Create a User Interface with React’s createElement API

Let’s add React to our script.

To do this, we’ll use the CDN esm.sh. This lets us import the React, right from the internet, without having to pre-install it, or bundle our code.

import React from 'https://esm.sh/[email protected]'
Change document.createElement to React.createElement
React allows us to define these attributes when we create an element, using the props option object.
- Move the attributes into the object
- Then reformat them into object syntax,
  - Changing textContent to children
Finally, let’s change the tex to Hello React so we can observe the change.

Our element doesn’t render yet because we’re still using the DOM to append it to the rootElement. We need React’s companion library that ReactDOM to communicate between React and the DOM.

import ReactDOM from 'https://esm.sh/[email protected]/client'
Call ReactDOM.createRoot and pass it the rootElement
- This prepares the rootElement to be managed by React.
Then call render on the React Root and pass it the React element.

Save, refresh, and we’ll see the text “Hello React” in the browser. Check it to make sure the className is still applied — it is.

Congrats, we are now have a React app:

using React to create an element
and ReactDOM to render our React Element to the DOM.

<body>
  <div id="root"></div>
  <script type="module">
    import React from 'https://esm.sh/[email protected]'
    import ReactDOM from 'https://esm.sh/[email protected]/client'

    const rootElement = document.getElementById('root')
    const element = React.createElement('div', {
      children: 'Hello React',
      className: 'greeting',
    })

    ReactDOM.createRoot(rootElement).render(element)
  </script>
</body>