2024 has reignited my passion for the React ecosystem. Despite the hurdles we faced last year, such as the monumental shift of React to the server with React Server Components, there's a slew of emerging trends in React that demand our attention. Let's dive into the exciting React trends for 2024, seen through the lens of an experienced React developer.
ASTRO (WITH REACT)
Astro stole the limelight last year, emerging as the heir to Gatsby's throne. Initially renowned for static websites, Astro's growing popularity has led to its exploration in web applications and API endpoints. While it's renowned for delivering highly performant websites, developers are increasingly eyeing it for broader use cases.
What's enticing about Astro is its performance-first approach. It kicks off with zero JavaScript, offloading resource-intensive rendering to the server. While static site generation (SSG) reigns supreme, it offers the flexibility of opting into server-side rendering (SSR).
Astro isn't bound exclusively to React. You can craft UI components using Astro's native ".astro" file format. However, pairing Astro with your favourite component framework like React opens doors to a realm of meticulously designed and functional UI components.
Utilizing Astro alongside React ensures minimal JavaScript shipped to the client, enhancing performance. JavaScript is only served when components require interactivity, aligning perfectly with Astro's "fast-by-default" ethos driven by its Island Architecture rendering paradigm.
AUTHENTICATION (IN REACT)
Authentication in React has witnessed a resurgence, with startups and open-source projects reinvigorating this space. While Firebase Authentication, Auth0, Passport.js, and NextAuth held sway for long, newer, cost-effective, and UI-driven alternatives are now in the spotlight.
Enter Supabase, the open-source challenger to Firebase, offering not just authentication but a plethora of services like PostgreSQL database, real-time subscriptions, and serverless functions. Clerk is another contender, focusing solely on authentication with its seamless React components for user sign-up, sign-in, and management.
Lucia, popularized alongside Astro, presents an open-source, community-driven solution. Notably, it offers a clear abstraction layer between applications and databases, enabling user management directly within your database.
TRPC FOR FULL-STACK REACT APPLICATIONS
TrRPC emerged as a personal favourite for type-safe full-stack applications last year. In a recent solo project spanning 80k lines of code, I paired TrRPC with Prisma as the database ORM to achieve end-to-end type safety with TypeScript.
The synergy between Prisma and TrRPC ensures type safety from database models to server and client applications. This cohesion enables the client application to invoke backend APIs via plain functions, facilitated by TrRPC's JSON-RPC specification and HTTP transport layer.
Excitingly, TrRPC can seamlessly integrate with react-query for efficient request caching and batching, further enhancing performance and developer experience. I'm eagerly anticipating TrRPC's growth in 2024, particularly its official integration with React Server Components.
REACT SERVER COMPONENTS AND NEXT.JS
React Server Components (RSCs) made waves with their introduction as a specification by React. Initially adopted by the community through Next 13.4, RSCs herald a significant paradigm shift in web development.
RSCs are poised to revolutionize how we leverage React components within larger applications. In Next.js, RSCs become the default choice for every React developer, promising improved performance by enabling server-side data fetching at the component level.
This architectural shift challenges React's ecosystem to adapt, particularly in client-server communication. As RSCs take the reins of server-side data fetching, frameworks like TrRPC and libraries like react-query face intriguing prospects in an API-less landscape.
TANSTACK ROUTER FOR SPA REACT
Tanner Linsley's TanStack Router emerges as a pivotal addition to the React ecosystem amidst the React Server Components fervour. As the mind behind popular libraries like react-query and react-table, Linsley's foray into routers with TanStack Router fills a crucial void.
With robust TypeScript support, TanStack Router empowers developers to manage URL state with type safety. Its arrival aligns with the industry's shift towards TypeScript, potentially setting new standards for router implementations.
VERCEL PUSHING REACT ON THE EDGE
Vercel, synonymous with Next.js, plays a pivotal role in pushing React's boundaries, particularly with React Server Components. Beyond RSCs, Vercel revolutionizes application deployment and delivery, leveraging Next.js for efficient streaming of React components through its Edge Runtime.
Deploying applications from the edge promises significant performance gains, positioning Vercel as a driving force in reshaping application hosting paradigms. Paired with serverless databases like PlanetScale, this trend hints at a future where applications are served closer to end-users worldwide.
BUNDLERS FOR REACT: TURBOPACK VS VITE
Turbopack, Vercel's brainchild and successor to Webpack, emerges as a promising contender in the bundler arena. While still in development, Turbopack aims to address shortcomings of traditional bundlers, prioritizing features like tree shaking and caching.
This shift in bundler technology reflects the evolving landscape of React development, particularly with the integration of server-side components. While Vite gains traction as a preferred bundler for many frameworks, Vercel's bet on Turbopack signals a potential paradigm shift in bundler preferences.
REACT COMPILER (KNOWN AS REACT FORGET)
React's journey towards automation continues with the development of React Compiler, affectionately dubbed "React Forget". This compiler promises to automate memoization in React applications, alleviating the need for manual optimization with utilities like useCallback and useMemo.
News of React 19 and its accompanying compiler stirs anticipation, hinting at a potential paradigm shift in React's optimization strategies. If realized, React Compiler could streamline development workflows, empowering developers to focus on building robust applications without micromanaging performance optimizations.
BIOME
Biome, formerly Rome, aims to streamline developer toolchains by offering an all-in-one solution akin to ESLint and Prettier. With a Rust-powered formatter and a comprehensive toolchain, Biome promises faster, more efficient development workflows.
The industry's receptiveness to Biome remains to be seen, but its potential to simplify web development toolchains is undeniable. Discussions surrounding Biome's adoption reflect a growing appetite for streamlined development processes in the React community.
HEADLESS UI LIBRARIES FOR REACT
The evolution of UI libraries in React continues, with a shift towards headless UI libraries like shadcn/UI. Embracing Tailwind CSS as a first-class citizen, shadcn/UI offers customizable components, eschewing traditional node package installations for a more flexible, adaptable approach.
This trend towards headless UI libraries signifies a departure from monolithic UI solutions, prioritizing functionality and accessibility over design. As React development gravitates towards server-side rendering for enhanced performance, utility-first CSS solutions like Tailwind gain prominence, ushering in a new era of UI development in React.
Conclusion
The landscape of React development in 2024 is rife with innovation and excitement. With a steadfast focus on performance and user experience, React developers are poised to embrace a future defined by remarkable advancements in web development. As we navigate these emerging trends, let's embark on this journey together, shaping the future of React development with passion and expertise.
