Redux is seen as the most famous state management solution for various applications using React, Angular, and Vue as front-end frameworks. The prime reason for Redux' popularity is its lightweight size of 2kb. It operates a basic principle of complete application's state in one central store. All the components can access this store and eliminate the requirement to pass parameters and properties between components. However, the major building blocks are its reducers, actions, and store. Let's see more about how Redux operates to know more about the difference between it and its other options.
So, API calls from components are delivered to the Reducers. They are basic functions that send back the new state particularly based on the older state of the object. Besides, the store has a space for the new state that is the central entity in Redux apps reaching the previous state. Besides, holding the application and managing access to it, the store also permits the state to stay updated all the time along with handling registration and unregistering of listeners through subscribing.
What is the requirement for alternatives of Redux?
You may find the usage of Redux easy, yet certain disadvantages are coming with it: You will see a certain learning curve that is involved. Some may also find it difficult to learn Redux as you require functional programming's good knowledge. It improves the boiler plating for the easiest modifications. That huge amount of boilerplate seems more extreme in small apps. Every tiny change in Redux affects the DOM restructuring process. Moreover, the developers do not favor this at all as it is highly time-consuming and can affect the performance at a huge level.
Three building blocks of redux
1. Actions
It consists of all events and is the basic way to deliver the data from the application to the Redux store. Also, the data arrives from some user interactions or API calls, or a form submission.
2. Reducers
These are the purest form of functions that perform so well after taking the latest application state and later returns a new state. All these states are later stored in the object form and tell how the state of the chosen application alters with the response received from an action sent to the store.
3. Store
The store holds the application state and there is only one store present in the Redux application. You can access the state stored and then update its state. Later, you can register or unregister.
List of Redux Alternatives
Below are the main alternatives for the Redux application:
1. MobX
MobX, a new library offers several solutions for the above-told issues. It operates on 3 points: derivations, state, and actions. With it, you can easily synchronize between UI and models automatically. Also, you can use OOP and some other methods are there available as well directly on models' items. Object normalization is not demanded here, yet you have to keep it in the Redux store.
Read about Redux VS MobX to understand deeply.
2. GraphQL
Relay and GraphQL stack seems old but not that famous as Redux. GraphQL was developed by Facebook and described as the framework to develop data-driven react apps. Besides, there are several unique perks of using Relay with GraphQL. The heftiest among these is that there is no specific requirement to remember from the front-end view about how to exactly fetch the entire data to receive the demanded response.
3. Jumpsuit
If you are not interested in MobX, then Jumpsuit can be a suitable fit for you. Also, Redux does not appeal that much. A jumpsuit is a framework fully based on Redux and builds the flow more automatically. If you do not want to develop an app from scratch, then you can go for Jumpsuit. It provides a simplified API layer for both Redux and React.
4. Helpers/generators with conventional redux.js
The most seen issue in Redux is that it consists of many code duplications and does not follow the DRY principle. To ease your workflow, using conventional-redux.js is best in this regard.
Wrapping Up
So, Conventional-redux.js, Jumpsuit, and other tools help to enhance the Redux overflow. You can choose from these if you are familiar with Redux. Otherwise, Relay, MobX, and GraphQl are outside of the Redux stack and you will find MobX easy to learn. I suggest this if you wish to write from scratch faster. GraphQL takes more time to develop backend data flow logic. But, when it is completed, overall building fronted implementation turns much simpler.