When it comes to building dynamic web applications, choosing the right JavaScript library or framework is very important. React has been a dominant player in the web development ecosystem for several years. However, Marko, a lesser-known but powerful framework, is gaining attraction. This article compares Marko and React, highlighting their features, performance, use cases, and the pros and cons of each.

Marko

Marko is a modern UI library designed for building high-performance web applications with an emphasis on server-side rendering. Developed by eBay, Marko allows developers to create dynamic, component-based web applications that can be rendered on the server, ensuring fast initial load times and improved performance.

Advantages of Marko

• It can be easily integrated with existing projects and other libraries or frameworks.
• Marko supports isomorphic applications, allowing the same codebase to run on both the server and the client.
• Marko offers excellent performance with fast initial load times due to its efficient server-side rendering capabilitie
• The template-based syntax is similar to HTML, making it easier for developers familiar with HTML to learn and use.

Disadvantages of Marko

• While the syntax is easy for HTML developers, the overall framework and its concepts might still require some learning.
• Fewer third-party integrations are available, which can limit the flexibility for certain use cases.
• Marko is not as widely adopted as React, which might lead to fewer job opportunities and a smaller talent pool.
• Marko has a smaller ecosystem compared to React, meaning fewer third-party libraries and tools are available.

Pseudo Code

<template>
  <div class="my-component">
    <h1>${input.title}</h1>
    <p>${state.description}</p>
    <button on-click("handleClick")>Click Me</button>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
  module.exports = class {
    onCreate(input) {
      this.state = {
        description: 'This is a description.'
      };
    }

    handleClick() {
      this.state.description = 'Button clicked!';
    }
  };
</script>

React

React is a popular JavaScript library for building user interfaces, particularly for single-page applications where dynamic content needs to be rendered efficiently. Developed and maintained by Facebook, React is known for its component-based architecture and declarative programming model.

Advantages of React

• React has a vast ecosystem with numerous third-party libraries, tools, and extensions available to enhance development
• A large and active community provides extensive support, tutorials, and resources, making it easier to find solutions to problems.
• JSX syntax allows for writing HTML-like code within JavaScript, making the code more readable and easier to debug.
• This is component-based architecture allows for the creation of reusable UI components, leading to better code organization and maintainability.

Disadvantages of React

• While React itself is simple, the ecosystem and the need to learn additional tools (like Redux, React Router) can create a steep learning curve.
• React often requires boilerplate code, especially when using state management libraries like Redux.
• For developers not familiar with JSX, there can be an initial learning curve to understand and effectively use this syntax.

Pseudo Code

import React, { useState } from 'react';

function MyComponent({ title }) {
  const [description, setDescription] = useState('This is a description.');

  const handleClick = () => {
    setDescription('Button clicked!');
  };

  return (
    <div className="my-component">
      <h1>{title}</h1>
      <p>{description}</p>
      <button onClick={handleClick}>Click Me</button>
    </div>
  );
}

export default MyComponent;

Difference between Marko vs React