around. This makes it easier to maintain, thereby saving a lot of development time, and money too, in the long run. Apps built with this tool are easy to scale, maintain and become highly flexible.
3. Speedy development process
Developers can boost their development process because they can use individual parts of the application and make changes to it, without affecting the entire application’s logic. This boosts up the development process several times over.
4. Enviable performance
Another reason why web and app development is faster with React is its collaboration with Virtual DOM. With this feature, only the necessary part of the program will be updated instead of the whole thing. Virtual DOM can compare the previous and regular states of the components, and this helps in developing faster results.
5. Testability is a breeze
ReactJS has a clearly defined structure, enabling easy testing of UI components and debugging. Give the same set of components to it, a React component will always give the same output. Place the output anywhere, it will give the same results, irrespective of the number of times you render it. You can run the tests in a terminal or on a continuous integration server, and even test on multiple browsers simultaneously.
Why you need to use ReactJS for your next project
Once you know the key benefits of ReactJS, you might want to use it for your next project. Here are some reasons that support the idea:
1. Even a new developer can learn the tool
ReactJS is an open source GUI library that you can use with other JS libraries and frameworks. In the MVC model, the tool is just the ‘V’ part, so since it is not a full-fledged framework, new developers find it very easy to understand and use it for their projects. In fact, it is easier than Angular JS and Vue, and with basic knowledge of CSS3, Javascript and HTML5, you can easily master the tool in a day or two.
2. The primary focus is on UI
The fact that ReactJS is a tool makes it easy for developers to do what they really want – build highly responsive, quality-rich user interfaces. They make the apps really appealing, making it an important feature of any application. Since the primary focus is on the UI, the tool significantly reduces the load times, runs smoothly without any interruptions and gives users a highly responsive interface. Javascript’s interaction with the device’s native environment has a number of advantages, including responsiveness.
3. Lets developers write custom components
ReactJS allows developers to write high-volume applications and custom components. You can mix it with HTML, prevent code injections and help you make your source code much simpler and cleaner when compared to other tools in the market. Its gives off timely warning and error messages to make it easier.
4. Quick rendering times
There is minimum time involved in the rendering process because only the changes that you have made to the application will be rendered. The changes made will be sent to the virtual DOM, then to the browser, making it easy for only a minimum time to be consumed. The tool uses Virtual DOM (virtual representation of DOM) to help developers compare the old and modified versions of the applications. This also helps them to calculate the risks involved.
5. Make SEO friendly apps
ReactJS banishes all the common beliefs about Javascript frameworks not being SEO-friendly. With this tool, developers can develop user interfaces that can be easily found by search engines. So apps built with ReactJS can definitely rank higher in Google search engine pages. Every application needs to have fast loading times or you are likely to lose users. With ReactJS, you can secure high speed applications.
6. An impressive community of developers
The strong community support of ReactJS, makes it one of the best tools in the market. If you are ever stuck while working with ReactJS, just visit GitHub, Stack Overflow or Quora, and you will be connected with experts.
Main features and components of ReactJS that you must know:
Virtual DOM – One of the biggest leaps in the field of web development is the use of Virtual Document Object-Model because it allows developers to create scalable, lightweight apps. There is a Reconciliation algorithm that keeps track of the changes made in the virtual memory and developers can use that while making final changes to the web page.
React Native – ReactJS is not just for developing websites and web apps, you can use React Native to develop Android and iOS apps with a complete native look and feel. React Native is an open source application framework belonging to ReactJS.
Zero Dependencies – Being an indépendant JS library makes it possible for developers to add even the smallest feature on an ongoing project. This makes it different from other front-end libraries and frameworks.
One-way, Downward Data Binding – While Angular uses two-way data binding, ReactJS uses only a single-way Downward data binding, so any changes made in the child components will not change the parent component. So the data will be transferred from the parent to the child, but not child to the parent.
Conclusion
RectJS is thus the best tool to have when you are looking for a good choice to design a website’s user interfaces. With its excellent UI focussed designs, capacity to handle dependencies, and amazing cross-platform support, ReactJS is a great tool. Big names like Instagram, Netflix, AirBnB have all used ReactJS successfully.
Interesting Links:
Some Advantages & Disadvantages of ReactJS
What are the benefits of using RectJS?
Pictures: Canva
The author: Sascha Thattil works at Software-Developer-India.com which is a part of the YUHIRO Group. YUHIRO is a German-Indian enterprise which provides programmers to IT companies, agencies and IT departments.
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