React

ELI5 — The Vibe Check

React is a JavaScript library from Meta for building UIs out of components. It uses JSX — a weird mix of HTML inside JavaScript — and a Virtual DOM to update only what changed. It's the most popular frontend choice in the industry.

Real Talk

React is a declarative, component-based JavaScript library for building user interfaces. Developed by Meta, it uses a Virtual DOM for efficient updates, JSX for templating, hooks for state and lifecycle, and a unidirectional data flow. It's a library (not a framework) — you add routing, state management etc. separately.

Show Me The Code

import { useState } from 'react';

export default function Counter() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
  return (
    <div>
      <p>Count: {count}</p>
      <button onClick={() => setCount(c => c + 1)}>+1</button>
    </div>
  );
}

When You'll Hear This

"React is a library — you still need to choose a router and state manager." / "Everything in React is a component."