With software and application development continuing to rise in demand, much buzz surrounds niche topics pertaining to the same. Libraries, frameworks, and technology stacks are one such niche topic, and IT outsourcing companies are at the forefront of experiencing what’s changing when it comes to the latest trends in software development.
This article serves as a layman’s guide to React, a popular JavaScript library that is relied upon by developers novice and seasoned alike, to build user interfaces and single-page software applications. We’ve also included a quick guide on determining the best technology stacks for your unique software project. Read on to know more!
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React is an open-source code library that is based on JavaScript. Developed by Facebook (now Meta) and released in 2013, the library continues to be maintained by Meta and a group of independent developers. Mainly used for building user interfaces as part of front-end development services, React is also ideal for Single Page Applications (SPAs).
It is common for React to be interchangeably referred to as a library or a framework. However, React is more attuned as a library, since it does not include the complete bundle of tools that frameworks typically offer, to build a software or application. Due to the library-framework interchangeability, React is often bundled together with frameworks such as Angular, which do offer an end-to-end suite of tools to build an application.
On the other hand, React is also the reason for React Native, which is another JavaScript-based library/framework that is exclusively meant for developing mobile apps. React Native offers agnostic development capabilities, which means that apps can be built for both iOS and Android with a single, native set of tools.
React bases software and application development on components, each of which function independently. This has numerous advantages. For one, individual components can be removed and added as required, without hampering the workability quotient of the rest of the application – unlike a monolithic architecture, where even a single faulty element can render the entire application unusable.
Additionally, these components can also be reused and repurposed across other areas of the application, or across other webpages. Examples of such component types include themes, widgets, and even plugins.
A Document Object Model (DOM) is a hierarchical representation of different types of data, on a web page. In other words, a DOM creates a tree structure for each part of an HTML document, and treats it as a single object. DOMs can be categorised into real and virtual DOMs. A real DOM is the actual HTML document, while its virtual counterpart is a lightweight version, in memory.
When it comes to loading, real DOMs are slower than virtual DOMs. React uses virtual DOMs when loading web pages, as these only focus on loading objects that were updated – compared to real DOMs that require browsers to load all objects on the page. This makes virtual DOMs faster, and contributes to improved performance.
React is based on JavaScript, which has long since been a popular programming language that developers of all skill levels use, and rely on. As a result, React has a short learning curve, which has made it a library that is easy to adopt and use.
React is also easy to debug, as it has a unidirectional data flow. With components segmented into parent and child variants, a hierarchy is maintained wherein child components are always nested under parent components. Any errors can therefore be swiftly detected, as data only flows in one direction.
Some of the best (and more popular) use cases of React include:
Whether your software redevelopment teams use React or another library to build bespoke applications on behalf of your business is less of a matter, compared to understanding what your business objectives are. However, your software development teams are still having technical conversations about which technology stacks to use, in order to deliver the best in quality, while streamlining their duties.
Join in on this conversation as a business owner or manager by asking questions surrounding:
Based on the feedback that is gained from such a discussion, much insight can be gained on whether existing technology stacks are optimal for your application’s software development lifecycle – and if any upgrades need to be made in order to improve productivity, performance and overall software quality.
It is always sensible to build anything new (be it a new functionality or an entire application) with minimalism in mind. Also known as a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), this same logic also applies when introducing new libraries and frameworks.
Gradually introducing and thoroughly testing new features that are built through new technology stacks can help teams identify whether app performance and developer productivity have improved, while also monitoring for scalability in due course of time.
Provided your team’s new technology stacks are suitable and up to speed, your software/application can be improved based on data derived from analytics tools that monitor website traffic, user interactions, and cloud resource usage. User feedback from reviews and support tickets are another key channel for first-party data, helping teams analyse what is working and what is lacking, in order to improve an app’s features.
Concurrently, this shall also test your technology stack in terms of versatility and scalability, especially when it comes to adding new and innovative features to your application – making you and your software development teams repeat the assessment phase, to decide whether an upgrade is needed for your set of libraries and frameworks.
If newer technology stacks are required, it may also prompt teams to determine whether it is important to hire front-end developers that have the skills needed to ensure software projects remain in lockstep with newer and useful technologies.
React is a highly versatile code library that is easy to learn, thanks to its JavaScript foundation. Capabilities such as virtual DOMs render it highly suitable for SPAs (Single Page Applications) since it only loads elements that have undergone changes in data – as opposed to all elements across the entire page.
Furthermore, React’s component-based architecture makes it easily reusable, while unidirectional data flow helps identify errors in code easily. However, determining whether React is ideal for your software’s technology stack is a decision that is best made together with your software development team, based on what your business needs to achieve, as well as any challenges that are currently faced by your team members.
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