Re:Removing User Interface Complexity, or Why React is Awesome
by mercer on Tuesday May 13, 2014 @01:40PM
(#7739491)
Thanks for pointing out the distinction. I forget about that sometimes.
That said, React is a "A Javascript Library for Building User Interfaces." And to me me it does feel more like a library than a framework.
Re:Removing User Interface Complexity, or Why React is Awesome
by wickchuck on Tuesday May 13, 2014 @01:29PM
(#7739414)
I would argue that React is closer to a library than a framework. It's a small library with some useful functions for making web components. It helps by removing a bunch of boilerplate code that you would have to re-write with each new app. The thing that it doesn't do is hold you hand and tell you exactly the way things should be done as some of the other frameworks do.
Re:Removing User Interface Complexity, or Why React is Awesome
by modarts on Tuesday May 13, 2014 @03:44PM
(#7740222)
React is a library, plain and simple. It has literally no opinions on even basic stuff like routing, or how to manage application data.
It takes your data as an input and by some mechanism lays out a visual representation of it defined by your components render methods, being sure to update the visual representation as the data changes. The rest are implementation details.
Things like jQuery and Underscore on down to stdio.h are libraries. You can pick and choose from what they contain but they're not so tightly coupled that they get in your way.
They're a tool belt with tools that do one thing and do it really well. Frameworks are like having a tool belt with a hammer that also has a saw on the end but in order to use the saw you have to grab the screwdriver even if you're not actually using it.