Intro to React React Ecosystem

Learning objective: By the end of this lesson, students will be introduced to several tools available to them in the React ecosystem.

React Ecosystem

React boasts a large ecosystem of tools, libraries, and frameworks that serve to expand and augment the capabilities of React.

The React ecosystem includes:

• React Router: React Router is a tool for adding client-side navigation to single-page React applications. It uses URLs to dynamically update the user interface, creating the experience of a multi-page app.
• Build Tools: Tools like Create React App (CRA) and Vite are significant players in the React ecosystem. They streamline the setup and build process and allow developers to focus on code rather than an app’s configuration.

  🧠 Create React App is being phased out; however, you will likely encounter code or references to CRA, as it was the predominant method for generating a React App in the past.

• React Native: React Native is a framework for building mobile applications using the same principles as React.
• React-based Frameworks: In recent years, frameworks built on React have emerged as solutions for the perceived shortcomings of the React library. These frameworks include tools like Next.js, Remix, and Gatsby. They offer features like server-side rendering and static site generation, which are helpful for SEO and optimization.

Various other libraries expand on React. These libraries are accessible through npm and provide helpful tools for specific use cases.