CST 438 Software Engineering

React for Front End Development

Since I don’t have experience with other front-end frameworks similar to React, I can only compare it to technologies I’ve used previously, such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Express, Node.js, and Web APIs. From that perspective, React builds on the foundation of these core web technologies but introduces a much more structured and efficient way of building user interfaces. Instead of manually manipulating the DOM using JavaScript, React uses a declarative approach, allowing developers to describe what the UI should look like, and it handles the updates efficiently behind the scenes.

I appreciate React’s component-based architecture, which makes it easier to break down the UI into reusable pieces, improving both organization and maintainability. JSX, although initially strange, is a powerful tool that blends HTML-like syntax with JavaScript logic, streamlining the process of building dynamic components. I also like the use of hooks, such as useState and useEffect, which offer a clean way to manage state and side effects in functional components.

However, React does come with some downsides. The initial learning curve can be steep, especially with all the tooling and additional libraries required to handle routing, state management, and other common app needs. At times, it feels like there are too many decisions to make, and managing data between components, especially in larger applications, can get complex. Despite these challenges, React feels like a natural next step from the tools I’ve already worked with and offers powerful advantages for building interactive web applications.