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Functional Components (Live Playground)

Functional components are the simplest way to create components in React. In this tutorial, we'll learn how to create functional components and explore their benefits.

What is a Functional Component?​

A functional component is a JavaScript function that takes properties (props) as an argument and returns a React element. Functional components are also known as stateless components because, before the introduction of React Hooks, they could not manage their state. However, with Hooks, functional components can now manage state and use lifecycle methods, making them even more versatile.

JavaScript
function Welcome(props) {
  return <h1>Hello, {props.name}!</h1>;
}

Benefits of Functional Components​

Functional components have several benefits:

  1. Simplicity: They are easier to read and understand, as they only focus on rendering the UI.
  2. Performance: Functional components are generally faster and more memory-efficient than class components, as they don't have instances or lifecycle methods.
  3. Easy testing: Since functional components are just plain JavaScript functions, they are easier to test and debug.
  4. Hooks: With the introduction of React Hooks, functional components can now manage state and use lifecycle methods, making them more powerful and flexible.

Creating a Functional Component​

To create a functional component, you just need to define a JavaScript function that takes props as an argument and returns a React element. Here's an example:

JavaScript
import React from 'react';

function Greeting(props) {
  return <h1>Hello, {props.name}!</h1>;
}

export default Greeting;

In this example, we created a simple Greeting component that takes a name prop and renders an h1 element.

To use the Greeting component, you can import it into another component and render it like this:

JavaScript
import React from 'react';
import Greeting from './Greeting';

function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      <Greeting name="John" />
      <Greeting name="Jane" />
    </div>
  );
}

export default App;

In the App component, we imported the Greeting component and rendered it twice with different name props.

Live Playground, Try it Yourself

Conclusion​

Functional components are a simple and efficient way to create components in React. They offer several benefits, such as simplicity, better performance, and easy testing. With the introduction of React Hooks, functional components have become even more powerful, allowing developers to manage state and use lifecycle methods.