Celebrating React Node Communion in Web Development

“The combination of React JS with Node JS can add luster to web application development! Check out the reasons, applicability, features and why it is so preferable!”

Web development has turned 360 degrees with changes to the user interface, features, configuration, API integration and data structure. Let’s start by understanding frontend and backend of application development and then pick the scope of this excerpt.

What is Frontend?

Pertaining to the presentation layer of the OSI Model, the front end is the user interface of a mobile application or a website that is the front face of the business to the users. An efficient interface can make clients have the first impression with the menu, buttons, links, graphics, color, font, font style, padding, margins, borders, sliders, scroll bar, paragraphs, pages, page length, animations, moving images, videos, etc. Frontend Technologies – React, Angular, Vue.js, Ember, Backbone JS.

What is Backend?

Resonating with the data access layer of the OSI Model includes the functionality, database, and server of the app or website. It is also known as the server-side that enables developers to merge these components for backend development. Backend Technologies – Ruby on Rails, Express, Node.js, Django, Python.
Considering the scope of the current discussion, React and Node.js are two leading frontend and backend frameworks that proclaim to become the primary choice for many developers recently.

What is React Node js?

React Node is the primary value that is created when using React. A React Node is a lightweight, immutable, stateless, virtual representation of a DOM node. It is not a real DOM node but is close to text or element nodes. React defines a virtual DOM using React Nodes. It fuels React components that are eventually used to create a real DOM.

React Nodes are not real DOM nodes but are a representation of potential DOM Nodes that fuel React components. This combination can eventually be used to create a real DOM structure. React nodes can be created using JSX or JavaScript.

What is React.JS?

Being the open-source JavaScript framework, React.JS is the frontrunner in the job market. It is popularly deployed to make single-page applications and is equally preferable for startup and enterprise app development. It is also preferred for building highly scalable web applications. Some of the most famous applications with React.JS are Whatsapp, Instagram, Netflix, Facebook, Airbnb, etc.

It is for both beginners and experienced developers who have a basic knowledge of HTML, and JavaScript and can be used to build SEO-friendly web applications, Single Page Applications (SPAs), Cross-platform Applications, Large social media sites, Dynamic User Interface (UI), and robust libraries. This code can be reused across other platforms. More than one framework can be used to accomplish a feature. Virtual DOM accelerates web application performance.

What is Node.JS?

Node.js is an open-source server-side programming language, which is popularly used to craft the backend of a web application. Amongst a gamut of contenders for backend development, Node.js has emerged from amongst .Net, .Net Core, Pandas, Unity 3D, React Native, TensorFlow, Ansible, and Cordova. Web developers who know JavaScript find it easier to learn Node.js. Koa.js, express.js, Meteor.js, Total.js, and Sails.js are amongst my favorite JavaScript libraries.

Node.js significantly reduces development time and is helpful in building data-intensive apps, real-time apps, serverless, GraphQL, and IoT apps. It is increasingly being used in MEAN & MERN Stack.

Node.js is used to avoid buffering and has no additional functions to perform IO. Single-thread model can be combined with event-looping to make Apache HTTP Servers that manage a large number of requests.

Like React, Node.js can be used on both front (client side) and backends (serverside). Node.js accounts for scalable web applications that can be stretched both vertically and horizontally. Scalability can be in form of Cloning, decomposing, and splitting.

If you want multiple nodes for Node applications (Real-time web applications, Large and complex Single Page Applications, Server-side proxy), or you wish to run a Node process on every CPU core of your production machines and load balancing all the requests among them.

Node’s built-in cluster module provides an out-of-box solution to utilize full CPU power. It increases the availability of the Node processes (zero downtime) and provides an option to restart the whole application.

What are the benefits of combining React with Node.js for Web App Development?

We’re here with some of the best reasons to combine React with Node.js.

• Node.js is scalable, but if you combine React with it, it extends the web app capability, which eventually improves website performance.
• The built-in event-driven architecture of Node.js can be used to build real-time applications, but if both react and node js are combined, it speeds up the website.
• React and Node’s codes can be reused. Such apps can be built with less time and with minimal effort.
• Both Nodejs and React can be used to curate both the frontend and backend of an application, therefore single language can be used for coding both client-side and server-side.
• The combination of Nodejs and Reactjs has the capability to balance high server requests and loads.

Can you use Nodejs with React?

Nodejs is preferable for hosting and running a web server for React applications. It is because:

(1) Node uses Node Package Manager (NPM) along with the NPM registry, facilitating easy package installation through the NPM CLI.
(2) Node and React work together in a single file, and can be compiled easily using webpack and several other Node modules.

Using Nodejs to host and execute the web server helps in many ways:

• Nodejs operates on a V8 engine that handles multiple requests through callback functions to ensure quality and quantity.
• Both frameworks work on the client and server sides.
• Developers can execute the Reactjs code in the Nodejs environment.
• React DOM has components that work with Nodejs. It reduces lines of code and makes server-side rendering comparatively.

But, changing the complete backend is not a feasible option. If you have Ruby on Rails (RoR) as the backend, Nodejs can still be used to run a web server to host your React application. Node.js is efficient enough to be used as Node web Server. Node’s assets can be used to build the RoR asset pipeline, leveraging CommonJS to ease the work.

Pinning It Down: Can you use React with Node.js?

If you seek to build a reusable UI and wish to top up the speed of JavaScript virtual DOM in React, with server rendering by Node.js, then a combination of React and Node can help you build larger applications and improves readability across different devices. Both these frameworks are used to create web applications with low latency and high functionality. Overall, Node.js development companies use fast, scalable app backend with RESTful APIs. React on another hand helps in creating interactive user interfaces for intuitive web applications.

Full Stack Developers are able to create reusable user interfaces with a combination of ReactJS and Node.js. Reactjs development companies work on open source javascript library that provides speed with JavaScript virtual DOM, easing simple programming and best performance. It can be used within a browser and rendered within a server by using Node.js. In all, its data and component patterns help to maintain larger applications with better readability. It is therefore useful for businesses that require speed like Discord Bots in Node.js, an open-source library and the efficiency of a simplified model.