Preact: Smaller, Faster React Alternative

Discovering Preact: A Fast and Lightweight Alternative to React

As a developer familiar with React, you may have heard of Preact, a JavaScript library that claims to offer a faster and more lightweight alternative. In this article, we’ll delve into the world of Preact, exploring its key concepts, differences with React, and how it can be used to build high-performance applications.

What is Preact?

Preact is a 3kB JavaScript library developed by Jason Miller and a team of contributors. Its primary goal is to provide a small, efficient, and feature-rich framework for building web applications. With a tiny footprint, Preact is ideal for projects where performance and speed are crucial.

Key Features of Preact

• Performance: Preact is designed to render quickly and efficiently, making it one of the fastest Virtual DOM libraries available.
• Size: Weighing in at just 3kB, Preact is significantly smaller than React, which makes it perfect for applications where size matters.
• Efficiency: Preact aims to minimize memory usage, ensuring that your application runs smoothly and efficiently.
• Understandability: The codebase is designed to be easy to understand, with a minimal learning curve for developers familiar with React.
• Compatibility: Preact is largely compatible with the React API, making it easy to switch between the two libraries.

Differences Between Preact and React

While Preact is not intended to be a direct replacement for React, there are several key differences between the two libraries:

• File Size: Preact is significantly smaller than React, which makes it ideal for applications where size is a concern.
• Class vs. ClassName: In Preact, you can use the class attribute instead of className to add CSS classes to elements.
• Render Method: Preact’s render() method is more concise and easier to use than React’s equivalent.
• PropTypes: Preact does not include PropTypes by default, but you can use the preact-compat package to add support.

Using Preact-Compat for Compatibility

Preact-Compat is a package that provides a compatibility layer between Preact and React. By using Preact-Compat, you can easily switch from React to Preact without modifying your codebase.

Getting Started with Preact

To get started with Preact, you can use the Preact CLI, a command-line tool that helps you generate a new Preact project. The Preact CLI includes features like automatic code splitting, PRPL pattern support, and more.

Example Use Case: Building a Dribbble App

To demonstrate the power of Preact, we built a simple app that displays recent designs from Dribbble. The app uses the Preact CLI and takes advantage of Preact’s features, such as the h function for creating Virtual DOM elements.

Conclusion

Preact is a fast, lightweight, and feature-rich alternative to React. With its small footprint and efficient rendering, Preact is ideal for applications where performance and speed are crucial. While it may not be suitable for every project, Preact is definitely worth considering for your next web development project.

When to Use Preact

Preact is perfect for projects where size and performance are critical, such as:

• Self-contained web widgets or embeds
• Progressive Web Apps
• Applications with complex UI components

However, if you’re building a complex application with multiple features, React may be a better choice due to its extensive ecosystem and larger community.

Further Learning Resources

• Preact’s website
• Up and Running With Preact on egghead.io
• Jason’s Miller talk on the origin of Preact