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REACT

React Styling

React Styling: Unleashing Creative UI Designs

Styling in React plays a crucial role in shaping the user interface. React provides multiple ways to integrate styles into components, each serving different use cases. Let's explore various approaches with examples.

1. Inline Styling in React

Inline styles in React use a JavaScript object to define CSS properties. These styles are applied directly to elements via the style attribute.

Syntax:

const divStyle = {
  backgroundColor: "lightblue",
  padding: "20px",
  textAlign: "center",
  borderRadius: "8px"
};

function InlineStyledComponent() {
  return <div style={divStyle}>Styled with Inline CSS</div>;
}

Key Points:

The Context API comprises three essential building blocks:

  • Uses camelCase for property names (e.g., backgroundColor instead of background-color).
  • Keeps styles within the component, making them easy to manage.
  • Lacks support for pseudo-selectors like :hover.

2. CSS Stylesheets (External & Modular)

React components can utilize external CSS files by importing them. This method keeps styles separate from logic, making it easy to maintain.

Syntax:

styles.css

.container {
  background-color: #ffcccb;
  padding: 15px;
  text-align: center;
  border-radius: 10px;
}

Component Usage:

import "./styles.css";

function ExternalStyledComponent() {
  return <div className="container">Styled with External CSS</div>;
}

Key Points:

The Context API comprises three essential building blocks:

  • Ensures scoped styles, avoiding conflicts.
  • Uses dynamic class names under the hood.
  • Requires an additional build step for processing.

3. CSS Modules (Scoped Styling)

CSS Modules prevent style conflicts by generating unique class names. Each component can have its isolated styles.

Syntax:

styles.module.css

.box {
  background-color: #8bc34a;
  color: white;
  padding: 15px;
  border-radius: 5px;
}

Component Usage:

import styles from "./styles.module.css";

function ModuleStyledComponent() {
  return <div className={styles.box}>Styled with CSS Module</div>;
}

Key Points:

The Context API comprises three essential building blocks:

  • Allows global styling across multiple components.
  • Supports CSS pseudo-classes (:hover, :focus).
  • Might lead to class name conflicts in large applications.

4. Styled Components (CSS-in-JS Library)

Styled Components is a library that allows defining styles using template literals in JavaScript, making them component-scoped.

Installation:

npm install styled-components

Syntax:

import styled from "styled-components";

const StyledButton = styled.button`
  background-color: #6200ea;
  color: white;
  padding: 10px 20px;
  border: none;
  border-radius: 5px;
  cursor: pointer;

  &:hover {
    background-color: #3700b3;
  }
`;

function StyledComponent() {
  return </StyledButton>Click Me</StyledButton>;
}

Key Points:

The Context API comprises three essential building blocks:

  • Fully encapsulates styles within components.
  • Supports dynamic styling using props.
  • Allows for cleaner and more reusable UI components.

5. Tailwind CSS (Utility-First Framework)

Tailwind CSS is a utility-based framework that applies styles directly to elements via class names.

Installation:

npm install -D tailwindcss
npx tailwindcss init

Usage:

function TailwindStyledComponent() {
  return (
    <button className="bg-blue-500 text-white px-4 py-2 rounded-lg hover:bg-blue-700">
      Tailwind Button
    </button>
  );
}

Key Points:

  • No need to write custom CSS files.
  • Promotes rapid UI development.
  • Styles remain inline but do not affect JavaScript performance.

6. Emotion (Powerful CSS-in-JS Library)

Emotion provides flexibility in writing styles within JavaScript while supporting themes and dynamic styling.

Installation:

npm install @emotion/react @emotion/styled

Usage:

/** @jsxImportSource  @emotion/react */
import { css } from "@emotion/react";

const customStyle = css`
  background-color: teal;
  color: white;
  padding: 10px;
  border-radius: 8px;
  font-size: 18px;
`;

function EmotionStyledComponent() {
  return <div css={customStyle}>Styled with Emotion</div>;
}

Key Points:

  • Similar to Styled Components but with more flexibility.
  • Works seamlessly with both inline styles and external styles.
  • Supports theme-based styling.

7. Dynamic Styling with Props

React allows dynamic styling based on props, making components adaptable.

Syntax:

import styled from "styled-components";

const DynamicBox = styled.div`
  background-color: ${(props) => (props.primary ? "coral" : "gray")};
  padding: 15px;
  color: white;
  text-align: center;
  border-radius: 10px;
`;

function DynamicStyledComponent({ primary }) {
  return <DynamicBox primary={primary}>Dynamically Styled Box</DynamicBox>;
}

Key Points:

  • Enables conditional styling.
  • Helps in creating reusable and flexible components.

8. Global Styles with Styled Components

Styled Components allow defining global styles using createGlobalStyle.

Syntax:

import { createGlobalStyle } from "styled-components";

const GlobalStyle = createGlobalStyle`
  body {
    margin: 0;
    font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
    background-color: #f0f0f0;
  }
`;

function App() {
  return (
    <>
    <GlobalStyle />
      <h1>Global Styles Applied</h1>
    </>
  );
}

Key Points:

  • Ensures a consistent global styling approach.
  • Avoids manually importing styles into every component.

Conclusion

React provides a wide range of styling techniques to cater to different needs. Whether using inline styles for quick fixes, external stylesheets for modularity, CSS Modules for scope isolation, or CSS-in-JS libraries like Styled Components and Emotion for dynamic designs, React's styling capabilities allow developers to craft visually stunning applications with maintainable and scalable code.

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