React vs Mithril: A Comprehensive Comparison

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In the landscape of frontend development, React and Mithril represent different approaches to building web applications. While React is a popular, feature-rich library backed by Meta, Mithril is a lightweight, pragmatic framework focused on simplicity and performance. Let’s explore their differences and use cases.

Table of Contents

  1. Core Concepts
  2. Reactivity and State Management
  3. Templating and Components
  4. Styling Approaches
  5. Component Lifecycle
  6. Form Handling
  7. Performance and Bundle Size
  8. Learning Curve
  9. Conclusion

Core Concepts

React and Mithril take different approaches to building user interfaces:

  • React uses a Virtual DOM with JSX and component-based architecture
  • Mithril uses a hyperscript-based approach with a simpler component model

Reactivity and State Management

React’s Approach

React manages state through hooks and requires explicit state updates:

import { useState } from "react";

export default function Name() {
  const [name, setName] = useState("John");

  return <h1>Hello {name}</h1>;
}

Mithril’s Approach

Mithril uses plain JavaScript variables and manual redraws:

import m from "mithril";

export default function Name() {
  let name = "John";

  return {
    view: () => m("h1", `Hello ${name}`),
  };
}

The key difference is that Mithril uses a more traditional JavaScript approach with a view function, while React uses hooks and JSX.

Templating and Components

React Components

React uses JSX for a more HTML-like syntax:

export default function HelloWorld() {
  return <h1>Hello world</h1>;
}

Mithril Components

Mithril uses hyperscript (m()) function calls:

import m from "mithril";

export default function HelloWorld() {
  return {
    view: () => m("h1", "Hello World"),
  };
}

Component Lifecycle

React Lifecycle

React uses hooks for lifecycle management:

import { useState, useEffect } from "react";

export default function Time() {
  const [time, setTime] = useState(new Date().toLocaleTimeString());

  useEffect(() => {
    const timer = setInterval(() => {
      setTime(new Date().toLocaleTimeString());
    }, 1000);

    return () => clearInterval(timer);
  }, []);

  return <p>Current time: {time}</p>;
}

Mithril Lifecycle

Mithril uses lifecycle methods in the component object:

import m from "mithril";

export default function Time() {
  let time = new Date().toLocaleTimeString();
  const timer = setInterval(() => {
    time = new Date().toLocaleTimeString();
    m.redraw();
  }, 1000);

  return {
    view: () => m("p", `Current time: ${time}`),
    onremove: () => clearInterval(timer),
  };
}

DOM Events and Handling

React Events

React uses camelCase event handlers:

import { useState } from "react";

export default function Counter() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);

  function incrementCount() {
    setCount((count) => count + 1);
  }

  return (
    <>
      <p>Counter: {count}</p>
      <button onClick={incrementCount}>+1</button>
    </>
  );
}

Mithril Events

Mithril uses lowercase event handlers:

import m from "mithril";

export default function Counter() {
  let count = 0;
  const incrementCount = () => (count = count + 1);

  return {
    view: () =>
      m(
        "div",
        m("p", `Counter: ${count}`),
        m("button", { onclick: incrementCount }, "+1")
      ),
  };
}

Form Handling

React Forms

React requires explicit state management:

import { useState } from "react";

export default function InputHello() {
  const [text, setText] = useState("Hello world");

  function handleChange(event) {
    setText(event.target.value);
  }

  return (
    <>
      <p>{text}</p>
      <input value={text} onChange={handleChange} />
    </>
  );
}

Mithril Forms

Mithril uses direct DOM updates:

import m from "mithril";

export default function InputHello() {
  let text = "Hello world";
  const handleChange = ({ target: { value } }) => (text = value);

  return {
    view: () =>
      m("", m("p", text), m("input", { value: text, onchange: handleChange })),
  };
}

Performance and Bundle Size

React

  • Larger bundle size (≈40KB minified)
  • Complex Virtual DOM diffing
  • Rich ecosystem of optimization tools
  • Better for large applications

Mithril

  • Tiny bundle size (≈10KB minified)
  • Simple and fast Virtual DOM implementation
  • Built-in routing and XHR
  • Excellent performance for small to medium applications

Learning Curve

React

  • Steeper learning curve
  • Many concepts to master:
    • JSX
    • Hooks
    • Virtual DOM
    • Component lifecycle
    • State management patterns

Mithril

  • Gentler learning curve
  • Fewer concepts to learn:
    • Hyperscript syntax
    • Simple component model
    • Basic lifecycle methods
    • Direct state management

Conclusion

Choose React if you:

  • Need a rich ecosystem of tools and libraries
  • Are building a large, complex application
  • Want extensive community support
  • Need advanced state management solutions
  • Prefer JSX syntax
  • Have a team familiar with modern JavaScript

Choose Mithril if you:

  • Want a lightweight, fast framework
  • Prefer simplicity over features
  • Need built-in routing and XHR
  • Want smaller bundle sizes
  • Are building a small to medium-sized application
  • Prefer functional programming patterns

The choice between React and Mithril often comes down to project requirements:

  • React excels in large, complex applications with rich user interfaces and needs for extensive third-party libraries
  • Mithril shines in smaller applications where performance and simplicity are key priorities

Both frameworks are capable tools, but they serve different needs. React offers a rich ecosystem and powerful features for complex applications, while Mithril provides a simpler, more lightweight approach for building fast web applications.





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