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Glossary 🔎

A

H

Hydration​

I

Instantiation​

Instantiation is a computer programming term, used by developers, that is usually related to Object-Oriented Programming (OOP). At its core, instantiation is the process of creating an Instance of an Object. Objects are structures created by Classes, which are essentially blueprints – or templates – that describe a set of features that will belong to Objects created from them. These “features” include Properties – also known as variables – and Methods.

L

Lazy Loading​

Lazy loading is a technique in web development where resources (such as images, scripts, or components) are loaded only when they are needed, rather than loading everything upfront. This helps improve website performance by reducing the initial page load time and deferring the loading of non-essential content until it's required. Lazy loading is commonly used for large images, additional scripts, or components that are not critical for the initial rendering of a web page.

P

Purging unused CSS​

Purging unused CSS refers to the process of removing unnecessary or unused styles from a stylesheet to reduce its file size. This optimization technique is often used in web development to ensure that only the styles required for a particular page or component are included in the final CSS file. This is achieved through tools and processes that analyze the HTML or JavaScript code and eliminate any CSS rules that are not referenced or applied. Purging unused CSS helps improve website performance by reducing the amount of data that needs to be downloaded and processed by the browser.

R

Reconciliation​

Reconciliation in React is the process of efficiently updating the user interface to match changes in the application's state. It involves comparing the current and previous representations of the UI, identifying the differences, and updating only the necessary parts to ensure optimal performance. React achieves this through a virtual DOM and a differential algorithm, minimizing direct manipulations of the actual DOM. The key prop, component lifecycle methods, and React's internal strategies contribute to effective reconciliation.

T

Transpiler​

A code transpiler converts source code from one programming language to another. It's commonly used in web development to translate code written in newer language versions (e.g., ES6 or TypeScript) to older versions (e.g., ES5) for broader compatibility. Examples include Babel for JavaScript and the TypeScript Compiler. Transpilers are integrated into the build process and help developers use modern language features while supporting legacy environments.

tree-shaking​

Tree shaking is a process in modern JavaScript build tools that eliminates unused code (dead code) from the final bundled output. It's typically used to optimize the size of JavaScript bundles by removing parts of the code that are not actually utilized in the application. Tree shaking is often associated with module bundlers like Webpack, and it relies on the static structure of ES6 modules to analyze and prune unused code during the build process.

  • describes the removal of dead code, it relies on import and export statements to detect if code modules are exported and imported for use in JS files
  • unused parts are removed from the bundle - thus imporving performance