Thinking of using a drop-down or checkbox element to implement that feature? While you can code both of these options directly in your app and make them work, the React Select component is an excellent option that has some great benefits. If you have used other frameworks or libraries with similar features, you may wonder if it’s worth using React Select instead.
After all, why use an external library with additional files when you can just code everything as usual? Well, as with any other software development tool—the answer is never straightforward. Keep reading to find out why using React Select is a good idea and see whether or not it’s right for your project.
What Is React Select?
The React Select component is a user interface control that allows users to pick one or multiple items from a list. It can display the select options as a drop-down menu, as checkboxes, or both. The options can be either static or dynamic, which means they can be fetched from a data source.
The React Select component is built with React and uses the virtual DOM under the hood, which means it can re-render only the necessary parts of the UI when its state changes. Although the drop-down and checkbox control options also have their own benefits, the React Select can outperform both of them in terms of performance.
React Select Pros
To highlight some of the benefits of using the React Select component, here’s a short list of pros:
– Multi-selection support: The React Select supports multiple selections, whereas the drop-down and checkbox options don’t. This feature is essential if you want to let the users select multiple items from the list.
– Better accessibility: The drop-down menu and the checkbox options are not accessible by touch. This can make them impossible to use for people with disabilities who rely on touchscreens. The React Select, on the other hand, is fully accessible.
– Better performance: The React Select can outperform both the drop-down menu and the checkbox options. This is because the virtual DOM is more efficient than the browser DOM, which is what the drop-down menu and the checkbox options use.
React Select Cons
Like any other software, the React Select also has its share of cons. Here are a few things you should be aware of before building your app with this component:
– Complicated: As mentioned earlier in the article, the React Select is more complicated than the drop-down and checkbox options. While this is generally not a disadvantage, it’s important to note that the React Select might be too complex for your simple app.
– Additional file: The React Select is an external library with additional files that you need to include in your app. While this may not be an issue in most cases, it can be a problem if you have a limited budget for your project and don’t have the resources to add more to your project scope.
Final Words
To recap, the React Select component is an excellent user interface control that allows users to pick one or multiple items from a list. Its advantages over the drop-down and checkbox options include better accessibility, better performance, and multi-selection support.
