React vs traditional JavaScript - Hands-On Comparison

React vs traditional JavaScript

📖 Scenario: You are building a simple web page that shows a list of favorite fruits. You want to compare how to do this using traditional JavaScript and React.

🎯 Goal: Build a React component that displays a list of fruits and compare it with a traditional JavaScript approach that updates the DOM manually.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create an array of fruits

Create a variable to hold the container element or React state

Use a loop or map to generate the list items

Render the list in the container using React or DOM methods

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Web developers often need to display lists of data on pages. Understanding both traditional DOM methods and React helps choose the best tool for the job.

💼 Career

Knowing how React differs from traditional JavaScript DOM manipulation is key for frontend developer roles, improving code maintainability and user experience.

1

Create the fruits array

Create an array called fruits with these exact values: 'Apple', 'Banana', 'Cherry', 'Date', 'Elderberry'.

React

# Create the fruits array
# Your code here

Hint

Use const fruits = ['Apple', 'Banana', 'Cherry', 'Date', 'Elderberry'];

2

Select the container element

Create a constant called container that selects the HTML element with the id 'fruit-list' using document.getElementById.

React

const fruits = ['Apple', 'Banana', 'Cherry', 'Date', 'Elderberry'];
// Select the container element with id 'fruit-list'
// Your code here

Hint

Use const container = document.getElementById('fruit-list'); to get the container element.

3

Create list items using a loop

Use a for loop with the variable fruit to go through fruits. Inside the loop, append a string with a list item <li>{fruit}</li> to a variable called listItems which starts as an empty string.

React

const fruits = ['Apple', 'Banana', 'Cherry', 'Date', 'Elderberry'];
const container = document.getElementById('fruit-list');
// Create listItems string by looping over fruits
// Your code here

Hint

Start with let listItems = ''; then use for (const fruit of fruits) { listItems += `

${fruit}

`; }

4

Add the list items to the container

Set the innerHTML of container to a string with <ul> wrapping the listItems variable.

React

const fruits = ['Apple', 'Banana', 'Cherry', 'Date', 'Elderberry'];
const container = document.getElementById('fruit-list');
let listItems = '';
for (const fruit of fruits) {
    listItems += `${fruit}`;
}
// Add the list items inside a  to the container
// Your code here

Hint

Use container.innerHTML = `

${listItems}

`; to add the list to the page.

Practice

1. What is a key difference between React and traditional JavaScript when building web pages?

easy

A. React requires writing HTML only, traditional JavaScript uses CSS only.

B. React uses components and JSX, while traditional JavaScript manipulates the DOM directly.

C. React cannot update the page dynamically, traditional JavaScript can.

D. React uses server-side rendering only, traditional JavaScript is client-side only.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand React's approach

   React builds UI using components and JSX, which is a syntax that looks like HTML inside JavaScript.

2. Step 2: Understand traditional JavaScript approach

   Traditional JavaScript changes the page by directly manipulating the DOM elements, which can be more complex and error-prone.

3. Final Answer:

   React uses components and JSX, while traditional JavaScript manipulates the DOM directly. -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   React uses components and JSX = A [OK]

Hint: React uses components; traditional JS changes DOM directly [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking React only uses HTML or CSS
• Believing React cannot update pages dynamically
• Confusing server-side and client-side rendering

2. Which of the following is the correct way to create a React functional component?

easy

A. class MyComponent extends React.Component { render() { return 'Hello'; } }

B. var MyComponent = Hello;

C. function MyComponent() { return Hello; }

D. function MyComponent() { document.write('Hello'); }

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify React functional component syntax

   A React functional component is a function returning JSX, like function MyComponent() { return <div>Hello</div>; }.

2. Step 2: Check other options for correctness

   var MyComponent =
   Hello; assigns JSX directly to a variable, not a function. class MyComponent extends React.Component { render() { return 'Hello'; } } is a class component, not functional. function MyComponent() { document.write('Hello'); } uses document.write, which is not React.

3. Final Answer:

   function MyComponent() { return <div>Hello</div>; } -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Functional component returns JSX function = A [OK]

Hint: Functional components are functions returning JSX [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing class components with functional components
• Using document.write inside React components
• Assigning JSX to variables without functions

3. What will be the output on the page when this React component is rendered?

function Greeting() {
  const name = 'Alice';
  return <h1>Hello, {name}!</h1>;
}

medium

A. Hello, Alice!

B. Hello, name!

C. <h1>Hello, {name}!</h1>

D. Error: name is not defined

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand JSX expression evaluation

   Inside JSX, curly braces {name} insert the value of the variable name, which is 'Alice'.

2. Step 2: Determine rendered output

   The component returns <h1>Hello, Alice!</h1>, so the page shows the text 'Hello, Alice!'.

3. Final Answer:

   Hello, Alice! -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   JSX inserts variable value = C [OK]

Hint: JSX {variable} shows variable value, not text {variable} [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking JSX shows {name} literally
• Confusing variable name with string output
• Expecting an error due to variable usage

4. Identify the error in this React component code:

function Counter() {
  let count = 0;
  function increment() {
    count++;
  }
  return <button onClick={increment}>Count: {count}</button>;
}

medium

A. Using let instead of const for count

B. onClick should be written as onclick

C. Missing semicolon after count++

D. The increment function does not update the displayed count

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand React state behavior

   React components must use state (like useState) to update UI dynamically. Here, count is a normal variable and changes won't re-render the component.

2. Step 2: Identify why increment doesn't update UI

   Increment changes count variable but React does not know to re-render, so displayed count stays 0.

3. Final Answer:

   The increment function does not update the displayed count -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   State needed to update UI = D [OK]

Hint: Use React state (useState) to update UI, not plain variables [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking let vs const affects UI update
• Ignoring React's re-render on state change
• Using wrong event attribute case

5. You want to build a dynamic list of items that updates when a user adds a new item. Which approach best uses React instead of traditional JavaScript?

hard

A. Use React's useState hook to store the list and update it, then render the list in JSX.

B. Use document.getElementById to find the list element and append new items manually.

C. Write a for loop to create HTML strings and set innerHTML of the list container.

D. Use React class components with componentDidMount to update the list directly.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand React's dynamic UI approach

   React uses state (like useState) to hold data and re-renders UI automatically when state changes.

2. Step 2: Compare with traditional DOM manipulation

   Traditional JavaScript manipulates DOM directly (options A and C), which is harder to manage and less efficient.

3. Step 3: Consider React class components

   Use React class components with componentDidMount to update the list directly. uses class components and lifecycle methods, but modern React prefers functional components with hooks.

4. Final Answer:

   Use React's useState hook to store the list and update it, then render the list in JSX. -> Option A

5. Quick Check:

   React state and JSX rendering = B [OK]

Hint: Use useState hook for dynamic lists in React [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using direct DOM methods inside React components
• Relying on innerHTML string building
• Using outdated class components instead of hooks