Question 1

What is React?

Accepted Answer

React is a front-end library in Javascript that was developed by Facebook. The simplest definition of React is that it is a user interface library used for building UI components for the web. But if that was all React did, it would be little more than a template library. Developers define components in React by using an HTML-like syntax called JSX. These encapsulated components manage their own state, making it simple to pass rich data to a component and keep the state of the application and its components out of the Document Object Model (DOM). These features give React components the ability to react dynamically and efficiently to changes in their state. A set of simple components in React can be composed into either simple single-page applications or large, complex web applications.

Question 2

What is React used for?

Accepted Answer

React is an open-source JavaScript frontend library. Some developers consider it a frontend framework because it does more than standard libraries usually do. The most common use of React is to build dynamic user interfaces for single-page web applications. But the structure of React makes it useful for more than just creating websites. JSX, which is one feature of React, is a syntax extension for Javascript that provides a template for the HTML and manages the state of the element. But JSX can be used as an interface for things other than HTML. React Native uses React to build mobile applications. Here, JSX becomes an interface for mobile UIs instead of HTML. There are even a few libraries that use React and JSX to interact with and manage hardware like React Hardware.

Question 3

How does React work?

Accepted Answer

React encourages engineers to write code using a Functional Programming approach. Engineers create components, which are normal Javascript functions. These functions return information to tell React what content should be displayed on the screen. The real power of React comes from the ability to nest or compose these functions inside of one another. This nesting ability encourages code reuse and allows an engineer to write a component a single time, but in many different places.

Question 4

Is React a framework or library?

Accepted Answer

Frameworks provide an opinionated approach to building an entire application. Libraries, on the other hand, assist in building a single aspect of an application. With this in mind, React is a library. It assists engineers in presenting HTML in the browser. React has no opinions on how data is fetched, how styling is applied, or how the app is deployed or built.

Question 5

Is React worth learning?

Accepted Answer

Yes, React is worth learning. There are a couple of reasons. The first one is that React is in high demand in the software development job market and has been for a few years. If you learn to code in React and can do it well, you will increase your chances of finding a job. This alone is another reason it is worth learning. Website users no longer will settle for old-fashioned sites that won't update without a page reload. React’s method of dynamically updating the HTML of a web page fits these users' needs and improves their experience. React has also been around a few years and has stood the test of time. A large portion of websites, both small and large, use React as a frontend framework.

Question 6

Is React hard to learn?

Accepted Answer

Every technology or programming language has a learning curve, and React is no different. But it is easy to learn if you are dedicated and determined to create frontend web applications. To make learning React simpler, you should stick to the basics of React before you add any extra libraries, as that will only complicate your learning experience in the beginning. Since React is a Javascript framework, a solid grounding in Javascript will give you a head start. With this knowledge, the unique concept of JSX, React's templating language, and the way React uses state will be much easier to grasp.

Question 7

What is the difference between React Native and ReactJS, and which one should I learn?

Accepted Answer

React, or React.JS, is a front-end Javascript library for building UI components for the web. If you are interested in web development, React is the perfect library to learn to create interactive, dynamic single-page apps, or even full-scale web applications. React Native is a framework for building native mobile applications for both the Android phone and Apple's iPhone. React Native is still React, which means the syntax and workflow for building applications are basically the same, but the generated components are different. In React, web components are generated. In React Native, the generated components interact with a phone's native APIs. If your focus is web development, then you should learn React. If you want to build mobile applications, it is best to learn React first and become familiar with the technology before you try React Native.

Question 8

Why is React so popular?

Accepted Answer

There are many reasons why React is popular. One reason is that Facebook developed it. The social proof is that if it is good enough for Facebook, one of the most popular social networks on the web, it should be good enough for other applications. React also solved many of the past issues that developers had with developing single-page applications (SPAs). React came out when SPAs were becoming popular, and all the existing frameworks to build them made development complicated and prone to bugs. One feature that makes it better than past libraries is that React is relatively easy to use. Its components are reusable, plus React's use of the virtual DOM makes it very performant. React should remain popular in the future as each new release brings new features and performance improvements.

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