React Functional vs Class Components

Recently I have been doing some research on React and doing a bit of learning about what it is and why it’s so popular. Throughout my time of researching and learning, I have come to find that React has come a long way in the development world. There are so many reasons its such a popular technology now and one of those reasons is because of the use of components. There used to be only one type of component but now React functional vs class components is a popular topic.

What is a React Component?

Components are one of the main reasons that React is so popular and widely used. According to w3schools, React components “are independent and reusable bits of code. They serve the same purpose as JavaScript functions, but work in isolation and return HTML.”

Components are super useful when building out an application. The reason for this is because of the ability to reuse the code and how easily it is to do so. When thinking about a react component, you can think of it as building blocks of code. For a real life example, say you are building a mansion made of Lego’s. When you build it, you don’t just put the whole thing together at once. Usually in the directions, it will tell you to build separate pieces first such as a garage and a guest house and the main house. Then once you have all those put together, it will tell you to connect them to complete the mansion. React components are like the separate pieces such as the garage and guest house that you put together.

react functional vs class components

We can get into some of the nitty gritty of the differences between functional and class components. Functional components are becoming more widely used. This doesn’t mean that class components are never used though. Both are a part of React and can and will be used.

Functional Component

A large part of the reason functional components are becoming so popular is because of syntax. A functional components syntax is just a normal JavaScript function that returns JSX. Not only is this easier to handle as a JavaScript developer but it makes the code much shorter.

Functional component also excel at passing props. We can dive deeper into props at a later time. For now, according to ITNEXT, props are “a special keyword in React, which stands for properties and is being used for passing data from one component to another.” Props are a staple in a React project. With a functional component, you are able to pass props as an argument in the function. That is much easier than the alternative in a class function.

Class Component

Class components, although becoming less popular, are still very necessary. The syntax and prop usage may be slightly easier in functional components, but class components still have their perks.

The main perk of a class component is state. If you are unfamiliar with state in a react project, according to Simplilearn it is “a built-in React object that is used to contain data or information about the component. A component’s state can change over time; whenever it changes, the component re-renders.” Functional components are just JavaScript functions so they are unable to use setState(). If you need state in your component, your best bet would be to create a class function.

That being said, a large reason functional components are becoming more popular is because of some React version updates. As of React 16.8, you can use the useState() hook to add state to your functional components.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, component’s in general are a very important concept to understand when building a React application. React functional vs class components is a debate that is starting to settle with time. Functional components are more and more used because of their ease of use. Comment below if you would rather use class or functional components and why. If you are still interested in reading more, check out some of our seo tips and tricks and see if they can help you out. As always, if you have any questions or concerns or maybe you just want to chat, feel free to contact us.