a javascript library

for building user interfaces

...it makes things look pretty on the screen

That's it!

j.k. there's a little more

React is really good for building ui

• No routing
• No talking to a remote server
• No other complicated stuff
• Just UI

Disclaimer:

We can do all these things by bringing in modules,
but React doesn't handle them natively.

That's a good thing btw.

Notice we said UI

and never mentioned the web

That's because React uses a technology called Virtual DOM that allows one to render UIs on

• Web browsers
• Native mobile devices
• Anything you want
  (as long as you build a renderer for it)

and one last thing...

Components!

the heck is that?

"Components" is how we solve problems in react

when a problem gets too hairy,
we break it into smaller components

example of component architecture

~ fin ~