Why use JSX?

Question

Why use JSX?

Answer

Without the use of JSX React uses the React.createElement() function over and over to build elements out of data passed to the function. With JSX we can describe what our user interface should look like by writing HTML like JavaScript in our JS files which will compile to multiple calls to React.createElement() behind the scenes. This functionality that JSX gives us, allows our code to be more DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself), scales better, and separates concerns as opposed to separating technologies.

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Great answer! Thank you!

Now I understand. Thank you very much.

JSX, which stands for JavaScript XML, is an extension to JavaScript that allows developers to write HTML-like syntax within JavaScript code. It is primarily associated with the React library, though it can be used with other frameworks as well. JSX might seem like an unconventional approach at first, but there are several compelling reasons why it is widely used in modern web development:

  1. Declarative UI: JSX provides a declarative way to describe the user interface of a component or a page. Instead of manually manipulating the DOM, JSX allows you to express how your UI should look based on the application’s state. This makes the code more intuitive, easier to read, and maintain.

  2. Component-based structure: React is built around the concept of reusable components. JSX facilitates the creation and composition of these components by allowing you to define them using familiar HTML-like syntax. This encourages code reusability and helps to keep the codebase organized.

  3. Familiarity: Developers coming from a web development background are already accustomed to writing HTML, and JSX closely resembles HTML syntax. This makes it easier for them to transition into using React and JSX.

  4. Enhanced readability: Writing UI components using JSX can make the code more readable and self-descriptive compared to complex JavaScript code that manipulates the DOM directly.

  5. JavaScript integration: Since JSX is just syntactic sugar on top of JavaScript, it can be seamlessly integrated into your JavaScript code. You can use JavaScript expressions within JSX, making it easy to incorporate dynamic content and logic directly into your UI components.

  6. Static analysis and type checking: JSX allows for static analysis and type checking, which helps catch errors early in the development process and enhances the robustness of the application.

  7. Tooling support: The ecosystem around JSX is well-supported, with tools like Babel and webpack enabling you to transpile JSX code into standard JavaScript that browsers can understand.

  8. Performance optimizations: JSX allows React to perform efficient updates and optimizations under the hood, resulting in faster and more responsive user interfaces.

Despite its advantages, JSX is optional in React. You can still build React applications using regular JavaScript functions, but JSX is widely embraced due to the benefits it brings to the development process and the overall readability and maintainability of the codebase.

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