react 18

React 18: Upgrades, Features, and Benefits

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What is React 18? 

As already known, React is a javascript library used for developing responsive user interfaces. Building components and managing data flow becomes simpler with this framework. With its advantages such as fast rendering and less memory usage, it supports increased performance and efficiency for the application. Using the older React versions, the app’s data can be directly modified. However, it came with the cost of slow browser updates.

The latest version, React 18, has solved this issue. It has reduced the lines of code to be written, follows a functional paradigm approach where app data is immutable, offers improved performance, and is easy to adopt. This has made ReactJS development more demanding and the best is yet to arrive.

Let us get to know what are the latest features, updates, and benefits that come with React 18 in the forthcoming sections.

What’s Up With its Features?

#1 Optimized Images

Depending on where a particular image will be displayed in the app, React 18 allows the developers to create dynamic and multiple image sizes which lead to optimal load time. This allows specifying images in accordance with the screen resolutions in the srcset.

#2 Cache Busting

The unnecessary download of old assets can be neglected by offering file revision IDs to cache files. So the reference and changes can be easily tracked down and it does not require waiting for the browser to download the recent updates made in CDNs (Content Delivery Networks).

#3 Server-side Rendering

The server-side rendering feature allows rendering of the initial state of the server and then passing the state to the client-side. This means that you don’t have to wait for the initial state availability since all the components have to be rendered first. The initial state is instantly available for use.

#4 Fixed Headers

Sticky footers and infinite scrolls are well-handled in React 18 giving maximum performance with fixed header positions. These fixed header properties were difficult to handle in the older versions and React 18 has enhanced the document’s viewport width which is used for fixed headers.

#5 Component Picker

The component picker was firstly added in React 17 whose features have been made more flexible and functional in React 18. The features comprise custom styles for the selector, custom tag names, ordering via drag and drop, highlighted newly added components, etc.,

#6 Fiber

When multiple segments are to be included on a single page, Fiber is used. It is a virtual DOM implemented in React 18 which can lessen the work done to produce changes in the app’s state. With minimal efforts, server-side rendering is enabled in dynamic UIs, and element re-rendering can be easily done using Fiber. 

#7 API Upgrades

Some of the newly updated hooks in React 18 are useLayoutEffect, useCallback, useMemo, and useImperativeHandle. useLayoutEffect is used for managing component layout logic. The other four hooks are combinedly used to replace imperative lifecycle methods and named ad effect.

#8 React.createClass( )

The createClass function is not necessary for imperative class methods and the usage may result in unnecessary barriers in the entry. Hence considering streamlined hooks API, this method was eliminated. 

#9 React.AutoSuspense

React 18 supports async rendering which leads to excellent performing applications. While testing the code, the AutoSusupense components allow the display of effects thus making optimization of app performance effortless.

What Benefit Does it Provide to Developers?

The below-mentioned are some of the advantageous aspects of React 18 that make cross-platform ReactJS development more manageable and easier.

#1 useLayoutEffect

When dynamic and large datasets are used, useLayoutEffect serves as a great boon in improving performance. To optimize the time of rendering, this method can be made use of in components with multiple inherited components. It also serves useful in places where your ReactJS development requires callback to server and external data using dynamic functionalities.

#2 useCallback

To perform imperative operations in the user interface without needing a class component to add a callback, useCallback is used. useCallback is recommended by React 18 to avoid re-renders not necessary in passing callbacks. 

#3 Effect

This hook is an effective replacement for stateful logic implementation using lifecycle methods. Effect hook API supports error boundaries which are offered by React 18 instead of Effect hook itself.

#4 Memoization

Memoization in React 18 need not be added separately since this feature allows scope-specific and safe memoization that is only relative to the component. This is a very useful feature for developers since it significantly speeds up performance without any big changes. 

#5 createRef( )

This is a very convenient feature with flexible approaches using which any value can be easily passed. By passing data from one component to another, the app’s design can be improved since props can be any data. 

What Are its Updates?

Hooks are announced as an alpha version by the ReactJS development community. Likely, there will be some more advanced changes with them before reaching stability. Until React 18 reaches a stable state, it is better not to adopt the new features for now. 

React 18 is backward compatible with React 17.5 and the upgrade is a straightforward process. However, React 18 is not backward compatible with React 16, and hence it is possible only with some changes such as updating build tooling, updating working style with Hooks, and adding new Babel plug-ins.

The bottom line is that upgrading to React 18 won’t be a tedious process. You can either remove Hooks from the production bundle or leave them as they are present currently. All you gotta do is to change hooks from autorun to runInBatchMode and replace imports in React.AutoSuspense to Suspense.

Closure

React 18, thus with all the aforementioned benefits and features tends to help developers with improved development workflow and improved performance. It reduces bounce rate and loads and refreshes app pages within very less time. Given all these, ReactJS development looks super promising and you can go for it once it comes to a stable state. You can settle down for the best ReactJS development company with an adaptable nature towards upgrading technologies and housing the best ReactJS developers. Pyramidion Solutions is one such leading ReactJS development services provider aiming at giving only the best to our clients. Connect with us and know more about our services so that you can start your u[grades with React 18 the minute it gets stable. 

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