React is an open-source JavaScript library used for building user interfaces or UI components. Developed by Facebook in 2011, React has grown to become one of the most popular front-end development libraries today. It is widely adopted by companies and developers worldwide because of its flexibility, efficiency, and simplicity in creating complex user interfaces.
React's popularity is reflected in the statistics: it is the second most-starred repository on GitHub with over 200,000 stars and has over 1.5 million weekly downloads on npm. Additionally, more than 90% of developers who use React recommend it to others, according to the State of JavaScript 2020 survey.
React is used to build web applications, mobile applications, and desktop applications. Some of the real-life examples of React applications include Facebook, Instagram, Airbnb, Netflix, and Uber.
React is also used for developing cross-platform mobile applications using React Native. React Native allows developers to build mobile applications for both iOS and Android platforms, which significantly reduces the development time and cost. Companies such as Tesla, Bloomberg, and Skype have used React Native to develop their mobile applications.
React's key benefits include reusability, modularity, and component-based architecture. React allows developers to break down complex user interfaces into smaller, reusable components, making it easier to manage and maintain code. This approach also helps reduce development time and cost, as developers can reuse components across different projects.
React's virtual DOM (Document Object Model) also makes it efficient in updating and rendering the user interface. When a change is made to a component, React updates only that component and its children, rather than the entire page, which results in faster rendering and better performance.
In addition, React's vast community and ecosystem provide developers with a wealth of resources, tools, and libraries that help them build high-quality applications quickly and efficiently. This community-driven approach also ensures that React stays up-to-date with the latest industry trends and best practices.
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Some of the outstanding features make React make it the most widely adopted library for front end development. One of the features is JSX which stands for JavaScript syntactic extension. This allows developers to write HTML and JavaScript in the same file. With the Model View Controller (MVC) architecture, React is the “view” responsible for how the app looks and feels. Other features include: virtual DOM, data binding, extensions, debugging, components, and more.
As you know, there are highs and lows in everything. React may come with so many benefits that make it very likable, but there are disadvantages to it. The high pace of development can be both advantageous and disadvantageous, with so many rapid changes and upgrades, developers may not have time to take a break and feel uncomfortable adapting so much new knowledge so soon. And since this happens, the library has very poor documentation as there is not enough time to document properly. At Dirox, our developers take time to research and catch up with the changes to be able to optimize React as best as possible.
No, React.js is a library. It is, however, often mistaken for a framework, tool, or language. Especially being compared with Angular, which is a framework, some think of React as a framework as well. The truth is, while there are many similarities between React and Angular, and can sometimes be used for the same purpose, there are many stark differences that separate them. Angular is mostly used to build enterprise-grade applications like single-page apps and progressive web apps while React is used to build UI components in any app.
As React is very mainstream and has a large community with one-of-a-kind importance, many big-name companies and corporations use this library to add to their code or incorporate with their code to create the most optimized website, web application, or any other software application. The obvious company that uses React is the one that created it: Facebook. Other companies include Instagram, Netflix, New York Times, Yahoo! Mail, Khan Academy, Whatsapp, Code Academy, Dropbox, and many more. If you need to hire a developer who knows the way around React, consult with Dirox to get a rate!
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