React.js: The Documentary
The story of the library that changed the frontend and became an industry standard
Source
Book cube
Original post recommending the documentary
What is the film about?
The documentary tells how the idea of React was born and why its success was not a foregone conclusion. Internally, React competed with external libraries like Backbone.js and Ember.js, as well as internal initiatives like Bolt.js. As a result, React won, was opened in open source and gradually gained recognition in the community.
The story is told by the developers who made key decisions: Tom Occhino, Christopher Schedo, Pete Hunt, Sebastian Markboge, Dan Abramov and others.
Key Points
1. Idea within the company
React emerged as a response to the difficulties of scaling UI and state in large products.
2. Competition with other frameworks
React competed with Backbone.js, Ember.js, and back-end solutions before becoming the standard.
3. Going to open source
The library was opened to the community, but acceptance was not immediate - it took time.
4. Recognition and growth of the ecosystem
Gradually, React became a de facto standard and formed an ecosystem around itself.
Why React won
Component model
The UI as a composition of components made it easy to reuse and scale.
Unidirectional data flow
Clear state update rules have reduced chaos in large applications.
JSX and ergonomics
JSX has made UI code more expressive and readable for developers.
Strong ecosystem
The tools and community have helped React become the basis for many libraries and frameworks.