JS Party: JavaScript, CSS, Web Development
React Server Components đ§
Episode guests
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- React Server Components combine server-side rendering and client-side interactivity.
- RSC simplifies state management and provides a unified mental model for developers.
- RSC allows components to seamlessly handle data from both the server and clients.
- Server components execute ahead of time, promoting easier data passing and component reusability.
- React Server Components introduce a more intuitive approach to handling asynchronous processes in React applications.
Deep dives
The Evolution of React
React has evolved over the years, from being used in server-rendered apps to single-page apps. The introduction of concepts like server-side rendering and suspense helped improve performance and user experience. React learned from the challenges faced and sought to simplify the development process.
The Problem of Serialized HTML
Server-side rendered apps faced the issue of serialized HTML that required JavaScript parsing before interactivity. Sending all the code at once and waiting for everything to finish loading led to slow interactions. To address this, React introduced the Suspense API, allowing for chunked rendering and the ability to show fallback UIs while waiting for data.
React Server Components as a Solution
React Server Components (RSC) combine the best of server-side rendering and client-side interactivity. RSC allows components to span both the server and client, enabling the use of server resources to fetch data and create pre-rendered snapshots. RSC simplifies state management and provides a unified mental model for developers, bringing together the benefits of traditional server rendering and client-side React.
Bridging the Gap Between Data Sources
RSC addresses the challenge of components depending on data from different sources. With RSC, components can seamlessly handle data coming from the server or clients, making it easier to build self-contained, reusable components. RSC also enables the streaming of components, improving performance and interactivity by only rendering and loading what is necessary.
Server Components versus Traditional Client-Side Approach
Server components offer a shift in mental model by emphasizing that data comes from a parent component that already ran on the server or during the build. This eliminates the need for client-side data fetching and enables a more server-centric approach to rendering components. The server components execute ahead of time, either on the server or during the build, ensuring that all the necessary data is available when rendering the component. This server-centric model allows for easier data passing between components and promotes component reusability.
Working with Asynchronous Components and React's Synchronous Nature
In traditional React development, handling asynchronous components and data fetching can be challenging. React Server Components provide a more intuitive approach by allowing for asynchronous component execution on the server. This means that the data fetching can happen ahead of time, eliminating delays and ensuring that the component receives the necessary data before rendering. With server components, the mental model aligns with the expected synchronous behavior, making it easier to understand and work with asynchronous processes within React applications.
Bundling and Code Optimization in React Server Components
React Server Components introduce a new bundling paradigm that allows for efficient code splitting. Unlike traditional bundling, where all code is sent to the client, server components only send the code that is necessary for the current request, reducing the amount of JavaScript required on the client-side. This optimization is achieved by executing the server components ahead of time and only sending the relevant client components and scripts. While Next.js has taken the lead in implementing server components, the goal is to make this paradigm accessible to other bundlers and frameworks, enabling broader adoption and fostering innovation in the React ecosystem.
The benefits of using bundler integration in React Server Components
The integration of a bundler is essential for utilizing the benefits of React Server Components. While it is possible to put all client code into a single file and simplify the bundler integration, it is not the most efficient approach. The introduction of directives, such as use client and use server, helps define the doors between the server and client components. These directives serve as entry points and endpoints, allowing for more precise control over the components. Bundler integration is necessary for these integrations, ensuring a smooth and efficient execution of React Server Components.
Understanding the migration process and boundaries in React Server Components
Migrating from a traditional Next.js structure to the app directory layout in React Server Components requires a shift in perspective. Rather than adding the use client or use server directives to individual files, the recommended approach is to focus on the entry point of the import tree, such as the page component. Placing the use client directive at the top of this entry point is sufficient, as it marks the starting point for the client-side code. The migration process involves separating the server and client code into distinct files, ensuring the clarity of boundaries between them. It is important to understand that the use of state alone may not be sufficient as a heuristic for going off the client-side components. Diligence in identifying specific locations for use client directives is crucial for a seamless migration process.
The week Amal & guest co-host Eric Clemmons talk to Dan Abramov all about React Server Components. We learn about why they were created, what problems they solve & how they work to improve application performance. We also dive into the rollout and current support status, the origin story, the community response & walk through the 10+ years of React history which have forever shifted the world of web development.
Changelog++ members save 6 minutes on this episode because they made the ads disappear. Join today!
Sponsors:
- Vercel â Zero configuration for over 35 frameworks Vercel is the Frontend Cloud makes it easy for any team to deploy their apps. Today, you can get a 14-day free trial of Vercel Pro, or get a customized Enterprise demo from their team. Visit vercel.com/changelogpod to get started.
- PowerSync â Donât build your own sync layer! PowerSync enables an offline-first architecture to make your application real-time and reactive. PowerSync is framework agnostic with open source client SDKs and plugs into your existing database, backend, and application to give you an offline-first/local-first architecture without having to build your own sync layer.
- Fly.io â The home of Changelog.com â Deploy your apps and databases close to your users. In minutes you can run your Ruby, Go, Node, Deno, Python, or Elixir app (and databases!) all over the world. No ops required. Learn more at fly.io/changelog and check out the speedrun in their docs.
Featuring:
Show Notes:
- Changelog Beats! Dance Party
- Making Sense of React Server Components
- How Next.js is delivering Reactâs vision for the future
- Simplifying Server Components
- React Server Components with Aurora Walberg
- âReact from Another Dimensionâ by Dan Abramov at #RemixConf 2023 (YouTube)
- Data Fetching with React Server Components
- RFC: React Server Components (Github)
- Next.js 13: Server Components (docs)
- âData Fetching with React Server Componentsâ initial 2020 vision (YouTube)
- JavaScript Fatigue
- Click to Component (Github)
Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
