React

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React (also called ReactJS) is an open source client-side JavaScript web framework created by Facebook and has been used on some indieweb sites. It's conventionally used to provide an application-like experience on client browsers.

Summary

React is mostly written using the JSX superset of javascript, which enables XML-like syntax to be used for creation of components and HTML-tags. That superset is then converted into ordinary javascript by a preprocessor like Babel. That conversion can happen either at runtime or at build time, before eg. a package is published to a package repository like npm.

IndieWeb Examples

People who use React on their primary personal website:

• Grant Richmond
• User:Natwelch.com

Criticism

abused for content sites

Websites that use React often only render on the client-side, which means they are not curlable. The only HTML in the page on the initial browser load of such sites is typically an empty body and some links to Javascript files. This means that microformats parsers are unable to see any of the content there. Websites can solve this by adding Server-Side Rendering.

harms frontend performance

"Removing client-side React.js (but keeping it on the server) resulted in a 50% performance improvement on our landing page"

Netflix UI Engineers full talk (video)

See Also

• framework
• gatsby
• js;dr
• 2017-09-16 @housecor: list of reasons *not* to use React tweet summary and thread
• Criticism: Criticism of React provokes emotional overreactions. Thread: https://twitter.com/sarasoueidan/status/1099302888021680128
  • "*wishes not all tools were React-dependent*
    
    Some dude who apparently relates to React on a very personal level: NO YOU’RE WRONG STOP TRYING TO BE A VICTIM AND EMBRACE THE NEW WEB ORDER REACT IS THE ONLY GOOD THING ON THE WEB ACCEPT IT OR GO HOME." @SaraSoueidan February 23, 2019
• Criticism: 2016-11-30 Modern JS developer workflow makes me sad

  React, Babel …, Webpack, React Router, … along with their 1262 transitive dependencies (I'm not kidding here!)

• Comment in thread: https://twitter.com/IliaReingold/status/1105474905896701952
  • "you got it backwards -- we pour salad into bowls of oil" @IliaReingold March 12, 2019
• many levels of criticism React
• https://twitter.com/zachleat/status/1259638924844118018
  • "“there is nothing that a React static site can do that will make it faster than a non-React static site.”—@tmcw
    
    🏆🔥" @zachleat May 11, 2020
• https://twitter.com/tesseralis/status/1294429685422542848?s=20
  • "Facebook's ownership of React has a deep and inextricable impact in how that library is developed." @tesseralis August 15, 2020
• Criticism: 2020-09-12 React is a subsidy
• Criticism: complicates front-end: 2020-09-25 On not choosing WordPress for the W3C redesign project

  The use of React complicates front-end build. We have very talented front-end developers, however, they are not React experts - nor should they need to be. I believe front-end should be built as standards-compliant HTML/CSS with JavaScript used to enrich functionality where necessary and appropriate.

• Criticism: https://twitter.com/fakebaldur/status/1341348238151065605
  • "Which tells me that the React crowd has been ceaselessly campaigning against server-rendered-no-hydration websites over the past few years solely because React couldn’t do it out of the box.
    
    They’ve basically let Facebook’s tech priorities ruin large parts of the internet." @fakebaldur December 22, 2020
• Criticism: https://indieweb.social/@whalecoiner/109824672862107073
  • "I wish to make it clear that React, its creator, and the cultish worship of both are the core reasons for me leaving the frontend web industry. In the face of every React scab suddenly claiming that they LOVE the web and server side rendering I give thanks to @slightlyoff and @zachleat for compiling extensive records of how goddamn awful this technology and community is. https://www.zachleat.com/web/react-criticism/https://infrequently.org/2023/02/the-market-for-lemons/#React #Frontend" @whalecoiner February 7, 2023
• Criticism: GitHub's apparent switch from Web Components to React slowed down their web UI and broke various UI features (back button). thread: https://toot.cafe/@slightlyoff/111390409414137820
  • "We need to talk about GitHub -- and I don't mean co-pilot. No, I mean the basic "does this work on my computer?" and "is it good?" stuff about, you know, a collaborative UI on top of git.Helpfully for GitHub's competitors, recent dogma has demanded that it walk away from the (totally functional, accessible) Web Components infrastructure that led it to be a market success, and replace it with...React? Sure? Fine? As long as the UI is still good? Ok.Whatever.Except that it isn't." @slightlyoff November 11, 2023