React is one of the most popular JavaScript frameworks for creating dynamic and fast web applications. Because it’s so simple, this framework is easy for JavaScript developers of all skill levels in new or existing projects.
React is a JavaScript library focused on the development of user interfaces. This is how the library is defined and its main area of work. However, the truth is that in React, we find an excellent ally to make all kinds of web applications, SPA (Single Page Application), or even mobile applications. To do this, around React, there is a complete ecosystem of modules, tools, and components capable of helping the developer to cover advanced objectives with relatively little effort.
Therefore, it represents a solid foundation for building almost anything with JavaScript.
React has quickly become a developer favorite in its relatively short lifespan, along with similar JavaScript frameworks such as Vue.js and Angular.
Here are some reasons why you should learn React to advance your career:
Easy learning curve
Learning React as a JavaScript developer is a fluid and worry-free process. Since React is a JavaScript framework, its syntax and structure are very similar. All JavaScript concepts and features can be used in your React application. This means you can adopt React and create your first web app with it in no time.
You can also easily migrate your app from a language like jQuery to React. For new JavaScript developers, easy access to resources, willingness to learn, and React’s highly detailed documentation will update you on all the important concepts needed to be a full-fledged React developer.
Lightweight virtual DOM
In web development, the Document Object Model (DOM) represents the structure of an HTML document as a tree-like data structure. The DOM can be manipulated through JavaScript to dynamically update the content and appearance of a web page.
React uses a virtual DOM to optimize performance. Instead of updating the real DOM directly, React first updates a lightweight virtual representation of the DOM. React then compares the virtual DOM with the real DOM and only applies the necessary changes to the real DOM to update the page. This approach avoids expensive and unnecessary re-renders of the entire page, resulting in faster and more efficient updates.
Component structure
A component is a JavaScript class or function at its most basic level. They receive input values, called «accessories,» and return specific user interface elements as React components. In addition, they allow developers to split user interfaces into discrete parts that they can merge to create more complicated user interfaces.
The React library contains an extensive collection of reusable components that allow you to create dynamic web applications. The design interface of each React application combines components to form more complex ones, which together form a component tree. React’s component structure allows you to maintain a consistent appearance for your web application and continue to expand your code base by reusing those same components.
Good performance
React applications are fast and reliable. This performance success occurs because of the various ways the framework’s applications are created.
React’s lightweight virtual DOM system processes user interface changes much more efficiently, as the application does not have to re-process the entire page each time a component’s status value changes. React will keep the virtual and real DOM in full sync, updating the latter when necessary as the user interacts with the web application. This puts less load on the browser and creates a pleasant user experience.
Since React is very flexible, you can optimize the performance of your web application by following React’s best practices. These practices will help you write better and more structured React code.
Easy debugging with React DevTools
React Developer Tools is a browser extension that helps you debug React applications. With its help, you can inspect React components within your web application to identify performance issues while running a development build. It is also possible to inspect component attachments, statuses, and hooks within the React component tree.
This makes it easy to debug your React applications, leaving you more time to focus on the core features of your application. React Dev Tools are available as an npm package for browsers like Safari.
Shorter development time
Using React to build web apps saves development time and helps you send your apps faster.
Since this is a very popular and robust framework, many APIs and open-source tools are available to speed development and help you scale through complex configurations. Reusing React components undoubtedly saves developers time, as they don’t need to waste time building the same components when they want to use them.
React also employs a declarative approach to managing state in web applications rather than an imperative approach. This means that it will manage the organization and state representation in your application, so you don’t have to implement detailed logic yourself.
Low development cost
When developing web applications, the development cost is directly proportional to the time spent creating the web application. The relatively short development time required to develop a standard-running React web application translates into lower costs.
In addition, learning React will allow you to move to React Native, a cross-platform mobile development framework. This means you can apply your standard React knowledge and turn your web apps into cross-platform mobile apps.
Community support
One of the reasons why React is such a favorable JavaScript framework for creating web applications is its very active community. React’s initial release date was May 29, 2013. Since its release, it has had massive adoption by developers, and the community has grown enormously.
According to Statista, ReactJS was the web tool used second most among software developers worldwide in 2022 (the first was Node.js), and as many as 42.62% of developers said they were using ReactJS.
This large active community means enough support for React developers with issues or questions that need expert assistance. It also means that many open-source tools and libraries support React.
React is the top front-end framework chosen by many developers who create fast, reliable, and scalable web applications. Top companies like Facebook, Dropbox, Instagram, and Skype use React for its benefits.
