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create-react-renderer

learn to build a custom react renderer

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DISCLAIMER: These definitions are not official. They are based on my own understanding of react renderers. They are not intended for understanding how to use react, but rather are for providing the context of understanding how a react renderer works.

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Setup

npm install

React Renderer Bindings Diagram

The diagram represents the following code

<Form>
  <Button />
  <Input />
</Form>

Definitions

Virtual DOM

A tree structure that represents the current rendered state. Every branch and leaf on the tree is either a component or element.

Reconciliation

Reconciliation is the process of determining which parts of the virtual dom need to be changed by diffing the current virtual dom tree with the new virtual dom tree.

Reconciler

The reconciler is the bindings to the react reconciliation lifecycle methods. This is NOT the react lifecycle hooks even though it is closley related to the react lifecycle hooks.

Fiber

A fiber virtual stack frame of work for the react reconciler. You can think of it as the low level api the reconciler is built on top of.

Node

A node is the interface of the renderer that the react renderer is binding to. For example window.document would be the node used in a react renderer that binds to the dom.

Root Node

The root node is the node used in the top of the react virtual dom tree.

Element

You can think of an element as a react component that is directly bound to the reconciliation lifecycle methods. This is NOT the same thing as a react component, although it can be used like a react component. Because it is directly bound to the react reconciliation lifecycle methods it is more powerful, but also more complex. Elements form the foundation that all react components are built on top of.

<div>, <button> and <h1> are all examples of elements in the react dom renderer.

Base Element

The base element is the element all other elements inherit from.

Component

An encapsulation of components and/or elements.

Root Element

The root element is the element used in the top of the react virtual dom tree. This element is not created with JSX but is initialized during the initial render.

Root

This represents the root of the react virutal dom tree.

Phases

Phase A

setup the reconciler

Phase B

create some custom elements

Phase C

bind some custom elements to reconciler

Phase D

setup node

Phase E

bind base element lifecycle methods

Phase F

bind critical element lifecycle methods to reconciler lifecycle methods

Phase G

create base elements

Phase H

create text bindings

Phase I

finish reconciler bindings

Phase J

add default props

Phase K

add options

Phase L

create components

Tips

Abstraction is your friend

Try to start small. Build your renderer in many layers of abstraction. This renderer uses the following layers of abstraction.

reconciler <- BaseElement <- elements <- components <- more components

Few elements, lots of components

Elements are hard to build and hard to debug. It's best to have a few broad and general elements and then build lots of specific components on top of the broad elements.

Start small, increment in small steps

Use typescript

This can catch lots of unnecessary bugs.

Test test test (unit test)

Build a solid foundation

Debugging

Understanding the react lifecycle can really help with debugging.

Ref debugging

You can get access to the node data from a ref. For example, the following will log the data from the node used in the <Smart /> element. This is very helpful because the ref runs before the entire render cycle is finished. This is helpful for debugging bugs that are preventing rendering from finishing.

<Smart code="const hello = 'world'" ref={(ref: any) => console.log(ref.node)} />

This only works on element refs. Since elements are abstractions of your nodes, you can't see the value of nodes in component refs.

For example, the following would log undefined

<FunctionDeclaration name="hello" ref={(ref: any) => console.log(ref.node)} />