Svelte vs React

Svelte vs React

A comprehensive comparison between two most popular web frameworks.

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10 min read

Svelte and React are two popular JavaScript frameworks for building web applications. Svelte is a relatively new, modern and lightweight framework that has gained a lot of popularity recently, while React is a well-established and widely used framework known for its robustness and flexibility.

Svelte is a component-based framework that focuses on compile-time optimizations. It compiles your code into highly efficient JavaScript code that is optimized for performance. Unlike React, Svelte is a compiler-driven framework, which means it does most of the work at build time. This results in very fast and lightweight applications as it does not require a lot of overhead to run.

On the other hand, React is a virtual DOM-based framework that facilitates the development of large-scale applications by managing the state and rendering of UI components. React uses a component-based architecture, allowing developers to build reusable UI components that can be easily integrated into more complex applications. React is known for its flexibility, high performance, and strong developer community.

In summary, while both frameworks are used for building web applications, Svelte takes a different approach to optimize the performance of web applications which can result in faster and lighter code. React, on the other hand, is a more established framework that offers a robust and flexible component-based architecture for building complex web applications.


How to choose?

Both Svelte and React are good frameworks for building modern, responsive, and secure web applications. The choice ultimately depends on your specific requirements and preferences as a software developer.

If you are looking for a lightweight, fast framework that offers excellent performance, Svelte might be the right choice for you. Svelte offers a highly optimized approach to building user interfaces, with a focus on build-time optimizations. It offers a small learning curve, and its syntax is easy to understand and use.

On the other hand, React is a well-established framework with a large and active community. It has been around longer, is widely used, and offers a robust and flexible component-based architecture. React is a good choice if you are looking for a more feature-rich framework with excellent documentation, a wealth of tools and libraries, and a thriving ecosystem.

Similarities:

  • Both Svelte and React are JavaScript frameworks that can be used to build modern web applications

  • They both use a reactive programming model to handle updates to the user interface

  • They both use a component-based architecture for building complex user interfaces

  • They both support server-side rendering

  • They both have large and active communities that provide excellent support and documentation

Differences:

  • Svelte is a compile-time framework that generates optimized code, while React is a runtime framework

  • Svelte has a smaller bundle size than React, which means faster loading times and better performance

  • Svelte uses a proprietary syntax that simplifies building user interfaces, while React uses JavaScript syntax with the JSX extension

  • Svelte does not have a virtual DOM (Document Object Model), which makes it faster and lighter than React

  • Svelte has better support for animations and transitions, which can be achieved with less code than in React

  • React has a more mature ecosystem with numerous libraries and tools available for use

  • React is better suited for large-scale applications with complex state management, while Svelte is ideal for smaller applications with less complexity

Svelte Technical Advantages:

  • Svelte generates more efficient code than React because it eliminates the need for a virtual DOM, which results in smaller bundle sizes and improved performance

  • Svelte's proprietary syntax simplifies the development process by reducing the amount of code needed to create user interfaces

  • Svelte provides better support for animations and transitions with easy-to-use built-in functions

  • Svelte is well-suited for building small to medium-sized web applications quickly and efficiently

  • Svelte is ideal for building dynamic and interactive web applications with a focus on user experience

In summary, while both Svelte and React share similar features and functionality when it comes to building modern web applications, Svelte has some technical advantages like faster performance, smaller bundle sizes, simpler syntax, and better support for animations and transitions. Svelte is an excellent choice for building small to medium-sized web applications quickly and efficiently, while React is better suited for larger, more complex applications.


Back end Frameworks

When it comes to choosing a back-end framework to work with Svelte or React, there are several options available depending on your requirements and preferences. Here are some popular back-end frameworks that are commonly used for JavaScript developers:

  1. Node.js: Node.js is an open-source, cross-platform JavaScript runtime environment that allows running JavaScript on the server-side. Node.js is widely used for developing back-end web applications, APIs, and real-time applications.

  2. Express: Express is a popular web framework for Node.js that provides a minimalistic, flexible, and scalable approach to building web applications and APIs. Express is easy to learn and has a large community of developers and contributors.

  3. Koa: Koa is a modern web framework for Node.js that focuses on Async functions and middleware. Koa is known for its simplicity, flexibility, and ease of use.

  4. Nest.js: Nest.js is a progressive Node.js framework for building efficient, scalable, and maintainable server-side applications that can be used with both React and Svelte. Nest.js is built on top of the powerful and mature Express framework.

  5. Fastify: Fastify is a modern and low-overhead web framework for Node.js that provides high-performance and easy-to-use API for building efficient back-end web applications. Fastify is known for its performance, flexibility, and compatibility with a range of Node.js modules.

In terms of popularity, Node.js and Express are currently the most widely used back-end frameworks for JavaScript developers, according to the Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2021. Koa, Nest.js, and Fastify are also gaining popularity and adoption in the JavaScript community.


Install Environment

To install Svelte and React, you will need to set up a development environment with Node.js and a package manager like npm or Yarn. Here are the steps to set up a friendly development and testing environment for Svelte and React:

Setting up Node.js and npm:

  1. Download and install Node.js from the official website https://nodejs.org. Follow the installation guide for your operating system.

  2. After installation, open your terminal or command prompt, and type node -v and npm -v to verify whether Node.js and npm are properly installed.

Setting up Svelte:

  1. Open your terminal or command prompt and run the following command to install the Svelte CLI:

     npm install -g degit        // degit is a tool for cloning repositories
     npm install -g svelte-cli   // svelte-cli is the Svelte CLI
    
  2. After installation, create a new Svelte project with the following command:

     svelte create my-svelte-project
    

    Replace my-svelte-project with the name of your project.

  3. Change the directory to your project directory and start the development server with the following command:

     cd my-svelte-project
     npm run dev
    

    This will launch your Svelte app in the browser at http://localhost:5000.

Setting up React:

  1. Open your terminal or command prompt and run the following command to create a new React project with Create React App:

     npx create-react-app my-react-project
    

    Replace my-react-project with the name of your project.

  2. Change the directory to your project directory and start the development server with the following command:

     cd my-react-project
     npm start
    

    This will launch your React app in the browser at http://localhost:3000.

That's it! You now have a friendly development and testing environment for both Svelte and React. You can start building your applications using Svelte or React based on your preference.


Deploy & Host

To deploy and host an app created with Svelte or React, you have several options. Here are the steps and hosting options you can consider:

  1. Build your application: Before you can deploy your application, you need to build it. When you run the build command in Svelte or React, it will generate a bundle of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files that can be easily deployed to a server.

To build your Svelte app, run the following command:

npm run build

To build your React app, run the following command:

npm run build

This will create a build/ folder in your project directory that contains all the files necessary to run your app.

  1. Set up a Web Server: Before hosting your app, you need to set up a web server to make it accessible over the internet. You can use popular web servers like Apache, Nginx, or other web servers that support Svelte and React.

  2. Choose a Hosting Provider: There are many hosting providers available to choose from. Some popular hosting services like AWS, Google Cloud, Heroku, Netlify, Firebase, and Glitch. If you are looking for hosting services that are affordable for beginners to create a portfolio project, you can consider Netlify or Firebase.

Netlify offers a free plan with generous resources, including continuous deployment, HTTPS, and custom domain support. Their free plan also provides easy integration with Git repositories, making it easy to deploy your app directly from GitHub or GitLab.

Firebase offers a free plan with unlimited usage of Firebase Hosting and many features such as SSL certificates, CDN, URL redirects, and Firebase CLI integration. Firebase Hosting also supports automatic deployment directly from your Git repository.

  1. Deploy Your App: Once you have set up a web server and chosen a hosting provider, it's time to deploy your app. The deployment process will depend on the hosting provider you have chosen. For example, if you choose Netlify, you can connect your GitHub or GitLab repository and deploy your app with a few clicks using their continuous deployment feature.

In summary, to host your Svelte or React app, you need to build your app, set up a web server, choose a hosting provider, and deploy your app. Hosting services like Netlify or Firebase are affordable for beginners and provide an easy deployment experience.


React and Svelte are both front-end web frameworks that are widely used in the industry. It's difficult to predict the future success of one over the other, as they have different approaches and use cases. However, both React and Svelte are expected to continue to gain popularity in the future.

React has been around longer than Svelte and has a larger user community and ecosystems of libraries and tools. It's known for its flexibility, speed, and ability to create complex user interfaces. React is already used by many companies, including Facebook, Netflix, Airbnb, and more.

On the other hand, Svelte is a relatively new framework that focuses on efficient rendering and has a smaller code footprint. It's suitable for building fast and efficient user interfaces while requiring less code than other frameworks. Svelte has been adopted by companies like Rollup and Microsoft.

Job market

In terms of the job market and salaries, both React and Svelte developers are in high demand. In the United States, according to Payscale, the average salary for a React developer is around $88,000 per year, while the average salary for a Svelte developer is around $85,000 per year. However, salaries for React developers can range from $60,000 to over $140,000 per year depending on skills and experience, and the location.

In other parts of the world, the average salaries for React and Svelte developers vary. For example, in India, the average salary for a React developer is around โ‚น578,702 per year, while the average salary for a Svelte developer is around โ‚น721,893 per year.

Popularity

In terms of popularity, React is currently the most widely used front-end web framework, according to the State of JS 2020 survey. Svelte, on the other hand, is growing in popularity and adoption, especially in the web development community that values performance and efficiency. The same survey also found that Svelte usage increased by over 800% in one year.

Overall, both React and Svelte are promising frameworks with different strengths and use cases. React has a larger user community and the support of a mature ecosystem, while Svelte is more lightweight and efficient. The job market for both React and Svelte developers is strong, with competitive salaries in different parts of the world. As both frameworks continue to evolve and gain popularity, we can expect to see more job opportunities and higher salaries for skilled developers in both React and Svelte.


Disclaimer: This article was generated with ChatGPT


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