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React beyond the DOM: exploring custom renderers with Erik Rasmussen

9 snips
Aug 26, 2025
Guest
Erik Rasmussen
Erik Rasmussen, principal product engineer at Attio, reveals the expansive uses of React beyond traditional web applications. He dives into innovative custom renderers for IoT and hardware. Erik discusses the pivotal role of the React Reconciler in developing custom rendering solutions and highlights security practices for third-party code using iframes. He also explores platform-agnostic rendering opportunities and envisions React's potential in fields like 3D printing and automation, making this conversation a treasure trove for developers!
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INSIGHT

React's Platform-Agnostic Superpower

  • React's mental model lets you render to platforms beyond the DOM like mobile, PDF, or native components.
  • That reuse provides huge leverage for developers who don't want to learn each platform's native APIs.
INSIGHT

Reconciler Is The Bridge To Hosts

  • The React Reconciler maps JSX output to the host platform and decides which parts of the host structure to update.
  • Custom renderers implement host-specific methods so the reconciler can turn React trees into platform actions.
ADVICE

Model The Host's Primitive Structure

  • Design your host config by modelling the structure and primitives of the target output (e.g., rect, line, circle for canvas).
  • Map your JSX components to those primitives so the renderer can translate renders correctly.
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