React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces. It was developed by Facebook and is often used for building single-page applications and mobile applications.
A React app is a web application that is built using the React library. It is typically implemented as a single-page application, meaning that the entire app is loaded in a single page in the browser and different components of the app are displayed and updated dynamically, without the need to refresh the page.
React apps are built using a combination of JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, and they are usually structured as a set of components that represent different parts of the user interface. Each component is a self-contained piece of code that specifies how it should be rendered and how it should behave in response to user input and other events.
React is popular because it allows developers to create interactive and dynamic user interfaces efficiently, using a declarative programming style that is easy to understand and maintain. It is also well-suited for building applications that need to handle large amounts of data and update their UI frequently in response to changing data.
Why use React instead of traditional html?
There are a few reasons why someone might choose to use React, a JavaScript library for building user interfaces, instead of just using HTML to build a website or web application:
- Reusable components: In React, you can create reusable components that can be used throughout your application. This can make it easier to build and maintain a complex application, as you can reuse components and only need to update them in one place.
- Virtual DOM: React uses a virtual DOM (Document Object Model) to optimize updates to the actual DOM. When a component’s state changes, React will determine the minimal set of changes that need to be made to the DOM and will update the DOM accordingly. This can make your application more performant, as it reduces the number of DOM manipulation operations that need to be performed.
- Declarative programming: React uses a declarative programming style, which means that you specify what you want the UI to look like, and React takes care of rendering the UI and updating it as necessary. This can make it easier to understand and reason about your application’s UI.
- Strong community: React has a strong and active community, which means that there are a lot of resources available for learning React and getting help with any issues you might encounter. There are also many third-party libraries and tools that can be used with React to make development easier and more efficient.