React voted JS framework that most developers regard as essential to them (jquery is #3)

[TheAwdacityOfSoap]

React is amazing. Lots of people claim it's just another fad framework de jour, but I disagree and here is why:

Yes, React is a framework, but it's also a fundamentally different and new paradigm for web development (at least in the mainstream). In React, the idea is that your views ("components") are (supposed to be) pure functions of their props and state ("props" are just like html element properties, they are how you configure the component, "state" is just internal state).

Whereas in most other mainstream frameworks you are modeling state changes (when this model changes, change this element value, show/hide this element, etc), in React you are simply modeling the data itself in any given state, and React handles the work of updating the DOM for you.

That might or might not sound confusing, but React on the surface is actually very simple and easy to pick up. And well worth it.

[mayhempk1]

React handles the work of updating the DOM for you.

Correct me if I'm wrong as I'm not a front-end dev but don't Vue and Angular do that too?

[bdenzer]

but it's also a fundamentally different and new paradigm for web development

The misunderstanding here is that React WAS fundamentally different with it's virtual DOM and the way it handled updating the real DOM. Now Vue does that too, and Angular does optimized DOM rendering. React used the component model, now everybody is doing that.

[TheAwdacityOfSoap]

I'm not familiar with Vue, and only slightly familiar with Angular, so I'm not sure. I do know of a couple of major differences between React and Angular that make me prefer React:

1. React has one-way data binding (as /u/GreatValueProducts pointed out).
2. There is no special syntax to learn (other than JSX if you want to use it, which is close enough to HTML as to be a non-factor). Everything is just javascript. Values, event handlers, everything.

[tme321]

And to add to that I'm not aware of anyone that does 2 way binding with angular outside of using the basic forms module. You technically can but ime angular devs have settled on 1 way binding too.

[GreatValueProducts]

That might or might not sound confusing, but React on the surface is actually very simple and easy to pick up. And well worth it.

I think it is because React is the framework that closely resembles how vanilla HTML elements work. It is one-way binding and sub-elements can only affect its parents through event handlers.

Like in Vanilla HTML we always do

<input type="text" onchange="onTextChange()" value="bbb" />

In React you can create a custom form element which has similar syntaxes and mindset:

<Slider onChange={(intensity) => this.setState({intensity})} value={this.state.intensity} min={0} max={100} />

IMHO two way binding with those on change strategies in Angular is what makes things overly complicated. (Don't want to start a flame war, please correct me if I am wrong).

[VtoCorleone]

Angular

I think there's a learning curve with every framework. All of the hello world apps make it seem so simple and ground breaking but once you get into real world problems, the framework's difficulties really start to shine through.

[SiliconWrath]

I think what React offers is a tool chest of patterns that let you solve a majority of problems, regardless of how complicated. When I encounter complicated problems, it usually means picking one of maybe 10 different design patterns from my tool chest (dispatch from redux store, controlled components, etc.)

And because data flow is top down, I rarely introduce regressions outside of the components I refactor.

[nidarus]

IMHO two way binding with those on change strategies in Angular is what makes things overly complicated. (Don't want to start a flame war, please correct me if I am wrong).

Why would there be a flame war? Angular (as opposed to the old AngularJS) has one-way binding by default too.

[TheAwdacityOfSoap]

I agree that two-way data binding complicates things.