Over the past year, it’s estimated that the popularity of React (a JavaScript library for building user interfaces) grew by about 150 percent, partly because of its rapidly growing, component-based ecosystem. Another major factor is the increased presence of high-traffic websites that rely on React to reconcile user interface queries.
Depending on your workflow, both components and libraries are an excellent way to take advantage of React. Here are a few full libraries and frameworks that greatly complement React.
React Bootstrap
While many are eagerly anticipating the integration of Bootstrap 4 support, Bootstrap 3 is still one of the most popular React components available today. It’s an incredibly responsive mobile-first CSS framework that powers a massive number of websites. It’s excellent for single page applications as well, and many favor it because of its simplicity and ease of use. It also comes equipped with a handy suite of built-in features and utilities.
You have several ways to integrate Bootstrap into your React application. The three most common ways include the Bootstrap CDN, React Bootstrap Package, or Bootstrap as Dependency. Bootstrap CDN is frequently cited as the simplest way to integrate Bootstrap. All you need to do is incorporate the proper link into the head section of your app. Also, if you want to include some of the JavaScript components that are packed into Bootstrap, you’ll need to write in the write script elements before your closing body tag, so keep this in mind.
Blueprint
Blueprint is a highly popular user interface toolkit that’s React-based. The Blueprint toolkit is an open-source project developed by Palantir. It’s easy to install the Blueprint package and import its components. While you’re able to use your preferred iteration of JavaScript to consume Blueprint, the makers recommend using TypeScript for the best overall integration. It even allows for autocompletion as well as props validation and more.
Blueprint is an excellent choice for professional applications that need to look softer and more refined. While it ships with a standard CSS stylesheet, this doesn’t mean that inline styles are off-limits. In fact, applications built on top of Blueprint make it easy to use your own inline styles as long as you use proper namespacing to prevent any potential collision issues. The developer is considering CSS modules for future iterations, but have said they aren’t the highest priority at the moment.
Material-UI
This is far and away the most popular React UI library that’s currently available on GitHub. It’s built from React components that utilize Google’s Material Design principles. If you’re interested in bold, eye-catching designs which make the most of React’s growing technology, Material-UI is an excellent selection for your application.
Installing it is easy enough with either yarn or NPM, but don’t forget to pull in any other fonts you desire for the creation of your app. After that, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see just how intuitive Material-UI truly is. Maintainer and co-creator Olivier Tassinari developed the framework back in 2014, shortly after the release of React, as a means of getting developers started on “the journey towards better style,” and its popularity speaks for itself.
A variety of selections
Ultimately, the framework you end up using will be determined by the React application you’re interested in building. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or you’re just getting started with JavaScript applications, it’s a good idea to consider further React training in Chicago for either you or your business’s team. You’ll find so many practical applications with the React library that it’s a great way to give your websites and apps a competitive edge.