What Is JSX?

Publicado el - Última modificación el

The technology industry is witnessing advancements at an increasing rate. Programming and development have stepped up to the degree that the demand for skilled engineers is increasing rapidly. Individuals looking to hire JSX qualified experts can find them easily on freelancer.com. This article seeks to help aspiring programmers and developers understand JSX.

Understanding JSX

JavaScript XML - or JSX - is an extension of syntax to JavaScript. While one can use React in the absence of JSX, it adds elegance to React.

Like XML, JSX tags have children, a tag name, and features. When a feature value is in quotes, it becomes a string. If the value is in braces, it becomes a confined JavaScript expression. When browsing the internet in search of React material, one is likely to see the terms ES5, JSX, and ES6, which can be puzzling.

ES5 or ECMAScript is a regular JavaScript. The completion of this 5th upgrade to JavaScript occurred in 2009. All leading browsers have supported it since its release. ES6 is the latest JavaScript version to provide attractive functional and syntactic additions. It was launched in 2015, and nearly all popular browsers support it, but it may be some time before older browser versions incorporate it. Internet Explorer, for example, has close to a 12% market share of the browser, but does not support ES6.

Understanding ES6

Every module in ES6 is determined by its individual file. The variables or performance determined in a module are not noticeable from the outside, unless a developer exports them explicitly. Therefore, programmers can write a code into their module and export the values for access by other sections of their application. ES6 modules are declarative; so, to export specific variables from a module, one needs to use the keyword ‘export’. If one wants to utilize the exported variables in another module, one should use the keyword ‘import’.

How to get the best out of ES6?

To get ES6 working in multiple browsers, try the following steps:

  1. Try transpiling (transforming a source code written in one language to another with the same abstraction level) to allow a series of browsers to understand the JavaScript. In this case, one can convert Es6 to Es5 JavaScript.

  2. Try including a polyfill or shim that offers extra performance included in E6 that may or may not be included in a browser.

How to use the ES6 Module Transpiler

An ES6 transpiler is a tool that selects an ES6 module and converts it to an ES5 compatible code in AMD or CommonJS style. One can install it through npm by using the command below:

npm install -g es6-module-transpiler

The command below instructs the transpiler to convert the modules into CommonJS version and put them in the outer directory:

compile-modules convert -I scripts -o out app.js utility.js --format commonjs

When the conversion is complete, the converted modules will be similar to out/app.js

It is possible to convert many of the codes in this article into ES5. All React components herein contain a render operation which determines the HTML product of the React component. JSX (JavaScript eXtension) enables developers to create JavaScript which resembles HTML. In past paradigms, it has been bad practice to include markup and JavaScript in a similar place. However, merging the outlook with the performance makes the view easy to understand. Consider having a React element that distributes an h1 HTML label. JSX enables one to acknowledge this component in a way that is similar to HTML:

Class Header extends React.Component { render() {   return (     <h1 className='large'>Hello World</h1>

The distribution () operation appearing in Hello World seems to be returning HTML. However,it is JSX that translates to common JavaScript at execution. Below is how the component looks after translation:

class HelloWorld extends React.Component { render() {   return (     React.createElement(       'h1',       {className: 'large'},       'Hello World'JSX resembles HTML. However, it is but a brief way of writing a  React.createcomponent() acknowledgement. When components render, they produce a series of virtual representation or React elements of the HTML elements. React then determines the alterations to carry out on to the DOM depending on the React element illustration. In the HelloWorld element, React writes an HTML to DOM which will be similar to the command below:

<h1 class='large'>Hello World</h1>The class prolonged syntax used in the initial React element is an ES6 pattern. It enables developers to create objects with the Object-alignment style. The class pattern in ES6 translates to the following command:

var HelloWorld = function() {}Object.extends(HelloWorld, React.Component)HelloWorld.prototype.render = function() {}Due to the fact that React is JavaScript, words reserved for Javascript cannot be used. They include ‘for’ and ‘class’.

React provides the feature class ‘Name’. This appears on Hello World to specify the big class in the h1 label. To create simple JavaScript rather than depend on the JSX compiler, one can write the function: React.createcomponent() without worrying about the abstraction layer. JSX makes reading complex components easy. Take a look at the JSX below:

<h1>Welcome back Ari</h1>div>

 <img src="profile.jpg" alt="Profile photo" /></div>JavaScript forwarded to the portal is similar to this:

React.createElement("div", null,  React.createElement("h1", null, "Welcome back Ari") React.createElement("img", {src: "profile.jpg", alt: "Profile photo"}),

The JSX pattern is the best option when it comes to defining fixed HTML elements.

What are some of the things about JSX beginners should know?

JSX is a view library

React is not an MVC (Model View Controller) framework. It is a library that renders views. Individuals who are used to MVCs have to adjust to the fact that React forms the V part of the programming equation. This means they will have to define their Move and Controller using a specific framework to achieve an appealing React code.

Ensure components are small

A good developer must understand that small modules/classes are easy to test, maintain, and understand. This also applies to React components. Many beginners underrate how small their components should be. While the correct size depends on various factors, it is advisable to make the components quite small.

Do not use state when writing components

Ensure to write stateless components. This is because:

State makes testing of components hard

Testing components as functions of input props is less complex. Before testing a stateful component’s behavior, one needs to convert them. Additionally, one will need to identify all the different combinations of state which the component is likely to mutate, and props which a component has little control over, and find out the ones to test and how to carry out the procedure.  

State makes reasoning about components difficult

Reading codes from stateful components requires developers to track every activity. Some of the questions that developers should bear in mind include: Is the state initialized yet? Would anything happen if I changed the state here? Does this state have a race condition? Understanding stateful components, therefore, is an arduous task.

State makes sharing of information on other parts of the app difficult

When components own a state, passing them down the component hierarchy is easy. However, passing it through a different direction is difficult. It is vital to have components own a specific part of the state. Developers, however, should exercise caution before adding a state to a component.

Finally

Understanding JSX helps programmers and developers to execute beautiful React codes. It is important to carry out extensive research to understand the different React concepts. This will help you understand the kind of problems it can solve.

We appreciate your comments. Please leave us your feedback below, and remember to share this article on your social media platforms.

Publicado 11 septiembre, 2017

LucyKarinsky

Software Developer

Lucy is the Development & Programming Correspondent for Freelancer.com. She is currently based in Sydney.

Siguiente artículo

10 Effective Email Marketing Techniques For Better Click-Through Rates