Why is React JS so popular in 2023?
I am writing this blog for people who want to start building websites and mobile apps but don’t know which language to start with.
I started using React in 2023; it has been a great experience from a developer's perspective. I started with React clone videos available on YouTube to get used to the syntax. Now, I am working on building multiple websites using ReactJS. So, I got curious as to why it is so popular. Here are some of the reasons I learned:
React.js is open-source: Created by Facebook in 2011, React was made open-source in 2013 which has helped to build a supportive and strong community. Developers started adopting it and compared it with other frameworks and found a lot of benefits in using React.
Strong community support: The reason I could learn React so quickly and apply it professionally is because of the strong community and tons of resources available online for React.
Component-based: There are two ways of running a component: functional-based and class-based. React allows us to define a component using a functional component which makes it efficient as we can easily reuse the components.
JavaScript XML and Styled-component: The ability to use both HTML and CSS styling in the same JS file is one of its most unique features. This keeps the file structure clean.
Easy to get started: React is easy and fast to install. It only takes a few minutes to install React and get started. Moreover, there are many pre-built component libraries that make it ideal for programmers. This is one of the best frameworks for people without prior programming experience.
Used for mobile apps and websites: React allows us to build intuitive user interfaces for both websites and mobile apps. I realized this while making my first responsive website. I thought this would not be mobile-friendly but I made it so with a single-line tweak in CSS. It is also easy to shift from web to mobile as ReactJS is compatible with React Native.
Virtual DOM (Document Object Model): One of the first things I noticed was the speed with which the changes in code are rendered to the website. React renders the DOM virtually and does not require refreshing the page every time we make changes in the code. This saves a lot of time for developers.
Easy debugging: While testing and debugging the code, I would just use console.log to print out or locate the error. React also allows automated unit tests and integration tests to test a specific snippet of code. React Developer Tools is available on web browsers which makes debugging very easy.
Even though there are other options like Angular (built by Google) which is very popular among developers, React would still be my choice. Angular is a heavier framework that requires more code compared to ReactJS.
I am still learning more about ReactJS every day I work. Hope this blog was of some help in helping you decide to choose your first programming language to begin your programming journey.
