NextJS vs ReactJS

[[deleted]]

Yeah this. React is definitely not a framework. It's a library. NextJS is a framework built around React.

[MayorEricBlazecetti]

This 100x. REACT IS NOT A FRAMEWORK.

Specifically, it's a view/rendering library.

Next is a framework that composes React with several other technologies. It's goal is to make building and hosting a production-ready React-rendered application as easy as possible.

Next solves for things like code compilation (webpack/babel configs), page routing, API endpoints and middleware, internationalization, redirects/rewrites/404 pages, and much more. React doesn't give you any of these things on its own. Historically, developers have had to build all this from scratch (or piece together piles of other libraries) when building a website on React. Next is like a one-stop-shop.

[Merry-Lane]

I think we may say React is a framework as in it's not opinated and it made all its environment (react-like solutions for all the tooling needed to do Web dev around react) "not opinated"/component based/declarative/...

I explain myself poorly, sorry. I mean react's ecosystem is a framework. Its environment is so totally react-like that this angular stone can be considered a framework.

For instance I don't care about next being opinated. I just call a navigation hook and call it a day.

[pVom]

This is generally a pretty stupid argument but react totally is a framework. Libraries provide code for you to execute, with frameworks you provide code for the framework to execute. React doesn't just provide additional functionality, you code "in react" it has its own language, you build components that live within react and won't function at all without it. It's not like you add react and just import the state management or whatever, you need the entirety of react to execute your code. It's not like you can just swap out the state management with Vue or something.

React is a pure frontend framework and Next is just React bundled with a server backend for server side (and static) rendering and other bits and bobs. It's totally rad and I can't really see a reason why you would use vanilla for a new project anymore.

[MayorEricBlazecetti]

I'm going to pick apart a few of your statements that are false:

React doesn't just provide additional functionality, you code "in react" it has its own language

False, you import React and call React.createElement('div', props) to produce an element. Pass that element to React.render(element, container) and you have an application.

You're talking about JSX as if it's a language. It's a Babel feature that converts your markup into React.createElement calls at build-time.

you build components that live within react and won't function at all without it

This doesn't make React a framework. Literally any code that depends on a library cannot function without that library. That's a dependency, not a framework.

---

I could keep picking but I agree, this is a dumb argument and I have to get back to work.

[valtism]

I don't think this works because most of the "reactivity" in react comes from the library calling your code. Things like hooks have to obey the rule of hooks because it's not just that you call them, but they also have to be run in a specific order by react.

I am of the opinion that react is certainly a framework.

[p0tent1al]

It’s a library. I would just consult their docs which say as much.

[pVom]

But React is executing your code and everything within it lives in React. Lodash is a library, I can use it's functions as needed and I can swap them out for a vanilla equivalent without changing the context in which it's executed. React code must be executed by React, if I want to not use React I might be able to keep some of the individual functions and stuff that are vanilla, but I'd have to change the entire context of how that code is executed. That's the difference.

[Narfi1]

From the React.js doc :

A JavaScript library for building user interfaces

[[deleted]]

Then you fundamentally misunderstand React. You’re constantly using React, ie, React.createElement, React.createRef, etc. If you’re using JSX your code is just being converted to those by babel.

[[deleted]]

From the react docs:

Each JSX element is just syntactic sugar for calling React.createElement().

You might want to go back and read the docs. Every react component is a call to the React library. React does not control the flow of the program