Differences between React JS and Next JS and a Beginners Tutorial for Next JS | Simplilearn

If you’re new to the world of web development, you may have heard of React JS and Next JS. These two technologies are often confused or mistaken for each other, but they serve different purposes and have distinct features. In this tutorial, we’ll explore the differences between React JS and Next JS, and also provide a Next JS tutorial for beginners.

React JS:

React JS is a JavaScript library developed by Facebook that is used to build user interfaces for web applications. It allows developers to create reusable components that can be easily updated and rendered on the screen. React JS follows a component-based architecture, which makes it easy to build complex UIs by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable pieces.

One of the key features of React JS is its virtual DOM (Document Object Model), which allows React to update the UI efficiently by only re-rendering the components that have changed. This results in faster performance and a smoother user experience.

React JS is a front-end library, which means it is only concerned with building the user interface of an application. It doesn’t include features for server-side rendering or routing, which are often needed in larger web applications.

Next JS:

Next JS is a framework built on top of React JS that adds additional features for building full-stack web applications. It includes support for server-side rendering, routing, and other advanced features that React JS doesn’t provide out of the box.

One of the main benefits of Next JS is its support for server-side rendering. This means that pages are pre-rendered on the server and sent to the client as HTML, which can improve page load times and SEO performance. Next JS also supports static site generation, which allows you to generate static HTML files for faster loading times and improved performance.

Next JS provides a file-based routing system that allows you to create dynamic pages without the need for complex configuration. This makes it easier to manage routing in larger applications and improves overall developer experience.

Differences between React JS and Next JS:

1. React JS is a front-end library for building user interfaces, while Next JS is a framework that adds server-side rendering, routing, and other features on top of React.

2. React JS focuses on building reusable components for the UI, while Next JS provides additional tools for building full-stack web applications.

3. React JS is more lightweight and flexible, while Next JS includes more built-in features and conventions for building web applications.

Next JS Tutorial for Beginners:

Now that you understand the differences between React JS and Next JS, let’s walk through a simple Next JS tutorial for beginners. In this tutorial, we will create a basic Next JS application that displays a list of items from an API.

1. Install Node.js: First, make sure you have Node.js installed on your machine. You can download it from the official website and follow the installation instructions.

2. Create a new Next JS project: Open a terminal window and run the following command to create a new Next JS project:

npx create-next-app my-next-app
cd my-next-app

1. Create a new page: Next, create a new file called index.js inside the pages directory of your project. Add the following code to create a basic homepage:

import React from 'react';

const Home = () => {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>My Next JS App</h1>
      <ul>
        <li>Item 1</li>
        <li>Item 2</li>
        <li>Item 3</li>
      </ul>
    </div>
  );
};

export default Home;

1. Start the development server: To run your Next JS application, use the following command:

npm run dev

This will start a development server on http://localhost:3000 where you can view your application in the browser.

1. Customize your application: You can now customize your Next JS application by adding additional pages, components, and styles. Explore the Next JS documentation to learn more about its features and capabilities.

Conclusion:

In this tutorial, we’ve discussed the differences between React JS and Next JS, and provided a simple Next JS tutorial for beginners. Next JS is a powerful framework that extends the capabilities of React JS by adding server-side rendering, routing, and other advanced features. By following this tutorial, you can get started with Next JS and begin building full-stack web applications with ease.