What is React?
- React is a JavaScript library - one of the most popular ones, with over 100,000 stars on GitHub.
- React is not a framework (unlike Angular, which is more opinionated).
- React is an open-source project created by Facebook.
- React is used to build user interfaces (UI) on the front end.
- React is the view layer of an MVC application (Model View Controller)
Prerequisites
There are a few things you should know in advance before you start playing around with React. If you've never used JavaScript or the DOM at all before, for example, I would get more familiar with those before trying to tackle React.
Here are what I consider to be React prerequisites.
- Basic familiarity with HTML & CSS.
- Basic knowledge of JavaScript and programming.
- Basic understanding of the DOM.
- Familiarity with ES6 syntax and features.
- Node.js and npm installed globally.
Goals
- Learn about essential React concepts and related terms, such as Babel, Webpack, JSX, components, props, state, and lifecycle.
- Build a very simple React app that demonstrates the above concepts.
Here's the source and a live demo of the end result.
What is React?
- React is a JavaScript library - one of the most popular ones, with over 100,000 stars on GitHub.
- React is not a framework (unlike Angular, which is more opinionated).
- React is an open-source project created by Facebook.
- React is used to build user interfaces (UI) on the front end.
- React is the view layer of an MVC application (Model View Controller)
One of the most important aspects of React is the fact that you can create components, which are like custom, reusable HTML elements, to quickly and efficiently build user interfaces. React also streamlines how data is stored and handled, using state and props.
We'll go over all of this and more throughout the article, so let's get started.