This is Why You Should Choose React.js for IoT Applications
ByPayal Mittal
In today’s era, the Internet of Things or IoT has become a consistent presence in all the industrial sectors.
As the world has gone too far in technical expertise, the IoT has made it possible for us to connect with these advanced technologies in day-to-day life by connecting the internet to our everyday devices.
From electronic gadgets to mechanical machinery, healthcare tools to kitchen appliances and large vehicles, there is no sector left untouched by the potential of IoT anymore. Together, all these devices transfer data at a global scale.
Something this amazing, which was once considered as the next-generation technology, is now open to everyone in one form or another.
It is, as per Gartner Research, perhaps the most hyped expressions across business and technology.
React.js, on the other hand, is an all-time favorite and most popular JavaScript front-end framework among the whole stack of other frameworks.
Indeed, the JavaScript community growing up for years with the evolution of technologies, and currently, it offers a plethora of options for developers to use with IoT applications.
But what is it that’s too special about React.js which makes it a smart choice for IoT projects, we’ll see it here in this blog-
Why Opt React.js for IoT Project?
There are several features of React that provide gravity to our claim of choosing React.js for IoT, let’s have a close look-
1) Lifecycle Methods:
The React.js lifecycle method is an expedient feature of React which ensures that all the React components are upgrading with data change. So, whenever the application detects any update in the components, it deploys a series of lifecycle methods.
The lifecycle methods ensure that the components are keeping up with any data change and facilitate better interaction of the application with the real world.
It’s like having a temperature sensor at our home so whenever the house grows too hot or too cold, the residents get a forewarning.
The lifecycle methods work in a similar way as every time data alters in the real world, the application acknowledges it and updates the components as necessary.
2) Compositional Structure of React:
React has a robust compositional structure rather than structural, which is its true power. It enables you to manage and organize your code in a systemic manner. You can compose functionalities over small components on top of their own doings.
In object-oriented programming, you always need to create a class or object to do anything and then you create another object that takes over the properties of the initial object. This is the process we call ‘inheritance’.
You can apply the properties of inheritance in your IoT projects. You just have to create one parent component and several child components within it. This component-based architecture of React.js makes it a preferable choice for IoT applications.
3) Separation of Concerns:
As React components are independent, you can keep them and deal with them in isolation. Changing data in one component will not make any difference to other components.
You can painlessly organize the required data in parent components and move the remaining into children components through props. This property is helpful in IoT because it effortlessly separates components that receive and process data from the sensor components. Therefore, assists you so you do not confuse over the complex interactions happening between data and sensors.
Benefits of Using React.js for IoT-
Now that we have a basic understanding of React concepts and have an idea as to why to choose React.js for IoT projects, it is time we discuss its advantages-
#Efficient Development -
The compositional architecture of React.js is the best reason that one may find to choose it for IoT app development.
You can break the complex project into several individual components which makes the project management process far easier. Moreover, the component reusability is another factor that boosts up the developer’s efficiency and accelerates the development process.
With the power of using code elements in your IoT project, the installation process and version management become less painful.
#Code Stability -
Thanks to the downward data flow in react.js which does not alter data in the parent component with the change in children components, maintaining code stability.
This descending data flow facilitates code strength, guarantees smooth app performance, and ensures continuous application execution.
#Faster Rendering -
As we know the development of high-load applications is a tedious process and takes too much effort. Furthermore, the DOM model facilitates every component to affect the rendering process. This makes it even more complex and diminishes the application’s performance considerably.
With the aid of virtual DOM, the rendering has become significantly faster. Virtual DOM is the virtual replica of DOM and eliminates this problem as the changes made will first apply to virtual DOM.
It, then, calculates the possible risks accompanied by each modification and reduces them to a minimal level, making rendering faster and improving the app’s performance.
Bottom Line :
Though React.js also presents several challenges, they get overshadowed by the list of advantages it offers. Considering everything, it would not be wrong to claim that it is a good choice for small-scale IoT applications. However, if you are focusing more upon the user-interface then React.js is probably the best choice you could opt for.
Fortunately, if we take into account the profound number of followers and immense popularity it has gained over the years, there’ll be no doubt that it will overcome all the downsides and will, undoubtedly, emerge as the most preferred choice for IoT applications.
I hope you liked this blog. I’m anxious to hear your suggestions for future posts.
Thanks for reading!!