Software Development Updates

When it comes to creating scalable, reliable, and efficient web solutions, choosing the right framework is crucial. Blazor and React are the top two contenders for web development. React has been a preferred choice of developers for years, while Blazor is gaining popularity as an efficient alternative. On one hand, React developers can help you create complex applications while hiring a reputed .NET development company allows you to take advantage of the entire .NET ecosystem to build faster and more integrated systems. But which option is more suitable for your project? To decide that, we have to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the frameworks, list their features, and discuss their differences. And that’s what you will find in this article below, a detailed discussion of Blazor vs React to help you make an informed decision.

1. Blazor Overview

Created by Microsoft, Blazor is an open-source web development framework that combines C# with HTML and CSS to help you design elegant web UIs for the .NET-based client-side applications. 

With C# as the codebase in Blazor, you no longer need to write the server-side and client-side code of your application in different languages. Blazor uses a .NET runtime called WebAssembly, which compiles the code directly into the browser. Applications executed by WebAssembly are compatible with all browsers, making them platform-independent without the need for any third-party add-ons or plugins. 

What makes the Blazor unique is its interoperability with JavaScript. This feature allows you to call JavaScript functions using .NET methods and also enables JavaScript to call .NET methods.

Here is what a Quora user says about Blazor.

1.1 Features of Blazor

Equipped with two hosting types, Blazor Server and Blazor WebAssembly, this open-source development framework from Microsoft effectively manages both server-side and client-side apps. Several features make Blazor stand out from conventional and competing frameworks. Let’s take a look at a few: 

Hot Reload

Hot Reload is a crucial aspect of web app development. Each time you make changes to the code, you need to verify that the updates are executed correctly and do not introduce new errors. However, it takes some time to load changes to observe the outcomes. However, the Hot Reload feature in Blazor allows developers to check the modifications immediately for potential errors and make quick improvements. This helps boost developer productivity and accelerate the development process. 

Virtualization

Instead of loading all the items on the page simultaneously, this feature allows the .NET app to display only the parts users can see on their screen by restricting UI rendering. The Virtualization technique significantly improves web speed and performance, especially when dealing with large amounts of data.

If a web page contains 100 items, but only 20 are visible on the screen at a time, this feature will only load the first 20 items that the user can see and will keep loading the next items as the user scrolls down.

Blazor’s Virtualization feature determines the number of objects to render based on their size and the container’s height. This feature helps to improve performance and reduce UI latency.

Integration with JavaScript

You can integrate Blazor with JavaScript, which enhances your application by allowing the use of JavaScript code and libraries in your .NET apps. This integration not only provides access to JavaScript frameworks and tools but also enables their benefits in your existing .NET development projects. 

Two Hosting Models

Blazor comes with two different types of hosting models, where one is used to provide the requirements of the server side and the other for the client side. 

Blazor Server operates on the server side to render UI components and send them to the client side as HTML. Meanwhile, the Blazor WebAssembly compiles the UI components and relevant code to execute them directly in the browser. 

Pre-rendering

There is a significant delay between fetching data from the server and rendering it in the browser. As a result, the loading time of single-page apps is very slow. 

However, you can solve this problem by using Blazor’s pre-rendering feature. This feature pre-renders the web elements on the server side and compiles them into static HTML before sending them to the client side. 

This allows the UI to become visible before the app is fully downloaded, resulting in faster loading times, improved search engine optimization(SEO), and enhanced user experience(UX) in SPAs.

1.2 Pros of Blazor

Blazor helps streamline the development process by offering the following benefits: 

• Access to the Entire .NET Ecosystem: Blazor provides developers with a wide range of .NET tools and libraries, enabling them to deliver better outcomes with reduced time and effort. 
• Early Error Detection: When working with Blazor, you can quickly identify errors during code compilation as it uses C#, a statically typed language. 
• Real-time Updates: Blazor uses SignalR on the server side to provide real-time updates that help create an interactive and responsive web application. 
• Interoperability: Blazor provides seamless integration with JavaScript allowing .NET developers to use all the existing libraries and tools based on JavaScript. 
• Performance: WebAssembly in Blazor allows the app to run directly in the browser. This reduces the need for server round-trips and provides performance that is close to native.

1.3 Cons of Blazor

Blazor development can be challenging, and it’s important to understand these difficulties before starting your project. 

• Maturity and Community: Blazor is relatively new and, as a result, has the support of a smaller community with fewer resources and third-party integrations. While Blazor provides sufficient resources, they might not be sufficient for undertaking complex or large-scale projects. 
• Slow Loading Time: To use Blazor to its full potential, you must download the entire .NET runtime. This can prolong the initial loading time, especially if your device has a poor connection. 
• WebAssembly Concerns: Though Blazor’s WebAssembly supports all modern web browsers, it does not run on some old browsers that are still widely used. This limitation restricts the reach of your application. Additionally, the download sizes associated with WebAssembly can often be quite large. 
• Server-Side Concerns: Blazor lacks offline support. So, it needs to stay connected to the server at all times. This dependency can lead to increased latency issues and a higher load on the server. 
• Learning Curve: Despite utilizing the familiar concepts of .NET and the C# programming language, developers must master a few advanced concepts to get started with Blazor development.

2. Blazor App Development Steps

This section acts as your step-by-step guide to creating an app using Blazor. 

2.1 Set Up Environment

• Visit the official .NET site to install the .NET software development kit. 
• Run the dotnet –version in the terminal to verify the installation. 

2.2 Create a New Blazor App

• For a Blazor WebAssembly app, run:
  

  dotnet new blazorwasm -o MyBlazorApp

• For a Blazor Server app, run:
  

  dotnet new blazorserver -o MyBlazorApp

• Navigate into the app directory:
  

  cd MyBlazorApp

2.3 Run the Application

Execute the “dotnet run” to start the app. You can access the app at http://localhost:5000.

2.4 Modify the App

To create or edit the components, go to the Pages folder.

2.5 Add NuGet Packages (if needed)

Run the code below to use the NuGet Package Manager.

 dotnet add package PackageName

2.6 Build for Production

• To publish, run:
  

  dotnet publish -c Release

• This generates files in the bin/Release/netX.X/publish directory.

2.7 Deploy the App

Use deployment services such as AWS, Azure, and other web servers that support .NET.

3. React Overview

Created by Facebook, React is a JavaScript library used to design interactive user interfaces. Known for its speed, React enables the development of engaging online applications and SPAs. With React, you can easily update data in large web apps without requiring you to reload the entire page. 

React is a front-end library with a component-based architecture that allows developers to reuse components across various projects and design complex UIs. Its virtual DOM renders UI components smoothly and updates the changes in the crucial DOM elements. This helps deliver enhanced performance and user experience. 

React features a declarative syntax. It is known for its effective state management capabilities and compatibility with other frameworks and libraries. You can use it for web and mobile development.

Here is what a Twitter user says about React.

3.1 Features of React

The unique characteristics that made React popular among the developer community are as discussed below: 

Virtual DOM

Modifications to the user interface in React apps are optimized through the use of the virtual DOM. This JS library does not implement the changes directly into the actual DOM. Instead, it creates a virtual representation of the DOM and applies changes there first to verify their effectiveness. After verification, these changes are then reflected in the actual DOM. The use of Virtual DOM reduces the number of direct DOM manipulations, thereby improving app performance. 

JSX

JSX, which stands for JavaScript Syntax Extension, is also known as JavaScript XML. This syntax in React allows for a seamless combination of JavaScript and HTML, making it easier for developers to use HTML directly in their JavaScript code. You can convert the HTML tags into React elements using JSX. Files that use this syntax are typically given the extension .jsx.

Extension

React offers a variety of extensions, including plugins, add-ons, and integrations to help build a full-fledged UI app. React supports server-side rendering and mobile app development. You can extend the functionalities of this library using tools like React Native, Redux, and Flux to design an elegant user interface. 

Interactive and Declarative UI

React is popular for building UI with declarative features. It is easy to debug and compile declarative code. On top of that, React ensures that your user interface is highly interactive. It efficiently updates UI elements and web pages to enhance user-friendly. 

Components

React is built on a component-based architecture, where components are self-contained units of code used to construct user interfaces. You can use these components across different projects. The concept of virtual DOM rendering was possible in React because each component can maintain its state, which can be either static or dynamic.

Here is what a Twitter user says about React Components.

3.2 Pros of React

Developers prefer to use React to create web apps because of the numerous advantages it offers. A few of them are discussed below:

• Large Community: React is supported by a large community of developers, whose active contributions enrich it with a wide range of development tools and libraries. The JavaScript library benefits from robust community support and offers abundant resources for every stage of React development. 
• JavaScript Language: React, a JavaScript-based library, enables developers to create their app UIs using one of the most popular programming languages in web development. 
• Component Reusability: The modular structure of React allows developers to create reusable UI components, ensuring software maintainability and accelerating development time while reducing effort. 
• One-Way Data Binding: React simplifies the process for developers to debug and maintain large, complex apps, due to its unidirectional data flow. 
• High Performance: React uses a virtual DOM to efficiently and quickly update the UI. This results in an app with enhanced performance and improved user experience.

3.3 Cons of React

Even though React is a robust library that helps developers build responsive UIs, it certainly has its limitations. Let’s discuss a few below: 

• Just a UI library: It is important to understand that React is not a full-fledged web development framework but just a UI library. To build a well-structured and fully functional application, you may need to integrate it with third-party libraries. Because React primarily handles the view component of an application’s architecture, additional resources are needed for managing the Model and Controller aspects. As a result, handling React apps becomes more complex and challenging. 
• High Learning Curve: Although working with React seems simple, some of its advanced features are complex. This makes it difficult for developers to learn React or use it for front-end development. Moreover, the UI library is completely dependent on JavaScript. So, if you aren’t familiar with the language, you need to take some time to understand it before learning React. 
• Frequent Updates: React has smaller release cycles with multiple updates each year. While this helps the technology remain relevant in an ever-evolving landscape, it can be challenging for developers to keep up with new concepts and updates. They are continuously under pressure to keep up with the latest trends without affecting their productivity. 
• JSX Complexity: React uses JSX, an extension of the JavaScript programming language that combines JS and HTML to simplify UI development. However, it has a steep learning curve, especially if you aren’t familiar with this syntax. Additionally, because it blends JS with HTML, JSX needs to compile the code before running it in the browser. This delays the execution.

4. React App Development Steps

Given below are some simple steps to create a React app.

4.1 Set Up Environment

• Go to the official website of NodeJS and install the framework. 
• Run node -v and npm -v in the terminal to verify the installation.

4.2 Create a New React App

• Run the following command to use Create React App:
  

  npx create-react-app my-app

• Now, go to the app directory and run
  

  cd my-app

4.3 Installing Dependencies

 via node js run `npm i`

4.4 Start the Development Server

Once you run the “npm start’ command to start the server, the app will open in your default web browser at http://localhost:3000.

4.5 Modify the App

•  Open the src/App.js file and edit it to change the content.
• Create new files in the src directory by adding the components.

4.6 Install Additional Packages (if needed)

Use npm to install libraries, for example:

- npm install axios

Install package which is required for development purposes:

- npm install –save-dev dotenv 

4.7 Build for Production

• Execute the below command for app deployment:
  

  npm run build

• With this, you can create an optimized build in the build folder.

4.8 Deploy the App

Utilize deployment services such as GitHub Pages, Netify, or Vercel to deploy the app.

5. Comparison Between Blazor vs React

After getting an overview of both web development solutions, it is time to dive into the details of Blazor vs React for standard parameters.

5.1 Architecture

Blazor favors server-side architecture where the user interface is rendered on the server and then sent to the client browser as HTML. This approach allows you to offload complex business logic to the server, which minimizes the browser’s load. Blazor utilizes SignalR for real-time communication between the client and the server.

Meanwhile, we have React, a JavaScript-based library rendering UI on the client’s browser. It utilizes a Virtual DOM to efficiently manage the UI components, minimizing the number of changes implemented to the actual DOM, leading to enhanced speed and performance. 

5.2 Language and Toolkit

Blazor is based on the C# programming language and the .NET framework. So, if you have experience working on desktop or mobile app development projects, then you can easily get started with Blazor. On the other hand, we have React is based on a commonly used language called JavaScript. Being just a UI library, React is somewhat limited in terms of tools, often requiring integration with various third-party libraries. However, Blazor comes with a complete .NET ecosystem. 

5.3 Performance

Speed is critical in web development. Blazor helps create efficient web applications by running code locally in the browser. Whereas React makes quick updates in the UI using virtual DOM, reducing the rendering time and enhancing the user experience. 

5.4 Building SPAs

Blazor works as a fine alternative to JavaScript as a UI framework for single-page applications. Based on C#, Blazor helps you build interactive web applications. So, if you already have a working knowledge of .NET or have a team of .NET developers, Blazor is the right way to go. It can also help developers write reusable code for both the backend and frontend. 

Meanwhile, using React provides access to a wide range of third-party extensions, packages, and libraries. You can leverage them effectively to streamline the development process and optimize the application. Using React, you can certainly build a high-performance SPA.

5.5 State Management

There are two hosting models in Blazor: client-side and server-side. In the client-side model, JavaScript manages and updates the state of the components directly in the browser. In the server-side model, Blazor uses SignalR to maintain and update the state of the components on the server. Blazor provides built-in state management solutions, such as CascadingValue and EventCallback. Additionally, it supports the use of third-party solutions like Fluxor and Mediator for state management. 

React renders and updates the components using a virtual DOM whenever a change is detected in their state. It utilizes the setState method to update the state of the class components and uses hooks to add state and features to function components. 

The useState, useEffect, and useContext hooks are some of the key built-in state management solutions in React. It also allows integration with third-party state management tools like Redux and MobX.  

5.6 Learning Curve

Developers use C# and HTML when working with the Blazor framework to build web applications. It’s an easy option if you are already familiar with these widely used languages. C# has a moderate learning curve and is easy compared to JavaScript. 

However, if you are already familiar with JavaScript, getting started with React is straightforward. It also allows you to utilize numerous JavaScript-based components and libraries effectively. 

The clear syntax and ease of use make it easy for developers from diverse backgrounds to access JavaScript. Once you get the basic knowledge of the fundamental concepts of JavaScript, you can easily leverage React to build some high-quality apps.

5.7 Community and Support

Community plays a crucial role regardless of the technology you use. Because it is already an established library, React has garnered support from a large community. They actively contribute numerous resources such as tools and libraries, to advance the React ecosystem. The community also provides support for solving common React development issues, access documentation, and more. 

On the contrary, Blazor is still in its early stages but continues to attract a growing number of developers. While its community may be smaller, it is highly active and offers effective support for Blazor development. 

6. Conclusion

Both Blazor and React are powerful tools that provide unique features and benefits. A careful analysis of these options, considering their use cases and limitations, will tell which one is the right fit for your project. 

FAQs 

Is Blazor better than ReactJS?

No, Blazor is not better than ReactJS. Although Blazor uses WebAssembly to provide near-native performance, it has proved to be slower in many instances. Whereas React, with its Virtual DOM, is considerably faster at DOM manipulation. 

What is the downside of Blazor?

WebAssembly, a hosting model for Blazor, restricts Razor components to the browser’s capabilities. The loading time and the download size of the files are large. WebAssembly requires additional support or proficient client software and hardware.

When not to use ReactJS?

React is quite useful in many cases. However, it’s not an ideal choice for developing games or highly creative apps. In short, React is not suitable for apps that require faster rendering times because it uses a virtual DOM for efficient DOM manipulation, which can slow down rendering times.