---
title: Reactivity vs React.js
description: Reactivity vs React.js
---

## Comparison to React.js

The following sections are for those coming from or are familiar with the [React.js](https://react.dev/) web framework.
We're going to compare patterns from React.js based app development with Slint.

:::note[Note]
There is no web browser as part of Slint to render the UI. There is no DOM or shadow DOM.
:::

### Component Life Cycle Management

React.js has a model where on a state change a component is destroyed and recreated. By default this will
also include the destruction of all child components of an element and these then all need to be recreated.
To manage performance, careful use of `useMemo()` and `useCallback()` are needed to avoid unnecessary re-renders. Even
though the need for this has been reduced via the React Compiler it's still necessary to understand this model
to understand how a React app behaves.

Slint is much simpler and uses fine-grained reactivity: Components update, but they aren't destroyed and recreated. There is no equivalent of
`useMemo()` and `useCallback()` as they are unnecessary.

### State

React.js refers to properties that update and re-render the component as state. They are opt-in and by
default are not tracked.

```jsx
function Counter() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
  return <button onClick={() => {
    setCount((currentCount) => currentCount + 1)
    }}>{count}</button>;
}
```

```slint playground
import { Button } from "std-widgets.slint";

export component Counter {
    property <int> count: 0;
    Button {
        text: count;
        clicked => {
            count += 1;
        }
    }
}
```

The classic counter example also shows key differences. First the `count` property is declared and
a `count` value and `setCount()` function are deconstructed from the useState hook. Note that 'count' cannot
be directly accessed and must be updated via `setCount()`.

The counter button is then used to update the count property and to ensure it's correctly updated must rely
on the `currentCount` value returned by `setCount()` is used to update the values. As using `setCount(count + 1)`
can cause issues in more complex scenarios where the state is updated later.

While the Slint example may not look much simpler, it does the same job and has less gotchas. As everything
in Slint is reactive by default, the property is declared in one single way. The language has strong types and for
numbers has both `float`s and `int`s. The property can also be safely modified directly which also in this example
allows the use of the `+=` operator.
