React vs Javascript - A Detailed Comparison

About React and JavaScript

What is React?

React is a popular JavaScript library developed by Facebook and released in 2013 used for building user interfaces. React is widely used by developers due to its flexibility, efficiency, and scalability. With its virtual DOM and reusable components, React allows developers to build complex applications with ease and less time.

React is designed to make it easier for developers to build user interfaces. One way it does this is by breaking down the interface into small, reusable parts that can be customized with their unique features and actions. This means that developers don't have to write as much code and can create more dynamic and interactive interfaces with less effort.

React has gained a lot of attention lately and is now used by many big companies like Facebook, Instagram, Airbnb, and Netflix. People like React because it's easy to use, adaptable, and can work with other libraries and frameworks. Many companies look to hire ReactJS developers because of this. It's a library, which means that developers can use it together with other tools to create a custom solution for their projects.

What is JavaScript?

We generally use HTML to structure the webpage and CSS to add styling to it but that is only the static web page where users can't interact. That is where JavaScript language comes into play.

JavaScript is a lightweight programming language that is cross-platform, interpreted, and object-oriented. Developers use JavaScript to design interactive and dynamic web pages. JavaScript supports both client-side and server-side programming. JavaScript is one of the most popular programming languages because it is highly versatile. It allows us to control multimedia, animate pictures, and do a variety of other things.

There are two methods for adding JavaScript code into an HTML web page: internally and externally. In the Internal  JavaScript method, <script> tag is used within the body of HTML to add all the JavaScript code. External JavaScript, on the other hand, requires storing the code in a separate .js file and then retrieving it within the HTML page. While working on large projects, developers frequently use this technique to keep the code structure organized.

Key Features

React - Key Features

The most important features that make React one of the most popular Javascript libraries for developing User Interfaces are mentioned below:

Virtual DOM: React implements a virtual Document Object Model (DOM) that serves as a lightweight copy of the original DOM. This virtual DOM is beneficial in enhancing the performance of the application because it minimizes the need for direct manipulations of the actual DOM. This allows for efficient updates to the user interface, resulting in faster rendering times.

Component-based architecture: React uses a component-based architecture that breaks down the user interface into independent and reusable blocks/components. These components can be combined to develop complex user interfaces and can be used repeatedly across various pages or applications.

Reactive Updates: Reactive updates in React mean that the user interface will automatically update itself whenever the underlying data changes. This is an effective feature because it reduces the amount of code needed to handle these updates, and ultimately makes the application work faster and smoother.

JSX: JSX is a syntax extension to JavaScript that React uses, that enables developers to write code that looks like HTML within their JavaScript files. This feature eases the process of creating and managing the user interface and provides more functionalities.

Unidirectional Flow: React implements a unidirectional flow of data, where information moves in a single direction, from the top-level component down to the child components. This design simplifies state management and reduces the chances of introducing errors in the code.

JavaScript - Key Features

Cross-platform: JavaScript language is supported by various operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is built into Netscape 2.0 and greater, and runs on all platforms which support Netscape.

Light-weight: Since JavaScript is not a compiled language, there is no prior byte-code conversion. However, it does adhere to a model known as Just-In-Time (JIT) Compilation. Hence, just before it executes, it is transformed to bytecode. Because of this, JS is a lightweight programming language. JavaScript can be executed on even less powerful machines.

Interpreted: As discussed above, JavaScript is not a compiled language but it's rather an interpreted language just like Python and Ruby. The source code of JavaScript is interpreted by the browser, line by line and is then executed.

Browser support: JavaScript is supported by almost every web browser including Chrome, Firefox, Safari etc.

Case sensitive: JavaScript is a case-sensitive language where all variables, function names and other identifiers must follow consistent capitalisation of letters.

Object oriented: JavaScript is a prototype based Object Oriented programming language. Data types like Arrays, Functions, etc. inherit properties of the object prototype.

Scripting language: JavaScript is a lightweight scripting language designed for client-side processing on the browser. It manages the web pages displayed to the user and its associated processing, such as cookies, sessions, and local storage, on the client's machine (browser).

Dynamically typed: Type checks (whether string or number) take place during run-time which makes JavaScript dynamically typed language. In JS, we don't need to clearly state upfront what kind of data will be kept in a variable. For instance, when we define var "num", "num" can now hold a string or an integer.

Performance Comparison

React Performance

React is highly known for its efficient and smooth performance, largely due to its use of virtual DOM and various rendering techniques. The virtual DOM is a lightweight copy of the actual DOM that enables React to make updates to the user interface with ease. Even complex applications run with greater speed and faster rendering times as a result.

React's approach to rendering only the necessary components, rather than the entire UI, contributes to its speed and responsiveness. React uses an algorithm that efficiently updates only the parts of the UI that have changed, further improving the performance.

Additionally, by following a unidirectional flow of data, React can better manage the application state and minimize the chances of introducing bugs. This makes it a prime option for developing highly responsive and speedy user interfaces.

React is a well-known library among developers for developing high-performance applications because of its performance benefits. It has the ability to handle large amounts of data without sacrificing speed or smoothness, which makes it a suitable option for developing complex web applications. Moreover, many third-party tools and plugins have been developed to work with React, which further boosts its performance.

JavaScript Performance

JavaScript is a widely used programming language for creating web applications and interactive experiences and many firms look to hire JavaScript developers. Its performance has improved considerably over the years, thanks to enhancements in web browser speed, hardware, and JavaScript language features. The faster and more efficient web browsers have allowed JavaScript to perform better, which means developers can now build more complex and interactive applications that run more smoothly and respond more quickly.

Modern JavaScript engines, like V8 and SpiderMonkey, can compile and execute code at incredibly fast speeds. This makes it easier for developers to create highly responsive applications that users can enjoy without delays or lags.

Another critical factor that affects JavaScript performance is the smoothness of the user interface. To achieve this, developers need to minimize the time taken for JavaScript to render and update the user interface, as well as optimize the use of memory and other system resources. Techniques like lazy loading, code splitting, and caching can help to reduce the amount of JavaScript that needs to be loaded and executed by the browser, ensuring a smoother and more responsive user experience.

JavaScript's performance has significantly improved and is expected to continue doing so as web technologies and hardware advance further in the future.

Popularity over the years

React

React has gained a significant amount of popularity since it was first introduced in 2013. Stack Overflow's Developer Survey reveals that for the last five years, React has been the most wanted web framework and technology among developers, above other famous frameworks like Angular and Vue. It has more than 200K stars on GitHub.

React is also continuously updated with new features and improvements, making it a top choice for developers looking to build high-performance web applications. Overall, React's popularity and growth can be attributed to its ease of use, flexibility, and continuous improvements.

JavaScript

Over 1.8 billion websites exist worldwide, and 95% of them use JavaScript. According to Github's 2020 Octoverse Report, JavaScript is by far the most popular language.

The basis for JavaScript's success is its origin tale. Its original name was Mocha, followed by LiveScript and then Javascript. The story starts in December of 1995 at the Netscape headquarters, where Brendan Eich participates in a ten-day coding sprint and comes out with a new language. Because of a license deal between Netscape and Sun (the company that owned Java), the language was renamed to Javascript and particularly "Java" script because Java was the most popular language at that time and this would help in Javascript's marketing.

While JavaScript has earned the title of "The Language of the Browser," its destiny changed in 2009 with the introduction of Node.JS, a runtime environment that allows JavaScript code to be executed outside of a web browser. Because Node.JS represents the idea of "JavaScript everywhere" paradigm, JavaScript's popularity has consequently increased.

Due to JavaScript's popularity, a number of libraries and frameworks have been developed, which have improved the effectiveness and efficiency of application development. React JS, jQuery, D3.JS, and other libraries are now used in the majority of apps all over the globe. Large apps can be built with the optimal performance of frameworks like Angular, Ember JS, and Vue JS. According to Stackoverflow, JavaScript has one of the largest communities amongst the programming languages.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages of React

Reusable components: React allows developers to reuse their previously coded components, which can be used across the application. This results in lesser code duplication and easier maintenance.

Virtual DOM: The virtual DOM feature in React enables faster updates to the user interface, which leads to better performance and quicker rendering times, even for complex applications.

Large community: React has a large community of developers who are active, ready to collaborate, and help each other. There are tons of resources available to help with the development process.

SEO-friendly: React can work well with server-side rendering, which makes it easier for search engines to understand. This improves the website's chances of appearing higher in search results, which is called search engine optimization (SEO).

Developer tools: React provides many developer tools and extensions that help with debugging, testing, and other development processes. This makes it easier for developers to build and maintain high-quality applications.

Disadvantages of React

JSX as a Barrier: JSX is a JavaScript extension that improves the readability and cleanliness of code. Although it simplifies coding for some, others may find it too complex. However, JSX does not impact the performance or UI capabilities of ReactJS, some developers might find it difficult to understand and develop.

Lack of Official Documentation: React has comprehensive and detailed official documentation, but it can be difficult to navigate and understand. Developers may need to seek help from community resources to find answers to specific questions which can be time-consuming at times.

Advantages of JavaScript

Less server load: JavaScript runs on the client-side and hence, the requests sent to the server get reduced. User input is validated before the request is sent to the server and hence, it saves server traffic which reduces the load on the server.

Rich interface: JavaScript's rich interface capabilities allow for dynamic and interactive web pages, with features such as animations, user input validation, and real-time updates without requiring a page refresh. This makes for a more engaging and seamless user experience on the web.

Increased interactivity: By allowing developers to manipulate HTML and CSS elements in real-time, JS can enhance the user experience by providing increased interactivity, dynamic content updates, and seamless page transitions.

Speed: JS runs on the client side without the need for outside resources and third party apps which makes it a very fast language.

Versatility: JavaScript is a highly versatile programming language that can be used for both front-end and back-end development, as well as for building mobile and desktop applications. Its flexibility and vast ecosystem of libraries and frameworks make it a popular choice for developers across various domains.

Updates: In order to maintain JavaScript's relevance within the industry, the development team and ECMA International regularly update and build new frameworks and libraries.

Disadvantages of JavaScript

Browser compatibility: JavaScript can behave differently in different browsers resulting in different outputs, which can cause compatibility issues.

Multi-threading or Multiprocessing: JS doesn't support multi-threading or multi-processing.

Debugging: Debugging JavaScript can be challenging due to its loose typing and dynamic nature, making it more prone to errors.

Client-side security: JavaScript is executed on the client-side, which means that it can be exploited by attackers to carry out malicious activities.

Use Cases

React - Use Cases

The most important features that make React one of the most popular Javascript libraries for developing User Interfaces are mentioned below:

Virtual DOM: React implements a virtual Document Object Model (DOM) that serves as a lightweight copy of the original DOM. This virtual DOM is beneficial in enhancing the performance of the application because it minimizes the need for direct manipulations of the actual DOM. This allows for efficient updates to the user interface, resulting in faster rendering times.

Component-based architecture: React uses a component-based architecture that breaks down the user interface into independent and reusable blocks/components. These components can be combined to develop complex user interfaces and can be used repeatedly across various pages or applications.

Reactive Updates: Reactive updates in React mean that the user interface will automatically update itself whenever the underlying data changes. This is an effective feature because it reduces the amount of code needed to handle these updates, and ultimately makes the application work faster and smoother.

JSX: JSX is a syntax extension to JavaScript that React uses, that enables developers to write code that looks like HTML within their JavaScript files. This feature eases the process of creating and managing the user interface and provides more functionalities.

Unidirectional Flow: React implements a unidirectional flow of data, where information moves in a single direction, from the top-level component down to the child components. This design simplifies state management and reduces the chances of introducing errors in the code.

JavaScript - Use Cases

Cross-platform: JavaScript language is supported by various operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is built into Netscape 2.0 and greater, and runs on all platforms which support Netscape.

Light-weight: Since JavaScript is not a compiled language, there is no prior byte-code conversion. However, it does adhere to a model known as Just-In-Time (JIT) Compilation. Hence, just before it executes, it is transformed to bytecode. Because of this, JS is a lightweight programming language. JavaScript can be executed on even less powerful machines.

Interpreted: As discussed above, JavaScript is not a compiled language but it's rather an interpreted language just like Python and Ruby. The source code of JavaScript is interpreted by the browser, line by line and is then executed.

Browser support: JavaScript is supported by almost every web browser including Chrome, Firefox, Safari etc.

Case sensitive: JavaScript is a case-sensitive language where all variables, function names and other identifiers must follow consistent capitalisation of letters.

Object oriented: JavaScript is a prototype based Object Oriented programming language. Data types like Arrays, Functions, etc. inherit properties of the object prototype.

Scripting language: JavaScript is a lightweight scripting language designed for client-side processing on the browser. It manages the web pages displayed to the user and its associated processing, such as cookies, sessions, and local storage, on the client's machine (browser).

Dynamically typed: Type checks (whether string or number) take place during run-time which makes JavaScript dynamically typed language. In JS, we don't need to clearly state upfront what kind of data will be kept in a variable. For instance, when we define var "num", "num" can now hold a string or an integer.

Which is better - React or JavaScript

React is a popular framework built using JavaScript. It is ideal for creating reusable UI components and developing smaller to medium-sized applications. It is well-known for its simplicity, active community, and ability to handle complex state management.

On the other hand, JavaScript is a programming language used for developing full-stack applications, including both front-end and back-end development. It is more versatile than React but has a steeper learning curve.

In terms of performance, both React and JavaScript provide a smooth user experience. However, React has an advantage over JavaScript in terms of rendering speed due to its virtual DOM.