Functional Components vs Class Components

 React, a popular JavaScript library for building user interfaces, allows developers to create components in two main ways: Functional Components and Class Components. Both approaches have their use cases, but with the evolution of React (especially after Hooks), the gap between them has significantly narrowed. Let’s explore the differences, advantages, and best use cases for each.

What Are Class Components?

Class components are ES6 classes that extend React.Component. They include lifecycle methods and maintain their own state.

Example:

class Welcome extends React.Component {

  constructor(props) {

    super(props);

    this.state = { name: "User" };

  }

  render() {

    return <h1>Hello, {this.state.name}!</h1>;

  }

}

Class components offer full access to React features, including:

Lifecycle methods (componentDidMount, componentDidUpdate)

State management

this.props and this.state

What Are Functional Components?

Functional components are plain JavaScript functions that return JSX. Initially, they were stateless and simple, but since the introduction of Hooks in React 16.8, they can manage state and side effects.

Example:

import { useState } from "react";

function Welcome() {

  const [name, setName] = useState("User");

  return <h1>Hello, {name}!</h1>;

}

Hooks like useState, useEffect, and useContext allow functional components to perform tasks that were previously limited to class components.

Key Differences

Feature Class Components Functional Components

Syntax ES6 Classes JavaScript Functions

State Supported via this.state Supported via useState

Lifecycle Methods Yes Via useEffect and others

Performance Slightly heavier Lightweight and faster

Code Readability More verbose Cleaner and concise

Which One Should You Use?

As of today, functional components are preferred for most new React applications. They are easier to read, write, and test. Hooks have made them just as powerful as class components.

However, understanding class components is still important, especially for maintaining legacy codebases or understanding older tutorials and libraries.

Final Thoughts

While both functional and class components can accomplish the same tasks, functional components with Hooks represent the modern and recommended approach in React development. They promote cleaner code, better separation of concerns, and improved performance—making them ideal for building scalable, maintainable applications.

Learn  MERN Stack Training Course

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Introduction to React and Single Page Applications (SPAs)

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