Published on Jul 12, 2024
Are you looking to create a full-stack web project? Are you overpowered by the options available in the market?
Agreed, details like structure and code for the frontend and backend are requisite, but once you choose a library, you can integrate it with a popular framework to work on the development part.
Are you aware that Node.js and React JS are the two most adopted technologies for web app development?
React is perfect for the frontend, and Node.js is optimal for the backend. However, if you fuse the two frameworks, the result will be a seamless web app.
What is React JS?
You can create user interfaces with the React JS library. Also, you can use reusable components to make code simple to read and maintain. The best part is that these components auto-update when you interact with them.
With that, you can expect a seamless response that works across many devices. As a result, your application is swift and responsive. React JS should be your first choice if you want to fasten your enterprise app development process.
With React JS – you can build scalable online apps. Plus, it can help you build the best apps with the framework, even if you don’t know intricate scripting language.
What is Node.js?
If you need to build server-side and networking apps, your bet should be on Node.js. Apart from its sizable library of programming modules, you can facilitate the integration of programming languages with API and other third-party libraries. According to the statistics, 42.73% of Web programmers are using Node.js framework, libraries, and IDEs for their complex web development projects.
Ideally, it runs on Chrome JavaScript runtime. You can build data-intensive real-time apps with Node.js because of its lightweight and efficient I/O model feature. Additionally, you can minimize the development time as it works on multiple platforms.
Do you know most companies demand scalable software solutions today? Node.js will fit the scalability part as it handles concurrent requests efficiently. Also, the framework features cross-platform compatibility with rapid code execution.
Going further, let’s look at some reasons to use React JS with Node.js.
- You can use Node.js for sequent server connection i.e. if your app’s core is based on real-time data streaming.
- You can use React JS and Node.js if you need to handle many requests and maintain server load balance.
- Also, you can develop single-page applications in React and use Node.js to build lightweight models for asynchronous data loading through the callback function.
- You can fuse Node.js and React capabilities to build responsive data-driven multi-device apps. Basically, you can scale up your website performance.
- By integrating both technologies – you can expect more ROI and save added effort on app development.
If you use React JS with Node.js, it can streamline the web development process.
Here are some applied examples of using React JS with Node.js:
Do you need to use the frameworks for standard web apps? You can use React JS to render the page and Node.js to handle the requests for the app. Ideally, for a chat app – you can use React JS to render the chat interface and Node.js can handle user communication.
Steps to merge React JS with Node.js as a backend:
Firstly, contrive a Node.js project
You can contrive a Node.js project using a Node package manager (NPM). With this, you can set up a project structure at once.
Now, set up the server
It is time to contrive an express.js server – a flexible node.js web app framework. Ideally, you can install it as a dependency.
Now, contrive a basic express server in a file i.e server.js
const express = require(‘express’);
const app = express();
const port = 5000; // You can choose any port
app.get(‘/’, (req, res) => {
res.send(‘Hello from the Node.js backend!’);
});
app.listen(port, () => {
console.log(`Server is running on port number ${port}`);
});
It is time to initiate the Node.js server with:
node server.js
After that, your Node.js backend will run on your chosen port.
Quick steps to merge React JS with Node.js as a frontend:
You can contrive a React app using Create React App – a tool that sets up React projects quickly.
npx create-react-app my-react-app
Now, you can fetch data from the backend
You can use the React components to fetch API and request HTTP to the Node.js backend.
import React, { useState, useEffect } from ‘react’;
function App() {
const [data, setData] = useState([]);
useEffect(() => {
// Fetch data from the backend
fetch(‘/api/data’)
.then((response) => response.json())
.then((data) => {
setData(data);
});
}, []);
return (
<div>
<h1>Data from the Backend:</h1>
<ul>
{data.map((item, index) => (
<li key={index}>{item}</li>
))}
</ul>
</div>
);
}
export default App;
Now, connect to Node.js backend
After the above step, you can connect to the Node.js backend by setting up a proxy in your package.json.
“proxy”: “http://localhost:5000”
With this typical configuration – you can make backend requests without CORS issues.
Finally, it is time to start your React development server
cd my-react-app
npm start
As a last step, your React frontend is accessible at http://localhost:3000. In ideal case, you can fetch and display data from the Node.js backend.
Wrapping up
If you integrate React JS with Node.js, it can help you build present-day and scalable web applications.
With React JS – you can arm the frontend user interfaces, and Node.js can arm serving data and business logic on the server side.
Are you ready to contrive high-performance web apps with the two technologies? If scalability and flexibility are your foremost concerns, try using both frameworks for app development.
About the Author: Harikrishna Kundariya, a marketer, developer, IoT, Cloud & AWS savvy, co-founder, and Director of eSparkBiz Technologies. His 12+ years of experience enables him to provide digital solutions to new start-ups based on IoT and SaaS applications.
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