React

React is the most popular front-end JavaScript library for building user interfaces. React.js, Reactjs, or simply React are different ways to come across the name. Many large companies use React, such as Netflix and Uber.

React was developed by Meta (the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram) in 2011 to make the code of large web applications more manageable. This was initially an internal project used for the Facebook and Instagram platforms. In 2013, Meta released React and made it an open-source project.

Since then, the use of React has grown, and more than one million websites use the library. React is maintained on GitHub by Meta and a community of individual developers and companies.

The benefits of React

As mentioned earlier, React is one of the most popular libraries, primarily due to React's benefits.

Easy to learn

ReactJS is much easier to learn and use. There is a lot of documentation, tutorials, and training material available. Any developer coming from a JavaScript background can easily understand and start making web apps with React in just a few days.

Reusable components

Writing code for large projects is a time-consuming process. Traditionally, developers could not effectively reuse code components because changes to one component would affect all copies of that component.

Programming and web development projects cannot always benefit from the efficiency of reusing designs. Small changes in one instance of a component can affect the copy of the component elsewhere.

React isolates all components. This means that changes or updates to one instance of a component do not affect all other instances of the same component. React allows developers to effectively reuse design components, saving time and making their code more accurate.

Virtual DOM

The problem with real or traditional DOM structures is that they rewrite the entire DOM tree when they process changes. Modern, interactive websites and applications have complex and large DOM trees. Each time an input or query is made, a real DOM has to rewrite the entire page, which can hinder performance and waste memory.

A virtual DOM is much more efficient, performs faster, and ultimately creates a better user interface. Instead of rewriting the entire DOM tree every time a user changes, a virtual DOM only updates the element being manipulated.

SEO-friendly

Search results are an important aspect of web development. Websites must do more than function well; they must perform well and rank as high as possible on the search results page.

Traditional JavaScript-rich websites are difficult for search engines to read. React mitigates the problem of heavy JavaScript websites and is readable to Google and other search engines.

The disadvantages

These are some of the disadvantages.

High development speed

The high development speed is both an advantage and a disadvantage. The disadvantage is that since the environment is constantly changing so quickly, some developers may not feel comfortable learning new ways of working regularly.

JSX

ReactJS uses JSX, which is a syntax extension that allows HTML to be used with JavaScript. This approach has its own benefits, but some community members find JSX a barrier, especially for new developers. Developers complain about the complexity of the learning curve.

Poor documentation

This is a disadvantage that is common with constantly changing technologies. React technologies update and accelerate so quickly that there is no time to create good documentation. To overcome this, developers write their own instructions for developing new releases and tools in their current projects.