Why ReactJS is used over plain JavaScript

In this lesson, we will learn Why ReactJS is used over plain JavaScript. Complex and dynamic web apps have grown in popularity as technology has advanced. As a result, additional React frameworks and tools have been developed to accelerate development. However, the two questions that users keep returning to are the advantages of ReactJS over plain Javascript and how developing web applications using React differs from plain Javascript. If you’re wondering whether React is better than simple JavaScript, this article will be pretty helpful. Another critical concern is whether using it would improve the performance of your web app and help you reach your objectives. Please read the previous article on ReactJs: React Installation and Environment Setup.

Why ReactJS Instead of JavaScript?

React is a prominent Front-End JavaScript library for making web apps, and it has recently become one of the most popular libraries for developing web applications. Although React is built on top of JavaScript, it has several powerful capabilities that make it one of the finest alternatives for creating complicated user interfaces.

We will go over some of the main reasons why developers would opt to use React instead of merely using JavaScript when creating user interfaces. We will also go over the advantages that React has for modern web development. Whether you are an experienced developer or just starting out with front-end development, understanding the benefits of React may help you make technology stack decisions and build better, more scalable online applications.

What is Plain Javascript?

Plain Javascript is also known as “vanilla Javascript”. Before delving deeper into Plain Javascript, it’s important to note that React (ReactJS) is written in JavaScript, which may lead you to believe that developing React is simply writing JavaScript code. However, if we solely focus on Plain Javascript, JavaScript is written without libraries in Plain JavaScript code.

In a nutshell, it is a scripting language that does not impose any restrictions on how data can be defined in an app or how the UI can be updated. As a result, apps that are designed or developed are more adaptable. However, this cannot result in superior ideal app results. It may cause issues in the future. And it goes without saying that you do not want troubles while designing an app.

The one widely used library under Plain Javascript’s umbrella, which you may have heard about, is jQuery. jQuery is a fast, small Javascript library that goes around existing JavaScript functionality to make it easy and consistent to use across different browsers. It makes things easy for Javascript, which includes document transversal, manipulation, animation, and event handling. One fine thing about jQuery is that it doesn’t set any boundaries for a library like ReactJS so jQuery apps could be included in the same category as Plain JS.

What is ReactJS?

React (ReactJS) is a Javascript library that defines how to write user-friendly programs. It is open-source and free. It performs this fantastic work by establishing extremely specific criteria for how data can flow through the program and how the app’s user interface (UI) will look as a result of ongoing data changes, such as coding. Many more libraries define a variety of boundaries to specify data flow across the app and other UI-related functionalities. The two most important are Angular and Vue.

React Vs. Plain Javascript – A Fair Comparison

Understanding the distinctions between them is the best approach to understanding why React has more advantages than simple Javascript. If we use simple Javascript, it works without the use of any libraries. It’s a scripting language that doesn’t follow any rules. There are no restrictions on where you can write javascript. In a nutshell, it lacks organization. When it is ready to run in your browser, it is executed from top to bottom, line by line.

ReactJS, for example, explains how data flows by explaining and identifying a set of rules. To put it simply, React apps are well-structured. It is critical to realize that each React component operates independently yet connects with each other extensively to ensure that the web app’s functionality is seamless and effective.

Example to Understand Why React Instead of JavaScript

In plain Javascript, the initial UI is created in HTML on the server side, which is further sent to the browser. The document you receive may look something like the following.

<div> <h1>Product List</h1>
  <ul>
      <li>Computer</li>
      <li>Mobile</li>
      <li>Television</li>
  </ul>
</div>

This code is given to the browser, and there is no need for Javascript throughout the coding. However, if we turn on the ReactJS light, a React app will begin working on the UI with a fixed HTML file. It could resemble the following.

<div id="root"></div>

Let’s see how in React the UI looks like with the below codes,

Let us explain in more detail. Rather than defining the first UI on the server, React defines it directly on the browser. As a result, the program begins with a blank container (in this case, a div), and then the UI is loaded into that container.

A component that returns JSX will define the user interface. JSX will seem just like HTML, however, JavaScript can look like this:

function ProductList(props) { return (
     <div> <h1>Product List</h1>
       <ul>
        <li>Computer</li>
        <li>Mobile</li>
        <li>Television</li>
      </ul>
    </div>
  )
};

How is the functionality of the app distributed?

There is no demand for the app’s distributed functionality in ordinary JavaScript apps. For example, in a main index.html file, you can establish your basic product list as follows:

<div> <h1>Product List</h1>
       <ul>
        <li>Computer</li>
        <li>Mobile</li>
        <li>Television</li>
      </ul>
    </div>

separate javascript file, as mentioned below.
function addItemToList() {
// Add item
}

Why is the code being distributed?

It is because splitting the HTML (markup) and JavaScript (functionality) was seen as a “separation of concerns.” The complexity of Plain JavaScript apps has grown, which has become a significant reason for unnecessary headaches. This is because the developer has to keep in mind both of these codes, which is time-consuming and a reason to increase the pace of development.

ReactJS works in such a way that your web project is divided into components, and each of those components contains all of the code needed to show and update the UI.

function ProductList(props) { function addItem() {
      // Add Item
  }
  return (
      <div> <h1>Product List</h1>
       <ul>
        <li>Computer</li>
        <li>Mobile</li>
        <li>Television</li>
      </ul>
    </div>
  )
};

ReactJS Features:

• Use JSX: JSX is faster than normal JavaScript as it performs optimizations while translating code to regular JavaScript code. JSX makes it easier for us to create templates while developing the application.
• Virtual DOM: Virtual DOM (Document Object Model) exists in React which is nothing but the lightweight version of the actual DOM (Document Object Model). So, for every object that exists in the original DOM, there is an object for that in React Virtual DOM. It is the same, but it does not have the power to directly change the layout of the document. Manipulating DOM is slow, but manipulating Virtual DOM is fast.
• Component: Components are the basic building blocks of any React application. In other words, we can also say that every application we develop in React will be made up of pieces called components. These components have their own logic and controls, and they can be reused throughout the application, which in turn dramatically reduces the application’s development time.
• Performance: ReactJS uses JSX, which is faster compared to normal JavaScript and HTML. Virtual DOM compares the components’ previous states and updates only the items in the Real DOM that were changed, instead of updating all components again, as conventional web applications do, and as a result, we will get better performance.

ReactJS Advantages:

• Component: We can divide the application into different custom components. Then we can utilize those components and we can also integrate them into one place.
• Declarative: In react the DOM is declarative. We can make interactive UIs by changing the state of the component and ReactJS will take care of updating the DOM according to it.
• Community: React has a huge community because of its demand each company wants to work with React. Companies like Meta, Netflix, etc built on React.
• Easy to learn: The syntax of React is very similar to HTML-like syntax which makes you comfortable with the codes of React, it only requires a basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript fundamentals to start working with it.
• Open-Source: ReactJS is an open-source JavaScript library, so it is easy to start with.
• SEO-friendly: We must acknowledge that React JS was introduced after tremendous research and advancements by Facebook. That is why it stands out from the vast majority of the crowd (front-end libraries) and empowers developers to build robust, SEO-friendly UI across browsers and engines.

ReactJS Disadvantages

• Employs inline scripting and JSX, which some programmers might find uncomfortable. Most of the code is written in JSX, i.e., HTML and CSS are part of JavaScript, it can be quite confusing as most other frameworks prefer keeping HTML separate from the JavaScript code.
• The file size of ReactJS is large.

Conclusion

In this lesson, we discussed Why ReactJS is used over plain JavaScript. We discussed here the things that Because of its impressive features and benefits, ReactJS has a better chance of dominating the development world. You can create a scalable web app with ReactJS to help you take your business to the next level. As a result, you can see your company’s revenue and conversions from a different perspective. Despite the fact that plain Javascript is one of the most popular programming languages among the huge community of developers.

Leave behind your valuable queries and suggestions in the comment section below. Also, if you think this article helps you, do not forget to share this with your developer community. Happy Coding 🙂

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