React JS is a specialized framework for creating user interfaces, introduced by Facebook in 2015.
Javascript is one of the most popular programming languages at the moment. Dynamic interfaces are created in Javascript in the blink of an eye, and if you want to bring your website to life, this programming language is just right for you. In conjunction with React JS, this is the optimal stack for a novice front-end developer.
What is Javascript library
A library is a piece of code written by other developers and is in the public domain. Often, React JS is called a framework, but this is not entirely true – rather, it is a convenient set of standard libraries that make working with code extremely convenient.
It guarantees that his code will be accepted according to all relevant quality standards. For example, health and fitness app development, a new field, can be handled using React JS libraries. The library determines what technologies to use, what to create and how – standard programming techniques make up the majority of a programmer’s job, and skillfully juggling them confirms his qualifications.
How React JS works
To understand how React JS works, it is required at the beginning of a developer’s journey to get acquainted with two main approaches in programming – imperative and declarative.
React JS only works with the declarative approach. The main idea of the approach is that UI is a function of data written in Javascript. The developer, using basic programming techniques, describes how a particular interactive interface function works and how it is deployed in the browser.
Using a standard set of libraries, the developer does not have to separately describe the details of each method or interface element.
Descriptions of each block of code in React JS become components that can be added and integrated into each other to obtain complex methods for solving certain problems. Components can be used several times and build entire pyramids of code from standard solutions. The standard workflow is as follows:
- The developer describes the component using the React JS libraries;
- All places where parts of the selected component interact with the program code as a whole are indicated;
- React adds interactive elements to HTML markup;
- If a developer needs to change some aspect in the course of work, such as the color of the borders of a block of the displayed text of a pop-up window, then he simply specifies a new color using the standard set of component access commands;
- React will automatically change the color or other aspect in all places in the code where this component appears.
The main point – the creation and configuration of the components used in React JS – are completely different processes. First, the developer must define how this or that component behaves, how to set its properties and what visual effects it has.
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Why React JS is good for developers
Professional developers note four main advantages of React JS:
- Versatility. React JS is a standard set of libraries that every Javascript developer encounters in one way or another. Its study takes a minimum of time, and given how popular Javascript has recently become as the main programming language, React JS stands apart from all other components of the current development stack in this programming language;
- Flexibility. React JS development is extremely flexible because it allows developers to choose which libraries to use in the programming process. Also, while working with the framework, you can change the main development tools on the go and track the changes that the code undergoes in a timely manner. Web applications can be built entirely using React JS alone, or you can use it to work on one specific component;
- Great DevX level. The developer’s experience when working with React JS is purely positive – the set of libraries is relevant and has not lost its relevance since 2015, all changes in programming trends are tracked and added to the framework. All typical interface programming problems can be solved using the solutions available in React JS, and a giant ecosystem has formed around the library;
- Excellent readability. In 9 cases out of 10, the developer clearly sees which component is the problem in case of problems in the program. Considering that the library consists of separate interconnected components, in case of a breakdown, the programmer simply goes to the required component and changes the code, and React JS connects the code change with the rest of the program.
