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React Intro

React Intro​

React is a JavaScript library created for building fast and interactive user interfaces for web and mobile application. It is an open-source, component-based, front-end library responsible only for the application’s view layer.

Key concepts and features​

  1. Component-Based Architecture: React is built around the concept of reusable components. A component is a self-contained, independent piece of UI that can be composed together to create complex interfaces. This promotes code reusability, maintainability, and makes it easier to manage large and complex applications.

  2. Virtual DOM (Document Object Model): React uses a virtual DOM to improve the performance of web applications. Instead of directly manipulating the actual DOM, React creates a virtual representation of the DOM in memory. When there are changes in the data or state of a component, React compares the virtual DOM with the previous version and calculates the minimal number of updates needed to reflect the changes in the actual DOM. This reduces the amount of DOM manipulation and results in faster rendering.

  3. Declarative Syntax: React employs a declarative approach to building UIs. Developers describe how the UI should look based on the current state, and React takes care of updating the DOM to match that description. This is in contrast to imperative programming, where developers have to specify step-by-step instructions for updating the UI.

  4. One-Way Data Binding: React enforces a unidirectional data flow. Data flows down from parent components to child components through props (short for properties). This ensures predictable and easy-to-debug code.

  5. JSX (JavaScript XML): React uses JSX, which is a syntax extension for JavaScript that allows you to write HTML-like code within your JavaScript files. JSX makes it easier to define the structure of your components and is transpiled to standard JavaScript by tools like Babel.

  6. State Management: React components can have their own state, which is used to store and manage data that can change over time. When the state of a component changes, React automatically re-renders the component to reflect the updated state.

  7. Component Lifecycle: React components have a lifecycle consisting of various methods that get called at different points in a component's existence. Developers can tap into these lifecycle methods to perform actions like fetching data, updating the UI, or cleaning up resources when a component is destroyed.

  8. React Router: For building single-page applications (SPAs) with client-side routing, React Router is a popular library that integrates seamlessly with React. It allows you to define routes and navigate between different views within your application.

  9. Ecosystem: React has a vibrant ecosystem with a rich collection of libraries and tools, including state management libraries like Redux and Mobx, styling solutions like Styled Components and Emotion, and tools for server-side rendering like Next.js.

  10. Community and Support: React has a large and active community of developers, which means you can find plenty of resources, tutorials, and third-party libraries to help you in your React development journey.