React.js – The future of Web Frontend Frameworks
If Facebook has created it, it’s ought to be famous!!
Yes, the invention of a software developer, Jordan Walke, working at Facebook, which took the world by storm, React.js is one of the most popular and enjoyable web frontend frameworks to work upon. Not only Facebook, companies like Yahoo, BBC, Instagram, Netflix, PayPal and many others also use it. More than a framework, it is an open source library based on JavaScript, used to develop feature-rich web applications efficiently and fast with the minimum coding required. It is ideal for large single page web applications, that uses data and allows changes in them, without any reloading required.
Normally, developers working with frameworks have to write a lot of coding for the development of web applications which consumes a lot of time and is prone to mistakes. With the help of React.js, there is already a library present with the codes, and moreover, it makes use of single components, where the developer can break down the difficult UI components into individual ones, which ultimately speeds up the process. It also allows creation of engaging User Interfaces (UI) which are a major part of any web app.
It is not only famous because Facebook created it, but there are many specialties which has made it stand out of the crowd.
Features which makes it Stand Out in the Market
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Easy to learn and use
React.js was designed to develop the UI interface and make it easy for the developers to use it. Due to its MVC (Model - View - Controller) framework, where it specifically works for the V in it, it has proved to be resourceful to the developers. Due to its interactivity, it can be used along with other libraries or JS frameworks like Angular JS and is also quite easy to learn. It doesn’t need a lot of programming to work on it.
It creates simple views for each state in the application, and will update the particular components when the data changes. Even though it is not fully featured, as it contains an open-source JavaScript GUI library, it proves advantageous to budding developers also.
2. Reusable Components
One of the most useful features that this framework offers, are the reusable components. Reusing components, proves quite useful as it saves the coding time, and the efforts to do it. Reduction of coding time and effort, helps to lessen errors in the code, enhancing the speed of the apps. The faster the product is delivered, the faster the client can use it, get satisfied and become a permanent customer.
3. Data Binding and Tracking
React.js offers a unique feature, one-way data binding, along with an architecture called flux controls. These work together and help in the process of development, making the task easier by, React.js helping to update the view and Flux controlling the application workflow.
It helps tracking the changes made in the data segment and makes coding easy with additional cross platform support.
4. Virtual DOM
DOM, abbreviation for Document Object Model is a programming API that deals with HTML, XML or XHTML like a tree structure in which each of the nodes represents a part of the document, but when it was updated, the developers faced the problem of slow performance. But, the developers overcame this issue by introducing virtual DOMs. It can be created in React.js and hosted in the memory. By doing this, the performance issue was resolved and the working became faster. One of the features of it is that, it is lighter than the actual DOM, as it is virtual. Moreover, any change that occurred in the actual DOM, reflected in the virtual DOM, helping to address it. The virtual DOM does not update very frequently too, hereby increasing the performance.
5. A Wide Audience and Community Base
Owing to Facebook’s popularity, React.js has gained immense customer base. Also, as so many people are using it, there are immense libraries with solved queries and forums, which help the developer’s facing any issue, resolve it easily.
Another factor is the use of React.js by global giants like Whatsapp, Instagram, Netflix, Salesforce, CNN, IMDB, Dropbox, Reddit and the list goes on, which also signifies its wide reach.
6. Hassle Free Migration
One of the most important factors to be considered for any technology is the migration facility. There will always be a requirement for any system to be migrated to the updated one, in case needed. At this time, there has to be provision so that the old data and settings do not go haywire and seamlessly get migrated to the new and updated one. This has been properly been taken care of by React.js and therefore has lessened the burden from a developer so that they do not have to worry about it and work further on improving the features already present.
7. Isomorphic Apps Development
In web development, isomorphic applications are the ones whose code can run on both, server and client side. This helps make the page get loaded fast and also helps indexing web pages, increasing user experience.
8. Code Stability and Quick debug
Facebook has provided such a mechanism to React.js that the debugging mechanism is separate and the browser itself isolates the UI based errors and bugs.
The component creation (Structured pieces of codes which signify a particular user interface and can be repeated and reused in different webpages) aspect of React.js keeps a check that no system crashes and the unit testing is properly executed. The code reuse aspect saves time from performing tests again and again, improving the code and stabilizes the platform, making work faster and easier.
9. The Google Factor (SEO)
After going through all the hard work of creation of a user friendly and attractive UI, if Google doesn’t recognize it, then it’s of no use. SEO is the factor to gain traffic and attract customers and it can be done only if the customers can see the web page and get what they want. The earlier web based frameworks were lagging behind in this factor but after advancements, it has become better. Due to all the above features it has, the page load time decreases, the search becomes easy which are required to attract traffic and ultimately affects business.
Conclusion
React is an excellent tool with which to create interactive applications for mobile, web, and other platforms. React's popularity and usage are increasing day by day for good reason. As a developer, coding in React makes you better at JavaScript, a language that holds nearly 90% of the web development share today.
