The most powerful UI library of all time, ReactJS, is often used in large corporations for web applications. ReactJS is also used as the TOP language for mobile applications. Due to the high reusability of ReactJS, the development of a web application can also be used as an app for IOS or Android at the same time. In order to take a step forward with digitization, it is important for a stable company to have personnel management or other web applications to enable tasks and work in large numbers. In order not to lose track of things, many companies often rely on ReactJS applications. These applications make work easier and improve the performance of your company.
But also other web applications, such as a content management system, an online shop, a website or even a project management tool. With ReactJS every problem is solved easily, safely, efficiently and quickly. With ReactJS it is possible to create a huge system in which even maintenance work is very little.
So, in this article, I am going to discuss the prospects and future of ReactJS development.
Many global web enterprises have specialized in development with ReactJS in the current years, so that this library becomes one of the most competent contacts for your project.
Contents
Why ReactJS?
In order to develop a front-end that is easier to understand for editors as well as users, React was first introduced by Facebook. To be able to explain that exactly, I would like to give you an example. A code is not just a code. Certain elements can only be serviced by a certain employee, as this is far too complex. The effort is enormous. In general, it is said that the more closely the code that has grown is networked, the more difficult it is to make changes or to maintain.
React was introduced with the intention of solving exactly this problem. ReactJS makes it possible to write simpler code, the language of which is less interconnected. This allows an enormous amount of time to be avoided.
ReactJS remains a library and not a framework. Think of it like this: Programmers take smaller books, in this case ReactJS components, and put them together. The result is an extremely simple code that is more flexible than ever before.
What are the cool new features of ReactJS?
Fiber
Fiber is a new architecture that underlies React, which was recently released. Most of the code was rewritten from scratch. The main goal was to create opportunities for prioritizing content updates. The error handling system has also been rewritten and some old inconveniences have been eliminated, such as the need to wrap multiple elements in one root element. The existing API, fortunately, is hardly affected.
It is best to start dating with the problem that the new version should solve. It is clearly visible on the demo. The demo is synthetic, simulating something like a taxi control screen. Yellow cars on the city map. The cars have black numbers indicating how many cars still have to go to their destination. The numbers change every second, and during this change, the animation adjusts. Lags occur because two parallel actions are performed: animation processing and DOM updates. The animation works well until there is a massive DOM update.
To make the problem better visible, an artificial delay has been introduced, do not forget that the demo is synthetic. But the problem is quite real: while recalculating the DOM, the animation does not play, because all the resources are assigned to work with the DOM. And within the old React architecture, this problem could not be solved at all. We must pay tribute to the developers of the library: they, faced with this problem, rewrote much of the code. Despite this, migration should not cause much difficulty.
Looking ahead, I will say that if you click on the checkbox at the top, the demo will switch to fiber mode and stop braking. By the way, do not leave the demo alone for a long time, because it seems.
ReactJS uses Virtual DOM technology to ensure high speed operation. A simplified copy of the DOM is supported in memory, where nodes are instances of specific instances of the components that control them. When the state of an instance changes, the upgrade process consists of the following steps:
- Components are interviewed for changes.
- The DOM in the memory is rebuilt.
The difference with the real DOM tree is calculated and direct changes are made.
Previous versions of React used an algorithm called Stack in retrospect to upgrade. And he eventually found a significant drawback: he works a simple search in depth, and his work is continuous. And since everything in the browser is executed in one thread, other processes have to wait during the update. In the case of high-priority updates, such as animation, this can be a big hassle.
New update algorithm
The Fiber architecture is named after the algorithm that underlies it. The algorithm is to divide the update process into two phases:
- Reconciliation phase – when components are recalculated and the DOM is updated in memory.
- Commit phase – when a direct DOM update is performed.
It is worth noting that the reconciliation phase can be interrupted. Fiber using requestIdleCallback asks the browser to allocate time when it will not be loaded by work. When you call back, the browser indicates how much free time it actually has. This allows fiber to plan some upgrades for this period. If the browser does not support requestIdleCallback, then React makes a polyfill.
The Fiber algorithm, in turn, is named after the smallest object that underlies it. Each instance (component or element) is assigned an object that monitors its status and communication with other components.
Application
To experience the new features, you must use the ReactDOM.unstable_deferredUpdates mode. (All experimental features are initially supplied with the prefix unstable_).
tick () {
ReactDOM.unstable_deferredUpdates (() => (
this.setState (prevState) => ({
tick: prevState.tick + 1
}))
))
}
Updates that occur within deferredUpdates run in parallel.
Pay attention to these things:
You need to use setState with callback, setState with object becomes deprecated. If the new state depends on the current state, you must use the prevState callback option instead of this.state. Because it can be called several times.
Prioritization
Updates inside are already being prioritized, but this process is still far from ideal. In addition, more control over this process is expected. Priorities:
- Synchronous – synchronous, running now;
- Task – task to the next tick;
- Animation – animation to the next frame;
- High – high;
- Low – low;
- Offscreen / Hidden – hidden or off-screen.
Pre-rendering
Because the visualization is divided into two phases, it is possible to clearly define when everything you need is loaded, calculated and ready to display. In the future, this will pave the way for streaming previewed components on the server. It should also simplify the download phase of large applications.
Abstraction
You probably know that React currently runs on a large number of platforms. Example:
- Browser: react-dom
- Mobile: react-native
- Terminal: react-blessed
- Virtual reality: aframe-react
- Arduino: react-hardware
And finally, I’ll answer the last question.
The React team is actively working to make ReactJS independent of the environment. From version v0.14 ReactDOM was allocated in a separate package. From version v0.16, the developers report that React has become completely independent of the browser. I can frankly say that the potential of the new architecture is not fully realized. And developers have many plans for the future that may become real.
